Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Research Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Plan - Essay Example These trading companies, once in a foreign land, used to try influencing the ruling class in order to strengthen their business goals. Gradually these companies also succeeded in capturing power in those countries, thus giving rise to the practice of imperialism. This practice also led to many wars around the world resisting the imperialistic trends. But the recent trend is different from the imperialistic trends. Now the liberalisation policies have opened up the turf for competition from all around. With multinational companies reaching out to almost all parts of the world, the smaller domestic companies have started feeling the competition. To study this phenomenon we will; 2. How the e-business saga emerged in the developed world followed in quick succession by the developing world nations. Asian region and some of the so-called lesser developing nations have emerged as key players in this globalisation regime. E-Business or online business activities are closely linked to the process of industrialisation, computerisation, IT penetration and overall development of the country’s economy. Developed nations in the western world have played a leading role in such matters; therefore, it is quite natural that these economies played a key role in the development and proliferation of e-business activities. But as the profit margins started shrinking, the economies of scale coupled with the size of the available market started becoming major factors in carrying forward the e-business opportunities. The Asian region led by countries like China and India, with billions of population and an equally dependable IT infrastructure started attracting the multinational companies (MNCs). On the one hand these MNCs started depending on the Asian region for production of goods and services because of lower production costs, on the other hand the availability of huge market also became an

Monday, October 28, 2019

Founding Fathers of Psychology Essay Example for Free

Founding Fathers of Psychology Essay These four men that we are about to talk about are some of the, if not the most important people in psychology. One developed psychology as a school of thought and published the first book on the subject which opened the door for another to develop his theories. Years after the book came out another thinker was inspired to look into the human mind and this time with a more scientifically critical mind and approach, there was a common reason people had problem, he just was not positive what. This lead two of his students to move on and one focus on the individual versus what the majority has a problem with and made sure that treatment focused on them. The second looked more in depth into what naturally came into our subconscious and how that affected us and our development. These were the non-official founding fathers of psychology. This man never even practiced medicine yet, after graduating from Harvard he went on to become an influential person in psychology (Stone, 2000). In addition to many other things that William James did to help with the field of psychology, especially the psychological aspects of religion he also dabbled in the use of scientific methods to investigate the mostly untouched spiritual and psychic realm. He was also the first one to fight for psychology to be recognized as a science, everyone after him has him to thank for the distinction as a science (Croce, 2010). The way he fought was just a more unorthodox way of going about it, he did not even like to be called psychologist, in fact he preferred the term philosopher (Goodwin, 2008). He eventually developed a position that would become the foundation for the functional psychologists, this was known as pragmatism. This was based on the belief that a person had control over what they do and life changes those experiences. This lead to a book that would change the way people looked at psychology as something to take seriously, the Principles of Psychology became the first text book type publication on this subject which led to people like Sigmund Freud and others to develop their theories as well. Freud is one of the most famous of them all, when anyone thinks of psychology that has not looking in depth into its history will always think of Freud. Freud was not all the way people portray him either if something seemed to be too damaging for his patient it was stopped (Chessick, 2000). Psychoanalysis is hard on everyone on the situation because it digs deep into what makes a person act the way they do. Freud was said to have a unique approach to his patients for his time frame. He realized that when a person learns something new or experiences something new it does indeed change something about that person, he also knew that the past had something do with it and that there were layers of consciousness to a person that has an effect as well. He made them a part of their therapy and listened to what they wanted out of their therapy instead of dictating to them what they should do with themselves (Frank, 2008). He wanted his patients to be able to be free with themselves and learning their own hindrances that may keep them from doing something that they should be doing with themselves. He wanted them to be their own person and not held back by whatever has brought them to him. Freud himself focused more on assigning a general reason for people to behave the way they did which is what influenced his students to branch out. Alfred Adler joined Freud’s psychoanalytic movement in 1902, but he left the group in 1911 because of persistent disagreements with Freudian theory (Overholser, 2010). This approach that Adler created was called the Individualistic approach this approach focuses solely on the patient and what experiences have shaped them over the course of their life. This is one of the most in depth ways to psychoanalyze people, realizing the perceived flaw in Freud’s theory; he took a look at what made the individual unique and how that changed their human experience. This helps improve the one so that eventually that one will go out into society and become responsible for themselves and each other as good members of it. Adler continued to believe that Freud had made a point by looking back at ones childhood for answers but rather than focusing on the sexual root to the problem, he focused on the feelings that came out of a situation (Lafountain, 2009). For example, if one grew up afraid to take charge of situations because someone else always did it for them, they could have trouble later in life trying to be in charge of themselves or other people. After studying with Freud he went on to focus on how society affects an individual and how that individual functions in society. He believed there were three things a person needed to accomplish in life to be a healthy socially minded person. First is the task of finding how to survive, a job, maintaining ones house, the responsible things. Second is cooperating and being civil as well as respectful to society. Third are intimate relationships, having children, friends, a spouse. All three of these were crucial to being a normally functioning person in society (Lafountain, 2010). Basically a person is unique in nearly all aspects of their life and that needs to be taken into account in each and every case from psychology to teaching because not everyone is going to fit together well. Carl Jung, as with Adler was inspired and influenced by Freud in the early years of his career and as with that came the eventual disagreement and him going his separate way. He redefined some of terms that we are more familiar with today. He gave us the terms; introvert, extrovert, conscious, unconscious, collective unconscious, persona, archetype, and more importantly psyche. These were terms to simplify and classify different processes going on in the brain at any given moment, one of the other more important and less verifiable is the theory of collective unconsciousness, this is the belief that collectively humans have a psychological knowledge that they can draw on that is inherent in our genetic make-up (Carter, 2011). This was closely followed by the archetypes which without collective unconscious as a theory would not be feasible, the archetypes are what those thoughts are made up of in the collective unconscious, something like innate nature that says we are inherently supposed to fear things that would do us harm. Studying this brings out what is instinctual in humans versus what is something that they are aware of doing, much like Freud’s subconscious thought theory. Both agreed that there are things that are in humans that are unconscious and just happen and those needed to be studied and understood as well (Carter, 2010). Jungian followers believed that like Freud dreams had meaning but in Jung’s school this allowed the person analyzing the dreams to free associate the meaning based off of their own knowledge of mythology and life versus what would be from the person who is being analyzed own life. The thought was that collective unconscious would make the analyst come to the correct conclusion based on unconscious thoughts going back and forth between the two. These four individuals shaped psychology as what it is today, they both indirectly and directly influenced each other even when some of them never met and history has diminished their accomplishments. James started it all with the mind of a philosopher who enjoyed the concreteness of what science proved but also the mystery of what it left open. Freud was a philosopher who thought more as a scientist and therefore opened the idea that the brain has hidden information in it that needed to be discovered to learn what makes a person themselves. This led Jung and Adler to take his ideals and expand on them where they agreed and where they disagreed. Without them psychology would not be where it is today and you can see little bits of what they contributed throughout its history. . References  Carter, D. (2011). CARL JUNG IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. Contemporary Review, 293(1703), 441. Chessick, R. D. (2000). Psychoanalysis at the Millennium. American Journal Of Psychotherapy, 54(3), 277. Croce, P. J. (2010). Reaching beyond Uncle William: A century of William James in theory and in life. History Of Psychology, 13(4), 351-377. doi:10. 1037/a0021106 Frank, G. (2008). A response to The relevance of Sigmund Freud for the 21st century. . Psychoanalytic Psychology, 25(2), 375-379. doi:10. 1037/0736-9735. 25. 2. 375 Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Lafountain, R. (2009). Alfred Adlers Place in the Field of Psychology. Washington, District of Columbia, US: APA Division 1, Society for General Psychology. Overholser, J. C. (2010). Psychotherapy that strives to encourage social interest: A simulated interview with Alfred Adler. Journal Of Psychotherapy Integration, 20(4), 347-363. doi:10. 1037/a0022033 Stone, A. A. (2000). Images in psychiatry: William James, 1842-1910. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(10), 1583-1583. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/220496188? accountid=35812.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

