Information Security Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Information Security - Term Paper Example Based on the nature of the information, we can classify information into two board categories; private and public. Public information are open to anybody since it may not cause any harm to the public and hence it is not necessary to protect it whereas private information are intended for a specific group of people and hence it should be protected from unauthorized use. Private information can be manipulated, modified or misused in many ways for personal gains and such manipulations may cause immense problems to others and hence it is necessary to protect it from unauthorized use. Most of the current organizations store their information on computers. Staff details, client lists, salaries, bank account details, marketing and sales information etc are currently stored in the computers. If this volatile or sensitive information come in the hands of the competitors, an organization may suffer a lot. So, most of the organizations are currently spend enormous amount of money for information security. This paper briefly analyses the necessity of information security in modern organizations. Computers, peripherals and networks are essential equipments in modern organizations for the communication and data/information storing purposes. No organization can survive in the current world without using computers and internet. But the major disadvantage in using computers for storing information is the possibility of leakage confidential information. There are people who accepted hacking as their main revenue source and they are capable of breaking the firewalls created for the protection of the information stored in a computer. It is easy for a hacker to break the firewalls and plant viruses inside a computer apart from taking out all the information he or she wants. Earlier information security solutions mainly focused on preventing the external threats. But currently organizations realized that internal threat is as important as the