A Pentadic Analysis of Two Pleas for Christian Unity :: Religion Christians Christianity Burke Papers

A Pentadic Analysis of Two Pleas for Christian Unity Introduction The prayer for Christian unity began with Christ, himself (John 1:21), and continues today. This essay proposes to examine two pleas for Christian unity using the rhetorical theory of Kenneth Burke. According to Em Griffin, "Kenneth Burke was the foremost rhetorician of the twentieth century. Burke wrote about rhetoric; other rhetoricians write about Burke" (319). Burke's theory seems especially relevant to the study of pleas for unity because of his focus on identification. For Burke, rhetoric is identification. "You persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his" (Rhetoric 55). Additionally, Burke equates identification with consubstantiality. "To identify A with B is to make A 'consubstantial' with B" (Rhetoric 21). The two calls for Christian unity to be analyzed are Thomas Campbell's "Declaration and Address" and E. Glenn Wagner's The Awesome Power of Shared Beliefs. Campbell's address is important because of its historical significance. "This document, which calls for Christian unity through a return to the clear and unambiguous teachings of the New Testament, in many ways chartered the course for the movement the Campbells led" (Hughes 11). Wagner's book is chosen because of the contemporary prominence of the Promise Keepers movement. This essay will proceed by explaining relevant aspects of Kenneth Burke's works, including the methodology to be used, applying the methodology to the two pleas, and discussing the results. Dramatism and the Pentad Burke saw life as a drama played out in our language. By examining the words of a person, you can determine his or her motives. Motives are grammatical creations which explain "what people are doing and why they are doing it" (Grammar x). Foss provides the following explanation: We use rhetoric to constitute and present a particular view of our situation, just as the presentation of a play creates a certain world or situation inhabited by characters who engage in actions in a setting. Through rhetoric, we size up situations and name their structures and outstanding ingredients. How we describe a situation indicates how we are perceiving it, the choices we see available to us, and the action we are likely to take in our situation. (456) The pentad is a the tool used to investigate motives. Burke writes, ". . . any complete statement about motives will offer some kind of answer to these five questions: what was done (act), when or where it was done (scene), who did it (agent), how he did it (agency), and why (purpose)" (Grammar x).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Movers and Shakers in Education Essay

Trailblazers in American Education There have been several individuals throughout America’s history who have helped develop, shape, advance, balance, and reform education to what it is today. America’s educational system has a rich background from its roots of one room school houses to our current system of education which offers an array of opportunities for students to obtain a public education. John Dewey John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey is known as the founder of the progressive education movement. He argued that it was the job of education to encourage individuals to develop their full potential as human beings. Dewey’s educational theories were presented in a variety of books he authored. Several continuous themes ring true in most of Dewey’s books. They include his frequent argument that education and learning are social and interactive processes, thus school should be considered a social institution where social reform can and ought to take place. In addition, he believed that students thrive in an environment where they are allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum so all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning. He was especially critical of forms of memorization learning where repetition of facts and information was exercised. He argued that children should learn by experience. Rather than just gaining knowledge, Dewey believed that students should develop skills, habits and attitudes necessary for them to solve a wide variety of problems. Dewey’s legacy of the importance of experiential learning remains to this day. There are a number of schools across the United States that follow his theories and methods of teaching. [pic] Alvarez vs. The Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. The history of school desegregation legislation in the United States did not begin with the 1954 Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Brown vs. he Topeka school board, but rather in a rural community called Lemon Grove located in Southern California. It has recently been discovered that the earliest court cases concerning school desegregation occurred in the American Southwest in the 1930s. In these cases, Mexican immigrants and their communities were the targeted groups of segregation by school officials. A significant case during this era was the 1930 decision in Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. This was the first successful school desegregation court decision in the history of the United States. It represents an instance when community members took court action and won their case, despite negative sentiment towards them, to ensure the rights of their children to receive an equal education, making it an important event in both San Diego and U. S. history. The case stands as a credit to the activism of San Diego’s Mexican community who used the public system of justice to ensure that not only Mexican-American children in California, but the rest of the United States had access to a quality education (Alvarez, Jr. , 1984). [pic] Science and Math Education Movement With the launching of Sputnik in October 1957, Americans became extremely fearful that the United States was falling behind in the areas of technology, science, and mathematics. Citizens of the United States feared that their country could see a shortage of trained teachers, engineers, and highly educated students in the near future if something was not done. In response to public pressure, the federal government passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958. The act supported efforts of academic specialists to revise curriculum according to the latest theories and methods. Improvements were made in all subject areas and institutes were held to train teachers in the use of new materials and methods (Webb, Metha, ; Jordan, 2010). In addition to enhancing the curriculum, the NDEA also funded programs that provided guidance, counseling, and testing programs for students. According to authors Webb, Metha, ; Jordan, the NDEA set the stage for the federal government’s increased involvement in education (2010). [pic] Out of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) of 1975 came the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. These pieces of legislation were a result of the earlier Civil Rights Movement in Education during the 1960s where marginalized groups were fighting for justice and equality within the education system. The federal law, IDEA, was established in 1990. It applies to all children with disabilities from birth to age twenty-one. The statue defines â€Å"disabled children† as those with mental retardation, hearing impairments, emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, multiple disabilities, or specific learning disabilities. To receive services under the IDEA, a student must not only have a disability, but the condition also must affect the student’s education. The major principles included in the IDEA are: the right to a free and appropriate education, identification and nondiscriminatory evaluation, an individualized education program (IEP), least restrictive environment, and procedural due process (Webb, et al. , 2010). While the law has transformed and grown over the years, it remains evident in the classroom to this day. It has promoted research and technology development, details on transition programs for post high school students, and programs that educate children in their neighborhood schools instead of separate schools.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Australian Consumer Law Essay