Growth Performance Management Essay Example for Free

Growth Performance Management Essay In this report I have given a lot of research into the relevant subjects. I think that the way I have looked at the possibilities will help Helen Marsh and Brian Taylor overcome some of the obstacles in their organisation in order to make there business successful. Suggestions on what you should be specifically looking at in order to make your business a success, in my view would be the try to improve employee attitudes and training for employees. I think I have covered all the points that you have given me in depth if I have not apologies on my behalf. Introduction- Aims of the Report The aim of this report is to show Helen Marsh and Brian Taylor the problems of their business in more detail than the report give (case study). I will outline and investigate further into the following matters: * Growth * Performance Management * Performance Appraisal Systems and Motivation * Motivation * Rewards * Employee Turnover/Retention * Training and Development * Communication Growth To consider the growth of Brian and Helens company, we will look need to examine into the PEST (Political, Economical, Social and Technological factors) and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis for this company, this will help us identify if the company should continue to grow. By understanding about the SWOT and PEST analysis this will show us key information and help us identify some of the problems with the business. SWOT Analysis: SWOT Analysis is a very effective way of identifying your Strengths and Weaknesses, and of examining the Opportunities and Threats you face. Carrying out an analysis using the SWOT framework helps you to focus your activities into areas where you are strong and where the greatest opportunities lie. SWOT Analysis is a strategic method for identifying your businesses Strengths and Weaknesses, and to examine the Opportunities and Threats. These are just some of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats there may be more if you feel that there are, pleases do not hesitate to call me we can discuss these further. By reading the report that you gave me (case study) I found more weaknesses than strengths. This is not bad as this shows you that you can improve on these to make your business a success. Read more:Â  Difference Between Performance Management and Performance Appraisal PEST Analysis: It is very important that an organisation considers its environment before beginning the marketing and decision planning process. In fact, environmental analysis should be continuous and feed all aspects of planning. The SWOT analysis shows a lot of weaknesses in the business, the points that I have mentioned in the SWOT analysis affect the future growth of the business. I think that if you over come the weaknesses that are outlined in the SWOT analysis this will help improve and develop the company significantly because the employee would contribute to the full potential and would also create a good working environment which means less staff turnover. I suggest that you should postpone in growing for the moment and consider improving on the weaknesses that I outlined in the SWOT analysis. I suggest that you should consider growing in the future rather than now. I found out that: Weakness are not necessarily indicating bad things of the organization but showing a path to a better future. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR (1990) Northcraft. G page 437 You should consider improving the weaknesses into strengths as this would be beneficial in the future when you should consider to grow (it is not necessary yet) by improving weaknesses the business would function better and more advantages would be gained such as more share and profit. Performance Management In the report given to me (case study) I see that you have a problem on monitoring the field based staff. This is a important issue as the staff may or may not be doing what you have told them this would cause all sorts of issues with your company for example you may be losing money, valuable resources and time. Field based staff may be difficult to manage but there are ways. Staff that work in the office are easier to evaluate on what and how that are doing. When managing or monitoring employees you have to be aware of their privacy and not to breach that mutual line as this may inevitably cause conflict in the work place. But When you cant be present to observe employee performance, be sure that you have the right processes in place through which you can learn about how theyre doing this can be undertaken for field based staff also. These processes should be open, fair, and understood by everyone. Options for obtaining input about performance in your absence may include, but are not limited to, the following: * Evaluate the output and products of the employees work. * Have routine one-on-one meetings with your employee and include discussions of performance. * Every so often review and discuss with your employee the standards of performance for his or her job and your expectations. * Ask your employee to do periodic reports and share them with you for discussion. * Obtain feedback from customers in writing when possible. * Do brief stand-up check-ins or phone calls to field based staff as well as office based staff. * Ask an appropriate person who is present day-to-day to serve as a work leader or give the person authority to act in your stead, and ensure that everyone understands the persons role. * Perform routine spot checks of the employee at work. * Ask for confidential evaluations of employee performance by peers (or direct reports of supervisors). This process should be clearly understood by everyone and applied fairly to all. Performance Appraisal Systems and Motivation Performance appraisal systems are designed to serve the companys and employees interests. They are used to inventory the abilities and resources of employees and to let an employee know where he stands so that he will be stimulated to improve his performance. Employee motivation can be enhanced and performance improved with the monitoring of employees performance level and the use of feedback to advise those employees about their effectiveness. Performance feedback exchanges can be ongoing and informal, on a day-to-day coaching basis or on a formal basis, annually. I found this statement: ..Employers want to be sure their employees are doing a good job, but employees dont want their every sneeze or there trip to the toilet logged Managing People 2nd edition Tomson. R I think that employee monitoring is acceptable to a reasonable level but should nod be exceeded. I used to work at KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and the manager was constantly monitoring me and other staff that work there. I can understand this as people in other restaurants have tampered with food for example a Mc Donalds restaurant in USA Mississippi once was shut down because of food tampering. So to some degree a lot of monitoring needs to be undertaken. But I think you should use some of the procedures I have given for example I would recommend these: * Perform routine spot checks of the employee at work. * Obtain feedback from customers in writing when possible some sort of feed back sheet of possibly a questionnaire * Do brief stand-up check-ins or phone calls to field based staff * Ask your employee to do periodic reports and share them with you for discussion. Motivation Staff motivation is the one of the most significant factors in managing people. No one style is better than another for motivating employees, but it is essential that leaders are aware of their staff motivation style and are able to adapt for different circumstances. Some circumstances will call for a strong direction to inspire staff motivation other circumstances will call for staff motivation to be influenced by a more advice-giving approach. The necessary skill is in knowing what motivates people and satisfying the needs of individuals and groups at a given time. Staff motivation in regard to reward and recognition means taking account of and balancing the needs of the organisation and its objectives as well as the needs of the people expected to achieve those objectives. One of the worlds most successful Software and Hardware entrepreneurs stated: When we create a desirable workplace and find good ways to have work/life balance, well attract and well retain the best people and thats our competitive advantage. Lewis Platt, CEO, Hewlett-Packard (1001 Ways to Reward Employees 2000) Source: www.nelson-motivation.com/hpackard/ceo Hear is an example of a motivational theory: Douglas McGregor, was a American social psychologist, he proposed his famous X-Y theory in his 1960 book The Human Side of Enterprise . Theory X and theory Y are still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation. Mc Gregors X-Y Theory remains a valid basic principle from which to develop positive management style and techniques. McGregors XY Theory remains central to organisational development, and to improving organisational culture. McGregors Theory X and Theory Y THEORY X THEORY Y 1. Workers must be supervised as closely as possible, either through direct oversight or by tight reward and/or punishment systems. 1. People usually do not require close supervision and will, if given a chance to control their own activities, be productive, satisfied, and fulfilled. 2. Work is objectionable to most people. 2. Work is natural and enjoyable unless it is made offensive by the actions of organisations. 3. Most people have little initiative, have little capacity for being creative or solving organisational problems, do not want to have responsibilities, and prefer being directed by someone else. 3. People are ambitious, desire autonomy and self-control, and can use their abilities to solve problems and help their organisations meet their goals. Creativity is distributed normally across the population, just as is any other characteristic. 4. People are motivated by economic factors and a need for security. 4. People are motivated by a variety of needs only some of which involve economics or security. Figure Obtained from: MANAGING PEOPLE R. Tompson, 2nd Ed, Pub: Institute of Management I think that employee motivation in regard to reward and recognition means taking account of and balancing the needs of the organisation and its objectives as well as the needs of the people expected to achieve those objectives. I think that motivation should also have been included in the SWOT analysis. I think you should also consider how you can motivate staff you could use the web site I have given above for more information. The more you motivate staff the better they will work, this will also help with the monitoring of employees. You should also consider looking at the various patterns used by managers to encourage motivation in the work place, for a good example see Appendix 3. Rewards There are a staggering amount of reward types and schemes, you just have to make sure you have the right ones chosen for your business because performance of staff is the key to the success of any organisation. One of the main rewards that I think is relevant for your business is PRP (Performance Related Pay) One of the key contributors to effective performance is a well-designed performance management process. Such a process should incorporate objective setting, the day-to-day management of performance, the review or appraisal of performance, and rewarding performance. Your employees are your most important asset, they are the people who shape and form the companys future. Rewarding staff can develop healthy in-house competition between individuals, teams or even departments. Another major factor in rewards are employment benefit packages. Reward and incentive programs are a popular part of employee benefit packages. Many employees value such offerings as flexible scheduling, tuition assistance, and child care in order to satisfy personal needs and professional development. I think that you too should consider re designing your employment package. Nowadays society, it is becoming more and more common to support these reward systems with the overall business strategy of an organisation in order to satisfy business needs and to improve shareholder value. In addition, many organisations are developing or restructuring their rewards programs based on employee performance. This trend is likely