It also provides safety and information standarts, establishes liabilities of manufactures and products. The law is continuously developing in order to protect customers against unfair practices of manufactures. In the past the remedies for dissatisfied customers were stated only in the common law, which was unable to provide sufficient protection. However, on 1 January, 2011 The Australian Consumer Law commenced , which was a big movement towards the provision of adequate protection of customers. It is elaborate law and it is applicable nationally, in all states and territories and also to Australian businesses. The Australia Consumer Law now includes: * a new, national unfair contract terms law covering standard form contracts; * a new, national law guaranteeing consumer rights when buying goods and services, which replaces existing laws on conditions and warranties; * a new, national product safety law and enforcement system; * a new, national law for unsolicited consumer agreements, which replaces existing State and Territory laws on door-to-door sales and other direct marketing; * simple national rules for lay-by agreements; and new penalties, enforcement powers and consumer redress options, which currently apply nationally. www. consumerlaw. gov. au) A contract is an agreement which is made between two or more parties and it must be enforced legally. A contruct is concluded when an offer is made by one party to another one and the other party accepts it. There is no particular definition for a ‘standard form contract’, however, standard form contract is usually made by one party and is not the subject of discussion between two parties. They are normally used for supply of goods and services to consumers in various industries. The contract is considered to be unfair if its terms are treated as if they have never existed. Under the Competition and Consumer Act(2010), a ‘consumer contract’ is a contract for: >the supply of goods or services or > the sale or grant of an interest in land to an individual who acquires it wholly or predominantly for personal, domestic or household use or consumption. Under Sch 2, s. 24(1) of the Act and s. 12BG of the ASIC Act, states that a term of a consumer contract is unfair if it: >would cause a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract and gt; is not reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the party who would be advantaged by the term and >would cause detriment (whether financial or otherwise) to a party if it were to be applied or relied on. All three limbs of the unfairness test must be proven, on the balance of probabilities, to exist for a court to decide that a term is unfair. The unfair contract terms laws for consumer goods and services are enforced by both Common wealth and state and territory consumer protection agencies. The courts determine whether the term of a contract is unfair and make decisions about the redress of loss or damage suffered by consumers. Sometimes tribunals can perform the same functions. In division 1 of Part 3-2 of the Australian Consumer Law can be found the rights of the consumer to guarantees, which are provided by manufactures and supplies about their goods and services. All goods must be of an acceptable quality which means that they are fit for a particular purpose for which they are supposed to be used, their appearance is good, they are without any defects and also safe and durable. The suppliers must fix the problems in goods if they do not meet a consumer guarantee even in case when there is no extended warranty or if the warranty has expired. Suppliers are also responsible for all promises made to consumers. â€Å"Express warranties† are often given by suppliers or manufactures, which means that they make additional promises about quality, characteristics, state and condition of their goods. For example, a supplier may tell the customer that the chair will last for 5 years, and that will mean that he/she guarantees that this good will satisfy this warranty. If this chair fails to meet consumers guarantee, then the consumer will have the right for a remedy. There exists another warranty which is called â€Å"warranty against defects†, which means that suppliers and manufactures guarantee that any defects in the product they provide will not appear during a particular period of time, otherwise they will be responsible for either its repair or replacement. A warranty against defects must be done in a written form. Also consumers can get any compensation, which will cover their loss. The explanation and codification of a more exact guarantee of â€Å"acceptable quality† as well as the provision of remedies for consumers are two of the most important changes that were introduced into the Australian Consumer Law and they make consumers guarantees more clear. As it was mentioned before, the Australian Law is moving to over protect consumers but until 1974 it was very difficult for a consumer to have remedy against anyone but the immediate supplier of defective goods. There was no remedy available to the consumer against third parties under contract law because no contractual relationship existed between them and the consumer (Gibson, Fraser, 2011). However, nowadays if consumer suffered any damage because of defective goods, the manufactures are strictly liable. If the manufacturer or the supplier fails to fulfill the guarantees as laid in the law then there can be civil penalties to the tune of $50,000 for the company and $10,000 in case of individual (Clark, 2011). The consumer may elect to sue either their immediate supplier or the manufacturer directly (Gibson, Fraser, 2011). The remedies which consumers can be provided by law can be found in Part 4-5 of the Australian Consumer Law where the remedy is dependent on the gravity of a breach. The manufacturer of defective goods that cause personal injury or damage may be liable to compensate an individual who is injured (section 138), an injured third party, such as bystander (section 139), a person for damage to personal, domestic or household goods( section 140) and a person for damage to land, buildings or fixtures( section 141) (Gibson, Fraser, 2011). There is a section 18 in the Australian Consumer Law, which prohibits conduct by a corporation that is misleading or deceptive. The law can be broken if the company affects consumers thoughts and prevents him/her from making reasonable decisions by providing untruthful information about the price, quality or value of goods and services in advertisement, statement, quotation, representation or promotion of the company. In this case the conduct of the business will be considered misleading and deceptive even if it was unintentional. For example, if a real estate agent wants to sell the property and tells the potential customer that his/her flat will be overlooking the park with a school nearby but in reality there is neither park, nor school. Consumer who suffered loss because of breach of section 18 can bring a civil action. Section 18 is a catch-all provision and does not require the conduct be deliberate, so there are no criminal penalties (Gibson, Fraser, 2011). There is also a number of other ‘unfair practices’ that are prohibited by the Australian Consumer Law such as offering gifts or prizes (section 32), misleading conduct as to the nature or manufacturing process of goods (section 33), misleading conduct regarding services (section 34), bait advertising (section 35), referral selling (section 49), accepting payment without intending to supply (section 36), coercion or harassment at place of residence (section 50), pyramid selling (sections 44-46), unsolicited credit cards (section 39), unsolicited goods and services (sections 40-41). These sections carry criminal penalties and civil remedies, therefore it must be established that the conduct was deliberate. The Australian Consumer Law introduces a national law on product safety. All goods have prescribed standard and it is prohibited to supply goods if they do not comply with this standard. The standards of product safety are related to such things as products performance, design, contents, its testing during and after manufacture process and also to the presence of necessary warnings and instructions, which help consumers to avoid risk of being injured. In the sections 195-204 offences related to supply of products that do not comply with a prescribed standard. Fines may be up to $1,1 million for a corporation and $220,000 for an individual, or civil pecuniary penalties up to similiar maximums. The Australian Consumer Law is improving and a number of changes were made related to the rights and remedies of consumers in order to provide them better protection. One of the reasons for the extension of consumer protection provisions is probably the aim to motivate companies to act fairly in their business. !!? But for this law to work it is also necessary that consumers are aware of their rights and that will prevent them from being misleaded by suppliers. References Australian Consumer Law, Commonwealth of Australia, 2010, viewed on 23d August, 2012. http://www. consumerlaw. gov. au/content/Content. aspx? doc=the_acl. htm Clarke J. 2011, Australian contract and Consumer Law, viewed on 23d August, 2012. http://www. australiancontractlaw. com Gibson A. , Fraser D. , Business Law, Pearson Australia, 2011, pp. 549-633.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

German Adverbs of Time - Temporaladverbien

German Adverbs of Time - Temporaladverbien Adverbs of time indicate when the action or event takes place. Adverbs of time answer the questions wann, wie oft, wie lange? Er kommt spter. Wann kommt er? Spter. allezeit bald bisher damals eben frà ¼her heute heutzutage immer jahrelang jemals jetzt morgen nachher neuerdings nie/niemals seitdem stets à ¼bermorgen vorher zuerst Adverbs with –s-Many nouns with time-related meanings can be transformed into adverbs by adding the letter –smontags, dienstags, etcsommers, winters but not Herbst or Frà ¼hling morgens, mittags, abendszeitlebens (all one’s life)anfangs Montags gehe ich zur Deutschklasse. Adverbs with two timeframes/points in timeeinst/ once, at one time: used to describe a timeframe/point in the future as well as the past. For example,Einst wollte er heiraten, aber jetzt nicht mehr. (At one time he wanted to get married, but not any more.)Einst wird der Tag kommen, wo ich Großmutter sein werde. (The day will come where Ill be a grandmother.)gerade: used to describe a timeframe/point in time in the present as well as the past that just occurred. For example,Mein Vater ist gerade bei der Arbeit. (My father is at work at present.)Sie ist gerade zur Kirche gegangen. (She just went to church.)

Monday, October 21, 2019

Flowers for Algernon essays

Flowers for Algernon essays Do you remember seeing the mentally handicapped kids walking down the hall at school? What did you do when you saw them? Did you duck in a dark back hallway and try to avoid all contact with them? If you did then youre probably one of Charlie Gordons friends. Or so he would think. In the book Flowers For Algernon by Dave Keyes Charlie Gordon is a mentally retarded adult. He soon receives an operation that will triple his IQ. Book doesnt sound good? How about the movie Charly which tries to follow the same tragic plot line but , like many other book to movies doesnt quite fulfill the stories potential. The book Flowers For Algernon and the movie Charly have many differences. Even though Flowers For Algernon and Charly are along the same lines three main differences in Flowers For Algernon are that one Charlie wants a relationship with Miss Kinnian but does not act upon it aggressively. In the book he says We ( Charlie and Miss Kinnian) had dinner and a long walk. Also he says The thought of leaving her behind makes me sad. Im in love with Miss Kinnian Also, Charlie keeps a journal. He goes in-depth in his mind and his heart. We can physically see him getting smarter or dumber, because his spelling is so bad. I dont know why im dumb agen or what I did wrong maybe its because I dint try hard enuff. This is the example of his journals. Finally, Charlie works in a Plastic Box company. Ive quit my job with Dunnegans Plastic Box Company. These are some of the changes in Flowers For Algernon. Here are some differences in Charly. Charlies tries to get Miss Kinnian in a serious relationship even though she doesnt want one. Then later she does end up wanting one. We see this because in one part he tries to force him...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Read and Write Byte Streams in Java

How to Read and Write Byte Streams in Java Reading and writing binary streams is one of the most common I/O tasks a Java application can perform. It can be performed by looking at each individual byte in a stream or by using a more structured buffered approach. Note: This article looks at reading binary data from a example.jpg file. If you try this code then simply replace the name of the example.jpg with the path and name of a jpeg file on your computer. Byte by Byte The java.ioclass was the first Java api to provide Input/Output functionality. It has two methods that can be used to input and output byte streams (blocks of 8 bits) from and to a file. These classes are the FileInputStream and FileOutputStream. These methods provide a basic method of I/O by allowing a file to be input or output one byte at a time.  In practice its better to use a buffered method for binary streams but its good to look at the most basic building block of the Java I/O functionality. Notice how we place the I/O handling inside a try, catch, finallyblock- this is to make sure we handle IO exceptions and to properly close the streams. The catch block will show any I/O exceptions that occur and print a message for the user. In the finally block its important to close the streams explicitly by calling the close method otherwise they will remain open and a waste of resources. There is a check to see if the FileInputStreamand FileOutputStreamare null before attempting to close. This is because an I/O error could occur before the streams are initialized. For example, if the file name is incorrect the stream will not be opened properly.In the tryblock we can add code to read in the bytes:The readmethod reads in one byte from the FileInputStreamand the write method writes one byte to the FileOutputStream. When the end of the file is reached and there are no more bytes to input the value of -1 is returned. Now that Java 7 has been released you can see the benefit of one of its new features- the try with resources block. This means that if we identify the streams to the try block at the beginning it will handle closing the stream for us. This eliminates the need for the finally block in the previous example: The full Java code listings for the two versions of the byte reading program can be found in Binary Stream Example Code.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