to continue as costs continue to increase and competition continues to thrive in a highly unpredictable economy. Some other useful reward types that can be used are as follows: Social Rewards: Which include praise, employee recognition, and social acceptance within the business. Psychic rewards: Which include self esteem, job satisfaction, and feelings of accomplishments You could also give piece-rate pay, commissions, merit pay and bonuses. When I was talking about the business and how it will grow in Conclusion of Growth in the first part I think that in order for the business to grow you need the best employees you can get. So you would need to have the reward schemes that the employees are looking for. I the way you are rewarding employees at the moment is not working in fact I know it is not working I think you should use the PRP (Performance Related Pay) method, and also consider giving annual bonuses. Also if you give PRP (Performance Related Pay) you will sort out the problem you have with the monitoring of Field based staff as they too will be attracting more customers for the business. You should also give bonuses if the company is making a stable profit as this would encourage more work to be completed. Employee Turnover/Retention One of the most difficult problems companies had to cope with in the increasingly volatile business climate of the 1990s was the high rate of employee turnover. When employees, particularly long-term employees leave a company that has made a substantial investment in them, they take with them training, skills, experience, and productivity. Output is inevitably diminished during the training process of new employees, no matter how qualified. additionally, a high level of workplace turnover rends the types of social bonds that encourage other employees come to work and maintain their normal levels of productivity. ..In todays workplace, employers are not only having a hard time attracting employees, but are also having a difficult time keeping them.. (Harkins, 1998) I found out that employees leave for a variety of reasons, including poor supervision, unchallenging positions, limited advancement opportunities, lack of recognition, limited control over work, perceived pay inequity, and the perception of more favorable opportunities in other companies. Measuring Absence Obtained from: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES J. Weightman, 2nd Ed, (1996), Pub: Cromwell Press This overall figure, however, leaves many questions unanswered. For example, is the absence rate a reflection of a few employees suffering from long-term ill-health or are a substantial number of employees being regularly absent for relatively short spells? A more in depth way to monitor absence and retention is give in Appendix 1. Hear I found some of the ways in which to help with retention: * Align your employees with company goals and visions * Establish department goals and standards * Set employee goals and performance measurements * Conduct performance reviews that test the established goals * Train managers to effectively coach their staff * Identify barriers find strengths to build upon * Isolate key performance gaps and craft a plan to improve performance * Define the relationship between job satisfaction, goal alignment and individual performance growth I suggest that you should consider some of the points above in order to combat turnover/retention. You should regularly try to monitor staff absence. Try to make the rate as nearer to 8.5 % as possible if it goes over this may be critical to the business. You should have a maximum number of days for employees to comply by, for example I work as Safeway Petrol station in the Penn, employees there are only allocated 50 hours off of work (excluding sick or acceptable absence). You should check out Appendix 1 in how to measure turnover and retention in your organisation. Training and Development There are a number of advantages to training and development and this is another point that was added in the SWOT analysis that needed to be improved in order for the business to function properly and effectively. Training has become the most important feature of a successful organisation. Training is necessary because it improves profitability and/ or more positive attitudes towards profit orientation. Enhances the job knowledge and skills at all levels of the organisation. The work force gets a high morale. Due to proper training employees can identify with organisational goals, corporate image gets improved. Training fosters realism, openness and trust. A boss an the subordinates get to work in a better environment and relationship. Some typical reasons for employee training and development can be initiated for a variety of reasons for an employee or group of employees, for example: * When a performance appraisal indicates performance improvement is needed * To benchmark the status of improvement so far in a performance improvement effort * As part of an overall professional development program * As part of succession planning to help an employee be eligible for a planned change in role in the organisation * To pilot, or test, the operation of a new performance management system * To train about a specific topic I found out some key topics for employee Training and Development they are as follows: * Communication- The increasing diversity of todays workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. * Computer skills- Computer skills are becoming a requirement for conducting administrative and office tasks. * Customer service- Increased competition in todays global marketplace makes it critical that employees understand and meet the needs of customers. * Diversity- Diversity training usually includes explanation about how people have different perspectives and views, and includes techniques to value diversity * Ethics- Todays society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, todays diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace. By giving the appropriate training and development you can gain a lot of advantages. The general benefits from Employee Training and Development are: * Increased job satisfaction and morale among employees * Increased employee motivation * Increased efficiencies in processes, resulting in financial gain * Increased capacity to adopt new technologies and methods * Increased innovation in strategies and products * Reduced employee turnover * Enhanced company image, e.g., conducting ethics training (not a good reason for ethics training!) * Risk management, e.g., training about sexual harassment, diversity training I think that training aids in developing leadership skill, motivation, loyalty, better attitudes and other aspects that successful workers and managers usually display which we discussed earlier in the report. The quality of work is also increased and so is the productivity. Its cost effective as well, it cuts costs in different areas e.g. production, personnel, administration etc. it develops a sense of responsibility to the organisation for being capable and knowledgeable. Labor management is also improved, as workers instead of feeling ignored, feel taken care of which develops a sense of loyalty Communication Effective communication skills are vital for success in a business environment with most business people being engaged in some form of communication activity most of the time reading, listening, writing or talking. Business communication is, however, different from educational or literary writing and speaking it requires precision, clarity and efficiency since business people just do not have the time to savor an idea or an expression. Moreover, unethical behavior in the workplaces arising from the lack of ethical communication by the top management to the first-line supervisors proves the fact that employees are either directly or indirectly rewarded for unethical acts or harshly abandoned for going against the norm of practicing corruption (Zimmerman: Jansen and Von Glinow, 2001, p. 119). As explained in this text that I researched into, Jansen and Von Glinow through their in-depth study that encouraging counter norms in an organisation is also a form of promoting corrupt standards in a company in order to save the firms name or to avoid charges by this means reflecting the decreasing ethical communication in organisations. There are many factors that help establish an organisations ability and skill in maintaining the stability and organisation among its employees/members. One of these factors includes attaining an organisational communication process through effective communication skills. The most prominent forms used by most organisations are the development of verbal and non-verbal communication since these are the most obvious ways of communication that provide a dialogue for employees and the management in an organisation. However, what is not realized by both the employees and management is that listening is one important communication aspect that precedes verbal and non-verbal communication. I think that in order to attain effective communication verbally or non-verbally, communicators must first learn to listen in order to assess carefully the issues at hand and the required action that must be taken. If you have a look at Appendix 2 it shows you different types of communication processes. I would recommend that you try to focus on the complete network as this would make communications in your business better. Overall Report Conclusion and my Recommendations I think overall this is what we should be doing in order to maintain and run a successful business: * Growth- we should not be growing just yet as there are to many problems as indicated in the SWOT analysis. We should be improving on the weaknesses and consider to grow and expand in the future. * Performance Management- monitoring needs to be undertaken but only to some degree that is acceptable by you and the employees. But I think you should use some of the procedures that I have indicated in this previous section (please refer to Conclusion for Performance Management). * Performance Appraisal Systems and Motivation- Performance appraisal systems are designed to serve the companys and employees interests. * Motivation- You have to consider Douglas McGregor Theory X and Theory Y. to offer the best motivation go through the chart that I have drawn and consider what you can do to have a successful motivated staff. Look at Appendix 3 for patterns of managerial approaches to motivation. * Rewards- if you offer better rewards and better benefit packages then Turnover/Retention will be low, and employees will work more and contribute their highest potential. * Employee Turnover/Retention- you need to make sure that you monitor employees sickness and absenteeism and make sure it dose not go over 8% Check Appendix 1. * Training and Development- if you train and develop employees better the function of your business will be better, you should try to encourage more employees to gain different skills and knowledge. You should also try to offer recognised qualifications. * Communication- look at Appendix 2 I recommend that you try to bring in the process of complete network communication. There are numerous factors that help conclude an organisations ability and skill in maintaining the stability and organisation among its employees/members, one of these factors includes attaining an organisational communication process through effective communication skills. References I recommend that you look at the following text as this will help you improve on the factors mentioned in this report and also help you with difficult decisions about your business. I recommend looking at this text: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: INDVIDUALS, GROUPS AND THE ORGANISATION I. Brooks (1999) 1st Ed, Pub: Financial Times HUMAN RESOURCE STRATAGIES Salman, (1998) Pub: The Open University MANAGING PEOPLE R. Tompson, 2nd Ed, Pub: Institute of Management ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: A MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE G.B.Northcroft M.A.Neale (1990), Pub: Ronda Colour PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT GA Cole, 4th Ed (1997), Pub: Ashford Colour Press MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES J. Weightman, 2nd Ed, (1996), Pub: Cromwell Press The following Web-Sites are useful also: www.bized.com www.hrmang.co.uk www.humanrecourses.co.uk/text/hrissues www.resourcemanage.co.uk

Is Hypertext the Future for Reading? :: Teaching Writing Education Essays

Is Hypertext the Future for Reading? Hypertext has significantly altered the traditional role of the reader. It has provided an opportunity for the reader to become more engaged in the actual text the reader encounters. The reader now has the power to pick and choose topics they may want to learn more about by engaging in a multi-linear fashion of reading. A rather dramatic shift of power from the author to the reader allows the reader to construct their own personal path through a story, reading whatever strikes their fancy. Readers are no longer forced to start at page one and finish with the last page. With hypertext there is no definite end to a story by any means. I experienced this first hand with the hypertext fictional story â€Å"Dissapearing Rain† by Deena Larsen. I read â€Å"Rain†, a hypertext on the web, and found the story very confusing. I found myself confused as to where to click and what I needed to know to understand the story. With every click came a multitude of options that only opened a number of more options. Throughout the story I had an overwhelming feeling that I was missing vital information by picking and choosing which hyperlinks to follow. â€Å"Such violations of clarity and causality seem to be defining qualities of all hypertexts that permit the reader to make significant choices in the order of presentation.† (Bolter 129) I realized that I was reading a story that had no pre-ordained order. The author allowed her readers to decide where the story would take them, a rather awkward challenge I had never before appreciated while surfing the web. It came as quite a shock when I understood how complicated reading a hypertext fictional story could be. I was no longer being led through a story with an author’s complete authority; I was now given choices. I was the one to decide where the story was going to take me and how I wanted to experience it. The hypertext fiction â€Å"Rain† allowed an option of following specific characters. I figured this would be the best way to possibly decrease the amount of hyperlinks offered, but I was wrong.

Lab Report: Testing How the Length of a Wire Determines its Resistance :: essays research papers

Science Coursework The Resistance of a Wire Aim: To find out how the length of a wire affects the resistance of it. Knowledge: Ohms Law is a mathematical equation that shows the relationship between Voltage, Current and Resistance in an electrical circuit. It is stated as: , V = I x R , R = V / I , I = V / R Where  · V = Voltage  · I = Current (I stands for INTENSITY)  · R = Resistance In order to understand what Ohms Law is all about you need to understand electricity and what makes Voltage, Current and Resistance in a circuit. Current Current is the movement of electrons in a circuit but "What are electrons and what makes them move?" All matter is made up of Atoms. Piece of metal made up of Atoms Each atom is made up of a nucleus that has a certain number of protons and neutrons with an equal numbers of electrons in orbit. The copper atom has 29 protons in its nucleus with 29 electrons orbiting the nucleus. The electrons are arranged in orbits called shells. Notice that in the copper atom, the outside shell has only one electron. The outer shell of any atom is called the valence shell. When the valence electron in any atom gains sufficient energy from some outside force, it can break away from the parent atom and become what is called a free electron. It is very easy to provide enough energy to cause the valence electron to become free. Some sources of energy are heat, light, magnetic fields and a voltage source. When the valence electron becomes free it leaves behind an atom that has a positive charge. Remember that the copper atom has 29 + protons and 29 electrons so if one electron leaves orbit we are left with +29 protons and 28 electrons. That means the atom has a more positive charge because of the one less electron. This is an unbalanced atom and is not natural. The atom will always try to get an electron back into the valence orbit to become normal or balanced again. This is the one fact that you should remember and try to visualize when working with electrical circuits. Electric current is the movement of electrons from one atom to another in a conductor. If you can visualize a piece of copper wire with billions of atoms and each one of them losing an electron and all the electrons jumping to other atoms, you will begin to see what current is.

Air Pollution. What is it?

Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases, which can be fatal. Conservation of our environment has been a topic of discussion and concern to many leaders around the world throughout history. There is every need and reason for human beings to talk of the environment since the life wholly depends of the ability of the environment to support it without any threat. As a result, the fight against environmental pollution is still a challenge in both developed and developing countries. This aimed at having safe and sustainable water, air and soil among other natural resources. Of great concern has been air pollution. What is air pollution? This can be simply described as the introduction of harmful materials into the atmosphere which cause harm to human beings and other living things. The question has always been the understanding of the causes of the causes of air pollution without addressing relevant control measures. Air pollution is mainly caused by exhaust gases from cars, burning of low-quality coal for heating and uncontrolled factory releases. Ownership and use of cars and other automobiles has been considered as one of the greatest developments in the transport industry. Although cars are a luxury in life, many people have never given a thought to the harm they have on the environment. Research has revealed that exhaust gases from cars contribute significantly to air pollution in the world today. How exactly does this occur? It is important to mention that exhaust from cars, trucks and other engines release harmful gases to the atmosphere which severely affect life on earth. Common and dangerous gases emitted in the atmosphere include but not limited to carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide. Nevertheless, the process of emission has never been understood by many people who do understand air pollution. While the levels of these emissions ay seem minute and negligible, many lives continue to suffer. Global warming which is a worldwide scourge mainly emanates from high levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. Accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere causes pores in the ozone layer, allowing the penetration of dangerous rays to the earth surface. It is painful to mention that most of the cancer related infections affecting the current generation are highly brought ab out by global warming. How economical and healthy would life be without it! In addition, Carbon monoxide causes respiratory problems in human beings. High levels of this gas inhibit proper breathing which may lead to suffocation and eventually death. Air pollution is also caused by burning of low-quality coal for heating. The use of low-quality coal and petroleum products threatens the safety and quality of air. When this type of coal is burnt, cases such as carbon dioxide are released to the atmosphere causing extremely severe effects to the environment. This has been on the increase due to ever growing demand for coal as the main source of energy and its fair availability. Carbon dioxide combines with oxygen and atmospheric water vapor to form a weak carbonic acid. This means that air becomes concentrated with the acid. During the process of rain formation this acid reaches the earth surface in the form acid rain which has countless effects. Acid rain is corrosive and affects plants and animals. This corrosion causes skin cancer and scorches plants. Acid rain also destroys metals and iron sheets used for roofing. Uncontrolled industrial emissions is another cause if air pollution. This has remained a thorn in the flesh of many leaders especially those from industrialized nations. Untreated gaseous releases to the atmosphere do more harm than good to people. Gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide contribute to thousands of health and environmental problems. Like Carbon dioxide, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen also lead to the formation of acid rain which later reaches the earth surface resulting to corrosion, destruction of crops on farms and cancer related infections among others. It is obvious that the world has to do something to salvage the atmosphere from pollution. Use of refined and good uality can help in cutting down the emission of dangerous gaseous materials in air. Finally, leaders need to formulate policies which control the amount of industrial waste released in the atmosphere. These are just but among numerous solutions towards air pollution. Nevertheless, exhaust gases from cars, burning of low-quality coal for heating and uncontrolled factory releases remain key causes of air pollution. Exposure to air pollution is associat ed with numerous effects on human health, including pulmonary, cardiac, vascular, and neurological impairments. The health effects vary greatly from person to person. High-risk groups such as the elderly, infants, pregnant women, and sufferers from chronic heart and lung diseases are more susceptible to air pollution. Children are at greater risk because they are generally more active outdoors and their lungs are still developing. Exposure to air pollution can cause both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) health effects. Acute effects are usually immediate and often reversible when exposure to the pollutant ends. Some acute health effects include eye irritation, headaches, and nausea. Chronic effects are usually not immediate and tend not to be reversible when exposure to the pollutant ends. Some chronic health effects include decreased lung capacity and lung cancer resulting from long-term exposure to toxic air pollutants. The scientific techniques for assessing health impacts of air pollution include air pollutant monitoring, exposure assessment, dosimetry , toxicology, and epidemiology. Although in humans pollutants can affect the skin, eyes and other body systems, they affect primarily the respiratory system. Air is breathed in through the nose, which acts as the primary filtering system of the body. The small hairs and the warm, humid conditions in the nose effectively remove the larger pollutant particles. The air then passes through the pharynx, esophagus, and larynx before reaching the top of the trachea. The trachea divides into two parts, the left and the right bronchi. Each bronchi subdivides into increasingly smaller compartments. The smallest compartments of the bronchi are called bronchioles, which contain millions of air sacs called alveoli. Together, the bronchioles and alveoli make up the lungs. Both gaseous and particulate air pollutants can have negative effects on the lungs. Solid particles can settle on the walls of the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. Most of these particles are removed from the lungs through the cleansing (sweeping) action of â€Å"cilia†, small hair-like outgrowths of cells, located on the walls of the lungs. This is what occurs when you cough or sneeze. A cough or sneeze transports the particles to the mouth. The particles are removed subsequently from the body when they are swallowed or expelled. However, extremely small particles may reach the alveoli, where it takes weeks, months, or even years for the body to remove the particles. Gaseous air pollutants may also affect the function of the lungs by slowing the action of the cilia. Continuous breathing of polluted air can slow the normal cleansing action of the lungs and result in more particles reaching the lower portions of the lung. Briefly there are three main principle strategies to solve the air pollution problem which can be categorized as energy efficiency ,reduce waste and move to non-polluting renewable of energy production. In the first place and as the simplest strategy, reducing waste can be considered. Waste products increasing day by day and they have the effect of air pollution highly. If people care to reduce waste, the problem can be solved. To begin with, people choose eco-friendly product instead of non-environmentally friendly product such as handcraft products, paper bags and notebook. Therefore they can reduce waste. Secondly people can use hybrid cars and they can become prevalent using hybrid cars. This will not only increase waste of environment but also people attend to protect nature. Finally we can recycle our products. We are grouping in the form of waste such as glass, plastic, paper. We send them to recycling. In this way we reduce waste. This in three ways, we reduce waste so we can prevent the speared of air pollution. As previously stated, the second way to deal with air pollution crisis can be solved energy efficiency. People prevent unnecessary gas emissions by using energy efficiency. If they provide energy efficiency, they can reduce using fossil fuels so that they can prevent air pollution. First of all, people can benefit from sunshine. They can install solar-powered appliances in their home and job. By doing this , they can have a very large economic saving. The energy savings in a home and job reduce energy consumption. For example, they use combining insulation, high R-value windows, weather sealing, efficient hot water heating and other that minimize energy use. Thanks to energy efficiency , they expect to see lower energy bills and lower water bills. People can be save energy with some steps. To illustrate, they can check their windows for cracks and breaks in the seals but its long way to savings energy. Another step is adjust their thermostat before going to sleep. By doing this, their thermostat doesn’t work for hours. It is only working set hours. Secondly using time efficiency is another part of energy savings. For example the sun heats day time but it coals at night so they must use thermostat for to heat their house. This is very expensive for them. Therefore if they set up their time, they can use energy much longer and they will not have to use the thermostat. Finally people can establish organization to direct people to use energy efficiently or can support existing organizations. Actually we have very important organizations that inform to people about energy efficiency. These organizations are doing very important things. We can give them at least moral and financial support by joining them. Thus we can provide energy efficiency. By this ways, people can prevent a lot of elements of polluting the environment by using energy efficiency and they would avoid breathing polluted air. The third way to move non-polluting renewable of energy production. Currently widely used in fossil fuels run out and fossil fuels pollutes the air too much. Therefore people tend to non-polluting renewable energy production such as wind, water , and sun beat. Wind power is very important source for generating electricity. According to Jacobson, the important way to improve energy security, mitigate reduce the number of death caused by air pollution to storm and bluster in the wind. It is very cheap than nuclear power plant and fossil fuels and it is cleaning. Another part of non-polluting renewable product is water rippling is another important way to product energy without polluting air. If government establish baraj, they can provide electricity for people. It is effective way to protect air pollution to people. Actually this way has been used worldwide for a long time to generate huge amounts of power from water stored. In this ways, people save energy as well as they protect nature and they don’t pollute the air. They would do something that does not harm for humans. To sum up, reduce waste, energy efficiency and move to non-polluting renewable of energy productivity are the three main ways to solve air pollution problem. Reduce waste is the easiest way to solve air pollution because it needs much less labor work than the other ways but it will be satisfied for to cleaning environment. Energy efficiency is the best way to solve air pollution because of helping by whole people that they can help and support energy efficiency. Because energy efficiency save both the environment and their money and move to non-polluting renewable of energy production is still the most difficult way to solve air pollution. The information show that people pay more attention to this issue every day and science and technology is developing rapidly people believe that experts will solve the problem. We should give more effort to solve this problem until that day.