On a national level why describe why the Real Estate market crashed, Research Paper

On a national level why describe why the Real Estate market crashed, what contributed to the crash of the market, is the market recovering, and what is contributing to the recovery - Research Paper Example This aggressive marketing led to two negative factors. The first factor is that the demand/supply forces were affected in such a way that there was a false equilibrium, and thus the costs of the houses were so much overrated. The cost of a home in almost any state in the United States of America was overpriced by at least two hundred percent. As a result, the middle income earners could not afford to buy the houses with their income and the only way to buy a house was to secure a mortgage from a bank. As more and more people used mortgages to buy houses, the demand of the houses increased, only resulting to the further increment in home prices. The other thing was that the mortgage providers failed to include due diligence while providing these mortgages. While these mortgage providers advertised strict terms and conditions, these terms and conditions were never applied when giving out mortgages and as a result, many people who were not eligible for such mortgages ended up in the client lists of such banks. When the demand /supply forces forced the interest rates of the mortgages to start fluctuating, most of these mortgage owners started finding it harder to finance their mortgages and some of them had to start refinancing their mortgages. This meant that they had to take a loan to pay their mortgage. In such an arrangement, the problem was that the mortgage owners ended up paying interests twice. This is because the mortgage owners would have to pay for the mortgage as well as the interests on loans. The very fact that a majority of the mortgage owners were seeking refinancing for their mortgages meant that the real estate industry was already facing major problems. Most of these frustrated home owners started selling off their homes but at much lower prices than they had secured the homes, and the real estate market was flooded with supply. Those who could not afford to sell the

Friday, October 18, 2019

A Family business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Family business - Essay Example urse, I plan to become an entrepreneur with the best possible amount I can invest in a Middle Eastern style restaurant with the help of my family members. I am imbued with the ‘push factor’ (Preston, Fryer & Watson, 2006) that is the involvement of my own people will encourage me during my hardships and with their joint effort; I will prove my potential business skills. Having clearly studied all the possibilities and constraints of the business, I am rather determined to set up the restaurant named â€Å"GulfGate† after due consultation with experienced people from my relatives and well-wishers. A positive side of the restaurant is the balanced nature of ‘pay for quality’; the equation to be practiced during the operation for best result of business. The choice of this stream was supported with the expectation of increased number of customers from countries like India, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Since the location of the business is expected to be in the suburbs of Dubai, it is easy to gather a huge number of customers very easily. Quality food is the major concern I emphasize for the regular update of the restaurant for which I have plans to post people at different parts of the city for distinguished purchase. A greater part of my burden to find a cook is eased with the inclusion of my cousin, who is an experienced graduate in food design and hotel management. Since this is a family unit, less implication of mistrust can be witnessed. Depending on the religious aspects, our family stands better in the society; therefore, we can claim easy access with people and their support. This is a business intended to service and trade, therefore, expert opinions from elders would also support us in the long run. As Preston, Fryer & Watson (2006) state, Small business has other advantages like the better knowledge about the local business environment and can sub-contract the projects of big businesses. However, I don’t deny the possibilities of disparities

Formal report writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Formal report writing - Essay Example within the firm to identify the core activities which are to be carried out by the senior staff, while the secondary functions are assigned another organization that may provide such functions to the company at affordable. Interstate, Inc is a New York based company, which specializes in providing domestic insurance for private individuals and corporations. It is considering moving all or part of its 150 person call centre to an oversee location in order to reduce its operating cost. The call centre currently handles calls of operating agents and enquiries from members of the public from USA. Management groups are researching about different countries in order to evaluate their potential to host a pilot project which should be operational within six months. If successful the centre will take over the full accountability for all call centre operations within 12 months. The management team will be meeting later to present their recommendations. Outsourcing is a management practice of taking a function of an organization to be managed by another organization on behalf of the company. InterState Inc, may hand over the secondary functions that can be handled by other specialized organizations on its behalf so that the core staff of InterState may concentrate on the most important functions (Lacity & Joseph, 12). The outsourced services are offered within the country or state and employees of the company whose services are outsourced performs the function and are paid for the services rendered. Through outsourcing InterState might be able to avoid many costs like payment of retirement benefits to employees, payments to employees who are on leave, or when the employees are less productive. Outsourcing has therefore become cheaper in the end because the company avoids certain costs (Haugen, Susan & Kacy, 24). Off shoring on the other hand is a business management practice in which a company like InterState may take moves its activities to another location in another