Michael Flatley essays

Michael Flatley essays It seemed that Michael Flatley was at the top of his career when he was asked to leave the world renowned dance group Riverdance. This was quite a surprise considering very gifted entertainer/choreographer appeared to be the secret behind Riverdances success from the beginning. The basis for this decision was apparently due to Flatleys uncompromising demands in how he wanted the show to run. Demands such as control over his own artistic interpretations, requiring two full pages printed in the program of his biography and a much larger salary. To many these demands seemed very arrogant and egotistical. His self-centered attitude seemed to cloud the idea that a production was not made by one person alone. Since the Riverdance business culture was not responsive to just one entertainer, this clashed with their entire teamwork atmosphere. Thus they were not able to give in to Flatleys demands. After careful consideration Flatley was let go. Here is where the Lord of the Dance d ecided to assemble his very own production company without being stifled from his craftmanship. During this pentacle point in Michael Flatleys career we begin to take a look back at the many other opportunities that could have taken place. First of all, the main controversy between Riverdance and Flatley was that they would not meet his demands to take control and project himself as a star. Since teamwork and mutual collaborations was what Riverdance prided itself upon, this significant discrepancy in their culture was not going to be condoned. A fair compromise in this matter could have been as simple as Flatley lowering his demands to be printed in numerous pages of the program or Riverdance allowing him to have more control over his art and interpretations. Since he was very stubborn about not losing his artistic influence and demanded more pay, another option would have been to have waited it out. The media ...

The Wizard of Oz essays

The Wizard of Oz essays When I think Heros journey, the first thing that comes to my mind is The Wizard of Oz. This to me is a heros journey. Dorothy plays a hero as well as Oz and the Scarecrow, the lion, the tin man and the witch of the east. Dorothy was a hero in many ways. She was the lions hero along with Oz when he wanted courage and the tin mans hero when he wanted a heart and the scarecrows hero when he wanted a brain. She helped them along the journey realize that they all had what they wanted but had to let it show. Dorothy in a way was Ozs hero; she helped him realize he wasnt as great and Godly as he thought he was. He had gotten himself a very high reputation and couldnt fulfill what his duties were, to grant her wish. The last hero to me in the story was the Great witch of the east. She was Dorothys real hero. The call in this story was when her dream started. When she was sleeping in her bed in her house and there was a huge storm that blew her house with her and her dog, Toto, away into the land of Oz. The house came crashing to the ground right on top of the wicked witch of the west killing her instantly with her striped stocking legs and red shoes hanging out. The little people of Oz came out singing and dancing thanking Dorothy looking at her as a hero. Then the witch of the East (a very beautiful witch I may add) comes to greet Dorothy and thanks her. Dorothy tells her what happened and how she wanted to go home so the witch told her to follow the yellow brick road to the great Oz. Along the way she has 3 different encounters, one with a scarecrow, one with a lion, and one with a tin man. They decide they would like to accompany Dorothy and go see the great Oz also and ask for a few favors themselves. This is where the threshold and the tests and ordeals of the story comes in... even though there were happy people with the death of the wit ...

Wish War Veterans a Happy Veterans Day

Wish War Veterans a Happy Veterans Day The eleventh day of November is a special day. In the United States, the day is called Veterans Day. In some other parts of the world, it is called Remembrance Day, a day to honor military folk, who served during war.This day draws the nations attention to the sacrifices made by its war heroes. Americans express their collective pride for the armed forces. Mark TwainIn the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.Arthur Koestler The most persistent sound, which reverberates through mens history is the beating of war drums.Dan LipinskiOn this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.John DoolittleAmericas veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world. Veterans Day Background On November 11, 1918, the First World War officially ended. A year later, American President Woodrow Wilson formerly instituted Armistice Day to honor the brave hearts, who were martyred during the war. However, Second World War veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama had a different vision. In 1945, Weeks announced that 11 November should honor all war veterans. Hence two years later, the first Veterans Day was observed, paying tribute to all those who served the military during war. Veterans Day is now a federal holiday across America. Veterans Day Celebrations in America On this day, military veterans are awarded medals and honors for their selfless hard work. At 11 a.m., the ceremony begins with the official wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns, followed by a colorful parade by various veterans service organizations, and speeches made by dignitaries. Elsewhere, states conduct their own parades, honoring brave military personnel, who served during wartime and peacetime. Gary HartI think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.Douglas MacArthurIn my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.Michel de MontaigneValor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. Celebrating Courage Under Fire Writer George Orwell made a moving comment on civilians attitude to the military when he said, People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. Author Mark Twain also brought out the tragedy of being in a war. Twain wrote, Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.Remember these famous Veterans Day quotes when you offer your opinion during a conversation on war, peace, and the military. War is certainly not a game for the men and women who have to show courage under fire. Remember Your War Heroes If you love poetry, spare a moment to read Tommy, a classic poem by Rudyard Kipling. The poem talks about the publics hypocritical attitude to the common soldier, typified by Tommy Atkins. Towards the end of the poem, Kipling writes, Its Tommy this, and Tommy that,And chuck him out the brute,But its Savior of his Country,When the guns begin to shoot. Kipling may have been describing military life in Britain, but the poem has universal significance. Around the world, we fail to give our military heroes their due. As you read some Veterans Day quotations from poems, you will gain insight into the lives and motivations of those serving in the military. Byron PulsiferTo be free and to have a choice and a voice means that veterans have been quieted through death.Henry Ward BeecherAre they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism?Jeff MillerThe willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.

Reflective evaluation of my role as an audience member and responder Essay - 1

Reflective evaluation of my role as an audience member and responder in the debate process - Essay Example The debates were not limited to a fixed circle of knowledge but instead provided knowledge which comprises a number of related issues in the field. The debates were persuasive and called for an initiative which focuses on children and their future rather than on initiative which limit the educational opportunities for children like a limit of 20% EAL pupils in any one school. I personally believe that these debates provided some good and useful information about the policies and initiatives on children education. The debate process was, however, time consuming and required a focused mind to understand each important point of the debate. The presentation styles differed greatly from one person to the other. It was difficult to identify the distinct styles as the debating style affects the impression that audience receives. Some debates were more inclined towards convincing the audience on their point of view, while others were designed in a way to motivate people on change. Some debates were complex and were formulated in a difficult structure which required experts in the field to understand them, while, others were easier to understand for everyone whether or not they are related to the field with which the debate was linked to. I personally believe that this experience was excellent as I found ways of accepting and rejecting certain points in my role as a responder to the debate. The role as a responder was much difficult when it came to critically analyze each point. My aim was not to accept or reject any point or concept without examining the true impact of it on children and the learning environment as a whole. The notion that every key stage two child should learn another language was quite challenging. The debate was more inclined towards exposing the positivity of the idea. However, the negative impacts were not given much time to expose. The negativity of this idea lied in the stress and

Anomalies of Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Anomalies of Water - Essay Example This is because the two hydrogen atoms have special way of bonding to the one oxygen atom whereby they get bonded to the top of the molecule. Subsequently, â€Å"this molecular structure gives the water molecule polarity or a lopsided electrical charge that attracts other atoms† (Home Science Tools, 2012). Because the molecule formed is charged to attract other atoms, it makes water gain its strong bonding, making surface tension and formation of droplets possible. Without any doubt, this anomaly of water makes it arguably the most important liquid, significant for life on earth. If for nothing at all, it is known that â€Å"It covers about 70% of Earths surface and it makes up 65-75% of our bodies (82% of our blood is water).† What this means is that without the stretching property of water, transport through 70% of the earth’s surface would have been cut off and made impossible because ships, boats and other water vessels would not have been able to travel on the surface of water. These objects would have simply sunk deep under water. Again, knowing that rains come in the form of droplets, the world would also have lacked the rain drops because water would have perhaps not had the property to flow all the way from the skies to the earth. This shows how perfectly water matches up in God’s design for the earth and life because as much as life would not have existed without water; water has been made in a way that makes it easier to be part of

Learning and Development of Human Resource Management Essay

Learning and Development of Human Resource Management - Essay Example As employees make day-to-day decisions, it is very important that the decisions they will make are based on the Disney’s principles. The company’s principles are a vital inclusion to the induction program for the new recruit, as he or she will also need to make decisions in the future. In order to give the new recruit an idea of his or her job’s significance to the bigger picture, the job’s place according to the organizational structure. The place of the job in fulfilment of a bigger objective, when it is shown will give significance to the individual goal a new recruit has in fulfilment of his or her own job. The company’s policies as regards health, safety and environment should be included in the induction programme. This could include the company’s policy as regards requirements for medical examinations and provisions when employees acquire illnesses. Apart from the health, rules and policies about the company’s work environment should be included. These rules, especially about safety in using certain equipments should be clearly given to new recruits. Also, serious actions that the management will take when employees violate safety rules which could jeopardize the safety of other employees should be included. When there are accidents, emergency procedures should be part of the induction programme in order to provide the new recruit knowledge that will aid him or her in times of emergency or accidents within the work environment. Disney should include in its induction programme the clear set of duties and requirements of the job that the new recruit should fulfil. By making clear the demands of the job, the new recruit will know up to what extend he or she will be expected to perform, and what to perform. Apart from the duties, the number of work hours required for a certain job should also be

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 8

Criminology - Essay Example erefore, the classical philosophers and other modern scholars of American criminology founded varied theories regarding the issue of crime as a social phenomenon. Understanding criminology theories depend on the relationships made in formulating them and each theory differ from one situation to another. Therefore, social learning theory is one of the criminology theories that explain the way people develop their behaviors through socialization. This theory argues  that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"as social creatures, our behavior is a product of our environment,† thus understanding social learning theory is imperative because it enables the policy makers to implement effective strategies for combating crime issues in the society. Social learning theory is one of the criminology theories that attempt to address the issue of the social environment and the way it influences crimes of all sorts. Understanding social learning theory in criminology can be simple or complex, but this depends on the relationships made by social scientists in formulating theories (Akers 56). However, this theory is significant because it enables criminal investigators to understand the way crime are committed and what influences them. This is vital because it enables the policy makers to implement effective ways of controlling such crimes that result through learning from social environments. This can be through providing mass education programs to the public on the consequences of involving in crime activities and encouraging people in the society to serve as role models to others. Social learning theory controls the behaviors of an individual in the society. Therefore, understanding this theory is essential because it enables one to understand the study of criminology. Learning refers to the habit or knowledge gained as a result of experiences within the surrounding environment. It is opposed to instinct, drives or genetic predispositions, thus enabling people to understand criminology study (Furst 96). The

Aleister Crowley Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aleister Crowley - Research Paper Example He retired early even before Aleister was born because of the business. He was also a radical preacher who travelled across Britain, writing pamphlets and bible study guides. His mother, Emily Bertha Bishop, came from the Devon and Somerset lineage. Both of his parents subscribed to the Brethren faith, which was a lot more conservative variant of the Plymouth Brethren. With this background Aleister was only allowed to play with children from similar backgrounds (Poem Hunter 5-7). His father’s death on March 5th 1887 from tongue cancer proved to be a turning point in young Aliester’s life having been very close to him. He turned rebelliously against the Christian faith as his mother’s attempts to keep him in the faith turned into a desperate futility. This never went well with the mother who labeled him a â€Å"beast†. This rebellious nature was the beginning of a life mainly characterized by extremism in diverse forms such as occultism, pansexuality, magic, drugs, poetry and mountaineering. On 1st December 1947 he died of respiratory infections that developed from his addiction of heroin. The addiction developed after he went on prescription for his asthma and bronchitis (Poem Hunter 11-13; Open Culture 1). In his early days, he was home schooled until the age of eight when he move to an evangelical run private preparatory - an experience which ended up with the young boy being bullied because he was not used to such a setting of education, he was a bit chubby, and fat and vulnerable such treatment (Golden Dawn Pedia 2). He later joined the Moral Science Tripos at Trinity Collegein in 1895 to study philosophy but late switched to English literature. It is at Cambridge that he developed an interest in alchemy as he interacted with Julian Baker who later introduced him to George Cecil Jones of the Hermetic order of the Golden dawn. He later left Cambridge as he almost graduated with a degree

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 8

Criminology - Essay Example erefore, the classical philosophers and other modern scholars of American criminology founded varied theories regarding the issue of crime as a social phenomenon. Understanding criminology theories depend on the relationships made in formulating them and each theory differ from one situation to another. Therefore, social learning theory is one of the criminology theories that explain the way people develop their behaviors through socialization. This theory argues  that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"as social creatures, our behavior is a product of our environment,† thus understanding social learning theory is imperative because it enables the policy makers to implement effective strategies for combating crime issues in the society. Social learning theory is one of the criminology theories that attempt to address the issue of the social environment and the way it influences crimes of all sorts. Understanding social learning theory in criminology can be simple or complex, but this depends on the relationships made by social scientists in formulating theories (Akers 56). However, this theory is significant because it enables criminal investigators to understand the way crime are committed and what influences them. This is vital because it enables the policy makers to implement effective ways of controlling such crimes that result through learning from social environments. This can be through providing mass education programs to the public on the consequences of involving in crime activities and encouraging people in the society to serve as role models to others. Social learning theory controls the behaviors of an individual in the society. Therefore, understanding this theory is essential because it enables one to understand the study of criminology. Learning refers to the habit or knowledge gained as a result of experiences within the surrounding environment. It is opposed to instinct, drives or genetic predispositions, thus enabling people to understand criminology study (Furst 96). The