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Explain how to determine the credibility of sources of information Essay

Explain how to determine the credibility of sources of information including institutions, organizations, agencies, periodicals, and other resources - Essay Example As it has been observed, the real strength of a student’s writing rests in large part on the quality of research informing his or her argument (Engle, 17). It is thus important to recognize the types of resources used for instance peer and non peer reviewed articles. Peer reviewed articles refer to those articles read by subject experts before being published in a journal (Engle, 22). These articles need to pass through the review process as a way of ensuring that the published articles exhibit the highest quality in their fields. On the other hand, non peer reviewed articles are those articles that have not been revised by an expert or passed through the review process (Engle, 24). There are a few differences that exist between peer reviewed articles and non peer reviewed articles for instance, while peer reviewed articles are closely checked to ensure they are correct unlike non peer reviewed articles. Additionally, peer reviewed articles are given more authority as compared to non peer reviewed articles. Peer reviewed articles hold under scrutiny of one’s peers, who are considered experts in similar fields. Non peer reviewed articles allows for any type of information to get out into the media, especially onto the internet, without bei ng scrutinized (Engle, 27). Considering the fact that a lot of non peer reviewed information passes through to the media, especially periodicals and magazines, it is important to determine the credibility of sources of information. There are various ways in which one can determine the credibility of sources for instance checking the domain name or the home page. A person can also look for who the author of the particular article is, and ensure whether or not they can find out about that individual or organization (Engle, 29). It is also important to determine the type of site one is considering, for instance; if

Case study question- Indentify two potential areas of growth for the Essay

Case study question- Indentify two potential areas of growth for the 'Penang' Mutiara' hotel and discuss how these changes might be implemented from an operatio - Essay Example Speed and fast response are other strengths of the Penang Mutiara. Flexibility in exploiting opportunities and employment of staff through multi skill training has created unique strengths. This has resulted in the dependability factor, which a customer in the service industry cherishes and has improved occupancy rates leading to corresponding economies of scale. (www.booksites.net). The hotel can leverage its strengths as there is adequate potential for growth with continuous improvement with reference to organizational quality and performance, focusing on customer satisfaction, through constant incremental improvements to processes including removal of unnecessary activities. (www.managementhelp.com). A service industry has to balance between strategy and operations before it can consider growth options. Since Penang Mutiara is operating as an international destination, it has to see operational management from an international perspective. (Slack: 2003). International guests in the luxury segment whether these are business or tourists seek the comfort of familiarity. Thus if they have been looked after well by a particular hotel once, they would like to continue stay in the same hotel and also recommend this to their friends and associates. Word of mouth is a powerful communication tool for luxury clientele with a strong network. This aspect can be exploited by the Penang Mutiara. Thus a customer loyalty programme is the first growth area recommended for the hotel, exploiting its customer relationship, familiarity with the loyal customers and service orientation. At present the 50 percent returnee guests show that there is adequate potential for growth in this segment may be 70- 75 percent with schemes involving loyalty bonus and also loyalty recommendations which entails that any recommendation made by a customer will gain him loyalty points for him as well as his recommended guest.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Explain how to determine the credibility of sources of information Essay

Explain how to determine the credibility of sources of information including institutions, organizations, agencies, periodicals, and other resources - Essay Example As it has been observed, the real strength of a student’s writing rests in large part on the quality of research informing his or her argument (Engle, 17). It is thus important to recognize the types of resources used for instance peer and non peer reviewed articles. Peer reviewed articles refer to those articles read by subject experts before being published in a journal (Engle, 22). These articles need to pass through the review process as a way of ensuring that the published articles exhibit the highest quality in their fields. On the other hand, non peer reviewed articles are those articles that have not been revised by an expert or passed through the review process (Engle, 24). There are a few differences that exist between peer reviewed articles and non peer reviewed articles for instance, while peer reviewed articles are closely checked to ensure they are correct unlike non peer reviewed articles. Additionally, peer reviewed articles are given more authority as compared to non peer reviewed articles. Peer reviewed articles hold under scrutiny of one’s peers, who are considered experts in similar fields. Non peer reviewed articles allows for any type of information to get out into the media, especially onto the internet, without bei ng scrutinized (Engle, 27). Considering the fact that a lot of non peer reviewed information passes through to the media, especially periodicals and magazines, it is important to determine the credibility of sources of information. There are various ways in which one can determine the credibility of sources for instance checking the domain name or the home page. A person can also look for who the author of the particular article is, and ensure whether or not they can find out about that individual or organization (Engle, 29). It is also important to determine the type of site one is considering, for instance; if