The greenhouse effect and ozone depletion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The greenhouse effect and ozone depletion - Essay Example However, due to the fact that the earth is cooler than the sun, the wavelength of the energy radiated back lies within the infrared region of the spectrum. Most of this thermal radiation is absorbed by the clouds and other parts in the atmosphere and is radiated again to the earth. This entire effect is termed as the greenhouse effect. Due to this effect, the temperature of the earth is maintained at levels which allow life to be possible, albeit this effect is useful, the use of human activities, majorly, the deforestation and the burning of the fossil fuels have led to an intensified green house effect. This has ultimately led to global warming (IPPC, 2007). The natural greenhouse effect involves certain greenhouse gases. These include, oxygen nitrogen, carbon dioxide etc. As a result of the natural greenhouse effect, the gases present in trace amounts within the atmosphere play a vital role in raising the temperature. This phenomenon is of immense concern since it leads to changes at sea level, changes in the weather (Myhre & Shindell, 2013). The greenhouse effect is not only caused by natural factors but also by anthropogenic sources. This human induced green house effect is mainly due to the energy sector which plays the role of the second largest contributor of emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases. This accounted for 26 percent of emissions in 2005 (Myhre & Shindell, 2013). Further, the coal mining activities, waste from home and businesses and agriculture accounts for the release of the greenhouse gas methane. This gas causes global warming through excessive greenhouse effect resulting in a climate change. These climate impacts are in relation with the rate of temperature rise while other impacts are related to the extent of temperature rise (EPA, 2015). It is believed that the levels of CO2 have increased by 38% while those of methane have increased by 148% since 2009. These gases aid in increased infrared energy emitted by the

Reflective Writing on Marketing Essay Example for Free

Reflective Writing on Marketing Essay During your time at university you will spend a lot of your time thinking – thinking about what people have said, your reading, your own thinking and how your thinking has changed. The thinking process involves two aspects: reflective thinking and critical thinking. Rather than being two separate processes they are closely connected. (Brookfield 1987) Reflective thinking Reflection is a form of personal response to experiences, situations, events or new information. It is a ‘processing’ phase where thinking and learning take place. There is neither a right nor wrong way of reflective thinking; there are just questions to explore. The reflective thinking process starts with you. Before you can begin to assess the words and ideas of others, you need to pause and identify and examine your own thoughts. This involves revisiting your prior experience and knowledge of the topic you are exploring. It also involves considering how and why you think the way you do. The examination of your beliefs, values, attitudes and assumptions forms the foundation of your understanding. Reflective thinking demands that you recognise that you bring valuable knowledge to every experience. It helps you therefore to recognise and clarify the important connections between what you already know and what you are learning. It is a way of helping you to become an active, aware and critical learner. What is Reflective writing? Reflective writing is: * Your response to experiences, opinions, events or new information * Your response to thoughts and feelings * A way of thinking to explore your learning * An opportunity to gain self-knowledge * A way to achieve clarity and better understanding of what you are learning * A chance to develop and reinforce writing skills * A way of making meaning out of what you study Reflective writing is not: * Just conveying information, instruction or argument * Pure description, though there may be descriptive elements * Straightforward decision or judgement (e.g. about whether something is right or wrong, good or bad) * Simple problem-solving * A summary of unit notes * A standard university essay Why you are asked to do this type of assignment * To make connections The idea behind reflective writing is that what you learn at university builds on your prior knowledge, whether it is formal (education) or informal (gained through experience). Reflective writing helps you develop and clarify the connections between what you already know and what you are learning, between theory and practice and between what you are doing and how and why you do it. * To examine your learning processes Reflective writing encourages you to consider and comment on your learning experiences – not only WHAT you’ve learned, but HOW you did so. * To clarify what you are learning Reflecting helps you to clarify what you have studied, integrate new knowledge with previous knowledge, and identify the questions you have and what you have yet to learn. * To reflect on mistakes and successes Reflecting on mistakes can help you avoid repeating them. At the same time, reflecting on your discoveries helps identify successful principles to use again. * To become an active and aware learner * To become a reflective practitioner once you graduate and begin your professional life How to write reflectively What to discuss * Your perceptions of the course and the content. * Experiences, ideas and observations you have had, and how they relate to the course or topic. * What you found confusing, inspiring, difficult, interesting and why. * Questions you have and conclusions you have drawn. * How you solved a problem, reached a conclusion, found an answer or reached a point of understanding. * Possibilities, speculations, hypotheses or solutions. * Alternative interpretations or different perspectives on what you have read or done in your course. * How new ideas challenge what you already know. * What you need to explore next in terms of thoughts and actions. * Comparisons and connections between what you are learning and: * Your prior knowledge and experience; * Your prior assumptions and preconceptions; * What you know from other courses, units or disciplines. Writing style As it concerns your thoughts, reflective writing is mostly subjective. Therefore, in addition to being reflective and logical, you can be personal, hypothetical, critical and creative. You can comment based on your experience, rather than limiting yourself to academic evidence. * Reflective writing is an activity that includes description (what, when, who) and analysis (how, why, what if). It is an explorative tool often resulting in more questions than answers. * Use full sentences and complete paragraphs. * You can usually use personal pronouns like ‘I’, ‘my’ or ‘we’. * Keep colloquial language to a minimum (e.g. stuff, guys) * A reflective task may allow you to use different modes of writing and language: * Descriptive (outlining how something is or how something was done) * Explanatory (explaining why or how it is like that) * Expressive (I think, I feel, I believe) Tips for your reflective writing process 1. Think of interaction, event or episode you experienced that can be connected to the topic. 2. Describe what happened. 3. What was your role? 4. What feelings and perceptions surround the experience? 5. How would you explain the situation to someone else? 6. What might this experience mean in the context of your course? 7. What other perspectives, theories or concepts could be applied to the situation? References Brookfield, S 1987, Developing critical thinkers: challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting, Open University Press, Milton Keynes. Acknowledgement: The preceding material was adapted from The Learning Centre, The University of NSW. Used by permission. Additional notes: Steps for writing a reflective paper: 1.Start your self-reflection paper with an introductory paragraph. This introduction should help set the stage for the reader and should contain the main point of the paper. This would be a good paragraph in which to include information about how the subject and the material impacted your life, whether it reinforced your current views or caused you to change your way of thinking. 2.Write a paragraph or two about the impact the lecturer, classroom/tutorial discussions or the textbook material had on you during the course. Describe emotions you felt you felt or changes you experienced in your personal life due to the topic or the subject. If your opinions on different subjects changed due to these factors be sure to provide your previous opinion and explain why you changed your stance. If your opinions did not change, explain why. 3.Describe a moment during the class that was the most eye-opening for you. One example would be if during a lecture/tutorial the lecturer/tutor used a specific story or analogy to help explain the material that made the lesson really clear for you. Reflect on how you felt when you finally understood the lesson and how that lesson might have impacted the way you think. 4.Write a paragraph explaining how the information from the subject has impacted the way you will think, act and feel in the future long after the semester is over. You may want to include how this subject has changed how you approach other subjects in your degree or life in general. 5.Give feedback in your paper and share your opinions and ideas about how the subject can be improved. Share what you liked about the subject and what material helped you learn the most. Finish the paper by writing a conclusion that summarizes the main points of the paper. This is just one way of structuring reflective writing. Whichever approach to reflection you use try to bear in mind the following key points: * Reflection is an exploration and an explanation of events – not just a description of them. * Genuinely reflective writing often involves ‘revealing’ anxieties, errors and weaknesses, as well as strengths and successes. This is fine (in fact it’s often essential), as long as you show some understanding of possible causes, and explain how you plan to improve. * It is normally necessary to select just the most significant parts of the event or idea on which you are reflecting. If you try to tell ‘the whole story’ you will likely use up your words on description rather than interpretation. * It is often useful to ‘reflect forward’ to the future as well as ‘reflecting back’ on the past. Vocabulary aid (adapted from University of Portsmouth, Dept for Curriculum and Quality Enhancem ent) The following are just a few suggestions for words and phrases that might be useful in reflective writing. Obviously, using these words and phrases will not in itself make you a good reflective writer. 1.Description There is no suggestion of specific vocabulary for any descriptive elements of your reflective writing because the range of possible events, ideas or objects on which you may be reflecting on is so great. However, if you are describing an idea, for example a theory or model, it is usually best to use the present tense e.g. ‘Buyer behaviour theory recognises†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (not ‘recognised’). Events, of course, are nearly always described in the past tense. 2.Interpretation | | {aspect(s){elements(s){experience(s){issue(s)Idea(s)| Was (were)| For me, the [most]| {meaningful{significant{important{relevant{useful| | | | | learning| {arose from†¦{happened when†¦{resulted from†¦| Previously,}At the time,}At first}Initially,}Subsequently,}Later,}| I| {thought (did not think)†¦{felt (did not feel)†¦{knew (did not know)†¦{noticed (did not notice)†¦{questioned (did not question)†¦{realised (did not realise)†¦| | [Alternatively,][Equally,]| This| {might be{is perhaps{could be{is probably| {because of†¦{due to†¦{explained by†¦{related to†¦| | This| {is similar to†¦{is unlike†¦| because| | [Un]like†¦| this| {reveals†¦{demonstrates†¦| 3.Outcome Having| {read†¦{experienced†¦{applied†¦{discussed†¦{analysed†¦{learned†¦| I now| {feel†¦{think†¦{realise†¦{wonder†¦{question†¦{know†¦| | [Additionally,]}[Furthermore,]}[Most importantly,]}| I have learned that†¦| | I have significantly} slightly}However, I have not [sufficiently]}| {developed{improved| {my skills in†¦{my understanding of†¦{my knowledge of†¦{my ability to†¦| | | This means that†¦This makes me feel†¦| | | This knowledge {isThis understanding {could beThis skill {will be| {essential{important{useful| {to me as a learner [because†¦]{to me as a practitioner [because†¦]| | Because I| {did not†¦{have not yet†¦{am not yet certain about†¦{am not yet confident about†¦{do not yet know†¦{do not yet understand†¦| I will now need to†¦| | | As a next step, I need to†¦| | | More on Reflection What is reflection? A simple definition of reflection can be ‘consciously thinking about and analysing what you are doing and what you have done; thinking about what and how you have learnt. There is a lot of theory behind reflection that can be very complex. Most of the theory relates to seeing reflection as part of the cycle of learning (Figure 1). Initially students focus on knowledge, comprehension and application of subject matter. These three levels of learning are the easiest especially if the application is in a limited context e.g. worded problems from a text book. For higher levels of learning (application of knowledge in real world problems) you must be able to analyse, synthesise and evaluate as shown in Table 1. Reflection is a key part of moving into these higher levels of learning. Figure 1. Leaning cycle and examples of each phase Table 1 Six levels of learning Increasing Difficulty| Process| Explanation| | Knowledge| Recognition and recall of information and facts describing events| | Comprehension| Interprets, translates or summarises given information demonstrating understanding of events| | Application| Uses information in a situation different from original learning context -| | Analysis| Separates wholes into parts until relationships are clear – breaks down experiences| | Synthesis| Combines elements to form new entity from the original one draws on experience and other evidence to suggest new insights| | Evaluation| Involves acts of decision making, or judging based on criteria or rationale makes judgements about| Why reflect what are the benefits to the student? Learning is both an active and a reflective process. If you look at the learning cycle in Figure 1 you can see that reflection or thinking about what you have done and how and why you did it, form an integral part of learning. Because learning is often subconscious, we don’t realise that we have gained new knowledge or understanding until we stop to contemplate a particular activity. Reflection then, is a way for critical analysis, problem solving, synthesis of opposing ideas, evaluation, identifying patterns and creating meaning. Reflection will help you reach the higher levels of learning. Most students are focused on the lower levels of learning. â€Å"What do I have to know and demonstrate to pass the exam?† This is a very short-sighted approach to your time at university. You will not be able to remember all the facts and knowledge you have learnt in subjects unless you can fully understand, analyse and evaluate them. As you progress through your degree you will continually need information and knowledge from other subjects and this knowledge will build on previous knowledge. You must be able to attain the higher levels of learning in order to be successful in your degree and later in your professional life. Your learning and the need to learn will not stop with the end of your university degree. Most aspects of learning are common to all disciplines but sometimes there are different emphasises on certain learning skills. For example, generally speaking at university more emphasis is placed on the understanding of the methodology and the processes of problem solving. In this context, reflection will help you to detach yourself from the facts and put them into a larger context. Higher level courses at university as a business student bring a closer interaction between academic work and practical experience. Reflective practice here is critical in providing opportunities to identify areas for improvement and evaluation of the overall outcome including your decision making processes. Reflection can help bridge the gap between theory and practice and will enable you to understand your own thinking and learning. Another benefit is that it encourages you to look beyond your academic accomplishment and recognise the depth and range of other transferable skills. University is more than learning about facts and figures, it is a life experience. You will not learn everything that you need in your professional life at university. Your learning will be life long, so take some time to think about what skills you bring with you to university and what you learn along the way. How do I ‘reflect’? Reflection does not mean that you sit in the lotus position, humming meditative chants. Reflection can be active and need not take away from your ‘study time’. It is an important tool that can be used in all your university and professional work. Opportunities for reflection should occur before, during and after activities. That way you can take note of your learning starting point, assess your progress through the project and critically evaluate your learning at the end of the activity. Look critically at what you have done, what you’re team did and what the outcomes were. You need to ask yourself the why, how and what type of questions. Introducing Reflection Reflection is an important part of your learning whether you do it consciously or not. But what exactly is it? An excellent description of reflection can be found in the Harry Potter novel ‘ The Goblet of Fire’. In the paragraph below Dumbledore, the chief wizard and head teacher, is talking to Harry about having excess thoughts! ‘Harry stared at the stone basin. The contents had returned to their original, silvery white state, swirling and rippling beneath his gaze. â€Å"What is it?† Harry asked shakily. â€Å"This? It is called a Pensieve,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.† â€Å"Err,† said Harry who couldn’t truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort. â€Å"At these times† said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, â€Å"I use the Penseive. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into a basin, and examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.’ (Rowling 2000) During the semester and in your reflective writing we are asking you to think about the process you have been through, how these events affected your behaviour, to think about what you have learnt, and to evaluate your performance. By writing these things down it will give you the opportunity to clarify your thoughts and to spot the patterns and links. Reflective writing examples As an example, look at the following two critiques – one is a better example than the other! [King (2002) Development of Student Skills In Reflective Writing, p 16, http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/iced2002/publication/Terry_King.pdf ] 1.I woke up late because my alarm didn’t ring. My own fault, but there you are. By the time I had finished my breakfast (my usual bowl of cornflakes, and a cup of black coffee with three sugars), I had missed my bus (that’s the number 9a, picked up at the bus stop outside Halfords), which had left on time (just for a change).So I got to University, and by the time I had found the right room, I was over 30 minutes late for the OOPR2 Exam. Unfortunately, the invigilator wouldn’t let me take the exam because it was â€Å"against University regulations†. Didn’t he realise how important it was for me to pass that exam? My overall grade depends on it, and now I stand to have a resit in September when I wanted to have my holiday in Ibiza.| 2.I was over 30 minutes late for my exam, which meant I was not allowed to sit it. This will have repercussions on my degree mark, and on my holiday plans. This is the first time I have actually missed an exam, but not t he first time I’ve actually been late to exams and important interviews. I have learned that:†¢ I need to improve my time-keeping for critical events†¢ The University has strict rules governing late arrivals at exams†¢ I need to be better preparedThe reasons that I arrived late were:†¢ My alarm clock didn’t ring because I forgot to reset its time after daylight saving on Saturday night (although I had reset all the other clocks in the house).†¢ I totally rely on the alarm clock ringing I have no back-up system†¢ I rely on my bus – a break down or it leaving early would also cause me to be late†¢ I did not know in which room the exam was; if I had, I would still have been a few minutes late, but at least I could have sat the exam.In order to improve the situation for next year, I plan to:†¢ Have a process to check all the clocks in the house when the clocks are due to change†¢ Make sure I have a back-up alarm system ( using my digital watch) for all days when it’s important to get up early†¢ On exam day, aim to catch the earlier bus †¦ its only 20 minutes earlier.†¢ Possibly consider missing breakfast, and buying a sandwich on the way from the bus to the exam room. I do believe that a good breakfast is important though!†¢ Make sure I know the correct room well in advance of the exam, by checking each room number when I first get the timetable.I suspect I need to reflect more on my priorities – this degree is really very important to me.|

Company needs to analyze the general environment

Company needs to analyze the general environment A large company needs to analyze the general environment when making global strategy and doing international business. Included by the general environment, the terms of demographic, economic, political/legal, sociocultural, technological and global have different impacts on the strategy of a company. Demographic In the term of demographic, it can be divided into two factors, gender and age, which are important to the market of Nike, because Nike, a large multinational company, has stores in almost all regions over the world, and the strategy making can be focused on these two factors. Focused on the gender, the market of female is great and the need of sportswear for women is high. Firstly, the women sports players are getting more and more professional and begin to stand on the stage of the world high level games such as Olympic Games and grand slam in tennis, which makes female sports players and their fans have a need of sportswear. Secondly, with the development of the society of most countries, women are getting aware the importance of their rights (Foster, 2001), which helps them have a thought of taking sports like males. Also, in the term of age, Nike has a market of middle aged people in some countries especially in China, and it can provide casual sportswear to meet the target customers needs. First of all, though Nike used Jordan to make advertisement several years ago and changed the person who cooperates with the company, the fans of the heroes will not change and still have a need of Nike sportswear (Jung, 2005). Also, after entering the Chinese market in 1995, the revenue of Nike is stably growing and gains a group of people who have high loyalty of the Nike brand (Jung, 2005), and the age of these loyal customers is getting higher, which may become a huge needs of sportswear suitable for middle aged people. Through demographic, the females and middle aged people may have a huge need of Nike sportswear and will become a large market. And, when Nike is meeting the youngsters needs of profession, the middle aged customers may have more needs of fitness rather than competition. So Nike can design some new series of sportswear to meet their needs. Political/legal To save the cost is essential for a large company like Nike; Asian sourcing has allowed low manufacturing costs relative to the quality of the products. Thus, Asian sourcing has always been nearly as central to Nike strategy as using famous athletes to attest to the virtues of Nike equipment in athletic performances (Kahle, Boush and Phelps, 2000, p43). However, Nike is blamed for using low labor in low cost lacking of humanity. Nike seems to pay salaries lower than the standard given by the Indian government (Jung, 2005). This problem will leave really negative influences on Nike. Also, outsourcing production to factories in Vietnam and labors are used without human rights, such as working overtime and being neglected the health situation, brings out conflicts between the company and the society. Nike may lose its reputation among customers, and the brand of Nike may become not as cool as it should be. When the challenge started coming about labor conditions in Vietnam and Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, everyone heard about Nike workers without, of course, making the distinction that they were contract workers. When all of this was going on, about a third of the senior managers were in tears during the meeting. They were embarrassed- with their neighbors, their families, and their friends- by being Nike employees. Said Schwartz (2000, p8) The legality of labor using should be concerned by Nike even it just outsource the production to other factories, because the legality may affect Nikes reputation a lot. And both the revenue and the royalty of customers will be affected by the changes of reputation. So, the legality is what manufacturing companies like Nike has to concern about, because society confirms a businesss legitimacy, and failure to consider societal impact can destroy a reputation. (Schwartz, 2000, p7) Economic The economic situation for a country should be concerned by companies doing international business like Nike, because peoples budget that affects the marketing potential is influenced by the economy and financial policy of the country. Since the needs of the market will depend on the budget and economic behavior of people (Boje, 2001), companies should think about the economic term. With the broken out of subprime crisis, the economy of US is going worse, and a large number of countries, such as Iceland, have been negatively influenced, which will lead to a retrench of budget and the market. Also, in countries who are sensitive to finance such as US, UK and Swiss, people are going with the budget strictly (Francesco and Gold, 2001, p27), and with the downward economic situation, the market may get smaller. However, the markets in the regions not affected greatly such as Asia and Middle Eastern is more stable relatively. Under this kind of situation, the needs of products and the market should become lower and smaller. Also, with the growth of the cost, it may lead to a reduction of revenue in the whole and restrict the development of Nike in the worldwide market though Nike may have the capability to keep the market share and still win the competition among Adidas, Puma and Nike. Sociocultural As a sportswear company, Nike needs to know what the socioculture, a persons understanding of sports, should be in a region or a field of sports events. First of all, it is found that people are always showing the respect to heroes, especially the sports heroes in real life (Jung, 2005), so companies including Nike uses excellent sports players like Jordan to make film and advertisements for it in order to develop peoples adoration to the heroes so that the needs will be created. Also, because of the culture of success adoration, the needs may get enhanced if fans of the heroes feel that Nike can make positive effects on them. And Nike got additional market value when Tiger is in contention to win and a positive impact on his performance because of Nikes products is believed by the society (Farrell, Karels and McClatchey, 2000, p3). However, people in different areas have different sociocultures on sport events, such as soccer for Europe and basketball for US, so when making strategi es, Nike can try to identify the different needs in the target markets. So, to understand the socioculture of a region can help companies like Nike define its target market and find an appropriate way to make marketing and promotion. Also, according to the sports culture of an area and the needs of target market, to communicate with local players and design a product with them might be helpful in terms of both market and technology. Technological Customers nowadays have higher requirements on the technology of the products. Firstly, people are more captious than before. The technology of Nike Air gets blamed because people find that the air cannot support feet enough and may lead to injury(CBC News, 2006). Also, people need Nikes products be made with the technology of not only fitness and safety but also fashionable and cool one such as IT technology. Nike is working with Apple and produce Nike+ with a sensor connecting iPod in order to meet peoples needs. The needs of hi-tech make companies like Nike and IT companies like Apple come together, working out a strategy and making innovation in order to enhance the strength of them and achieve the markets needs. Global With the pace of globalization, areas in different parts of the world get connection and MNCs are setting more and more stores in different regions. Though Nike has great quantity of store all over the world, it can control all the stores at the same time (Hansen and Nohria, 2006, p12). However, though countries go closer because of the globalization, special needs in different cultures are still exist, which makes Nikes products have some differences when selling in different regions. This situation leaves Nikes products a diversification even in one series. But too diversified products will lead to a mass in the market and make customers feel confusing (Hemp, 2006, p50). Nike should make some differences in its products in order to meet different needs, but the standardization of products should also be focused. So, to make the balance between centralization and diversification of the products is what Nike should concern about in the global market. Industrial Environment In the term of industrial environment, the five forces model created by Michael Porter will be used to analyze Nike. Rivalry among competing firms Since Nike is an international company that has their product selling worldwide, it has countless of competitors, including many domestic local firms. However, only a few international companies are Nikes major competitors, such as Adidas, Reebok and Puma. Also, merger makes the athletics industry more concentrated. Nike bought Converse in 2003 and Adidas bought Reebok in August 2005, and half of the worldwide market is shared by these two top players (Jung, 2005). And, the notable companies such as Adidas, New Balance have different values and markets. Nike has a main market for US basketball while Adidass is European soccer and fashion and casual sports for New Balance, which makes them have different markets and target customers. However, to enter a new market like soccer is not easy for Nike even it made great efforts. Nike worked with Google to create joga.com, an Orkut-like site for soccer fans (Christopher, 2008, p6) in order to develop the soccer market which is defined as on e of the most important in terms of growth rate (Pagliano, 2004). So the rivalry among competing firms is low because there are few companies with strong competing power, but the competition among large companies is great. And, if Nike wants to develop the soccer market in Europe, the great investment on advertising and a method of changing the classic and traditional culture of Europeans should be concerned. Threat of new entrants Top players, such as Nike, Adidas and Puma, in the footwear industry made a high entry barrier to reduce the threat of new comers. First of all, these companies put a great investment on advertisement and marketing. Nike had 50 sponsored Athletes win a gold medal in Athens 2004. Adidas spent $80 million for the Official Sportswear partner title in Beijing 2008. And the high investment makes new firms hard to compete with them, even enter the market because sales for companies in this industry mainly depend on the marketing performance (Christopher, 2008, p6). Innovation is another way to keep a lead on would be competitors. Companies are making efforts to develop their technology and create new functions such as Nike+, the sensor connecting with iPod, which can not only gain more customers but also keep new firms with low technology out of the worldwide market. However, though Nike and Adidas are leading the market, a local company, Li-Ning, came to the worldwide market. Li-Ning sponsors 4 Chinese teams for the Olympics, and its products are about half as expensive as those of its foreign rivals, and its network of stores dwarfs that of any other player (Terjesen, 2007), which might be the advantage for Li-Ning. So, local companies may succeed to enter the local market and use its low price as advantage to compete with leaders though the entering barrier is high. Nike should focus on the new comers with both the development of technology and lower price who might become a strong threat to top players in the future when making strategies, even though these local companies cannot compete with Nike today. Threats of substitutes Since athletic shoes and sportswear are designed to improve comfort and personal safety during sports, the substitutes for athletic footwear products are low because there are little alternatives to switch. Though people except athletes are still likely to use boots or sandals to substitute sportswear, doing sports is an essential and basic factor in peoples life and the need of sportswear is exist for everyone. Therefore, there are no real substitutes for athletic footwear and sportswear. Bargaining power of supplier In order to reduce the cost, Nike make outsourcing of their process of production to low labor cost countries, mainly China and Vietnam. Nikes products are manufactured in more than 700 factories and more than 500,000 workers in 51 countries, but only over 20000 direct employees for Nike working in US (Locke, 2006, p6). Suppliers have very low power since they are competing worldwide with thousands of other suppliers. Also, firms like Nike are able to switch between suppliers quickly and cheaply, so these suppliers become dependent on these firms for survival. And, the competition among factories is really high even problems such as low wages in Indonesia, child labor in Pakistan and health and safety problems in Vietnam occurred (Locke, 2006, pp.13-16) because of the low bargaining power of supplier. Bargaining power of buyer The threat of bargaining power of buyer is low because customers do not have a lot of choices when they are choosing athletic wears. First of all, unlike other products, footwear has its own function such as an improvement of safety. Customers, especially athletes, have a need of the technology of the shoes which is the strength of large companies such as Adidas, Nike even Li-Ning. Also, the fans of sports players will use what the players use, which helps companies like Nike and Adidas build a loyalty of customers. The sales of Nike Golf products grew a lot when Tiger Woods showed an improvement in his performance (Farrell, Karels and McClatchey, 2000, p3) because customers also want to improve their performance by using Nikes products. However, though the bargaining power of buyer is low in the industry, some people are buying products of Nike because of the apotheosis of their sports heroes, which shows that a lot of customers may have a loyalty to other brand like Adidas and Li-Ning. So to attract people without brand loyalty is much easier and more important than concentrating on those with a high loyalty to their heroes. Conclusion The analysis of general environment and industrial environment can be concluded that Nike nowadays is under low threats in the industry with some problems still existing. Also, as a leading company of sportswear industry, Nike should not only focus on the development of technology and working with companies in other industries, but also keep the high quality of marketing and promotion. And, the factories Nike does outsourcing business with should be executed by direct employees from Nike because the neglecting of the problems happened in these factories will result in a loss of reputation. With the pace of globalization, there are both threats and opportunities for Nike. And to concern the environment of the industry and the world market will help Nike make strategies and develop more easily and scientifically.