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Sex and Violence in movies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sex and Violence in movies - Research Paper Example There are various different genres of movies that show an increased sexual content and violence. For example, horror movies, crime based movies and war movies have increased levels of violence and similarly romantic comedies have been bordering towards showing increased sexual content. Additionally, movies that are considered to be avant-garde and cult, instead of mainstream also have an increased display of both sexual content and violence. Even though the Motion Picture Association of America’s Classification and Ratings Administration has set down the various ratings that determine suitable viewing, it is important to understand that the level of acceptance of violence and sex is much higher (Abraham and Basuroy, 2004). To illustrate, movies like Stuart Gordon’s unrated Re-animator (1985) and the films of Larry Clark have received criticism for being extremely violent and for showing excessive sexual content. It is also interesting to note that how the levels of acceptance among the audience have also been increasingly slowly. For instance, when the young audiences watch a movie like The Exorcists, instead of being terrified and shocked, they watch it more like a comedy movie (Curti and Selva, 2003). Therefore, the definition of what is considered to be extreme and what is considered to be acceptable keeps on changing generation after generation. Effects of Sex and Violence on Movie audience The high level of sexually explicit content along and violence does indeed have an effect on the audience. It is a universally accepted fact that movies have the capacity to influence people and their actions. In this scenario, it is necessary to highlight some of the negative influence that both sex and violence in movies have on their audience. 1. Desensitizing – Constant exposure to violence as well as sexual content can reduce the sensitivity among the viewers. This can create a notion that such behavior is acceptable in the society. In some cases, it can result in the distortion of world view. Therefore, crimes related to sex or violence may lose perspective as real crimes in the vision of the people (Williams, 1995). By increasing the extremity of the element of violence in movies, the tendency would be that the audience will not react strongly if and when they encounter or hear about such instances in real life. Therefore, increasing the realism of movies to make it extreme by adding higher sounds and bigger screens such as in the beginning of the movie Saving Private Ryan (1998), does have a tendency to desensitize the audience. In today’s society, that is replete with increasing instances of violence and terrorism, it is very important for individuals to be se nsitive and to understand the impact of such acts. Therefore, it is really unfair to desensitize an audience. 2. Negative effects on children and youth – The categories of individuals that get most affected by acts of violence and sex in the movies are children and youth. For them, everything that they see on the big screen is glamorized and is something that they can imitate in their real life. Extreme scenes of violence as well as high level of sexual content can attract the youth and make them imitate it as a part of their hero worship. For some others, witnessing such scenes can have traumatic experiences and affect psychologically. The genre of movies that came to be known as the slasher movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), and Urban Legend (1998) were criticized for

Monday, October 14, 2019

CanGo Analysis Essay Example for Free

CanGo Analysis Essay 1. CanGo has too many activities without having specific goals or setting priorities. As they find something that needs to be accomplished, it is always as soon as possible without setting definite time deadlines. Setting priorities is one way to insure that the tasks which need immediate attention are worked on first, while other task can be delayed because they are not as important. Being able to schedule people to complete specific task requires careful planning while know what resources are available. According to the Business Dictionary, a resource is â€Å"an economic or productive factor required to accomplish an activity† (Resource, 2013). CanGo needs to make a chart showing what its resources are which includes how much time each employee is able to work, how much money they can spend or invest, and what needs to be done by when. This can be accomplished in a number of different methods depending on the personnel who will be responsible for compiling the data. As shown on the Adaptive Path website, one method would be to use a spreadsheet which shows three major criteria and then apply a scale to them graphing the results. Equally important, once the priorities are determined, is setting specific deadlines for completion of task so that the employees know exactly when a report is needed, or when another department needs a specific resource if a resources needs to be shared or allocated, such as an employee working on multiple tasks. When setting the times, it is also important to know if one task needs to be completed before another on starts or if tasks can be worked on by different employees concurrently.  Setting up a written schedule or calendar, for example in Microsoft Outlook which everyone can view would be a good tool so each employee knows who is working on what and when it needs to be done. 2. CanGo needs to find out their customer base so that they can market to current customers and bring in new customers. There are a few ways to find their customer base. This first step to help find a customer base is to make the company a brand name. They need to make the company known to everyone for the great services and products offered. This will make the company more noticeable on any search engine or social media. Another step to finding the base would be to use onsite analytics. Google is the best known option for this. This will analyze the sites traffic patterns. It shows what websites they come from, how long they stay on your site and each individual page. This can even determine what page the customers get to and then leave (Staff Editor). If there is a certain page that customers’ get to and then leave the site, than this is the page that needs to be looked over and re-done. CanGo should also take advantage of social media. If CanGo used a social media outlet such as Facebook, their fans could leave comments and say what they like and dislike about the company. This can help fix any problems within the company. The final step in reaching a good customer base is to make sure their website is user friendly. Make sure the homepage has the most important content on it and that it has easy to understand menus for the customers to navigate. The company should also make sure to look at the reviews both good and bad and leave all of them on there. By showing that you are not trying to hide anything the customers will have more respect for the company. . CanGo wants to implement a new technology that involves a new layout that incorporates barcoding and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). Jack is proposing this new implementation by contrasting the new technology versus CanGo’s current technology. Jack assures Juan that every cost has been included in the detailed analysis, but when Juan asks about how they are going to deal with the IT department, Jack replies that they need to make sure that the entire department is focus about 70 % of their time to this project in multiple locations. He also remarks that the department has to be pulled off from their current projects, so this implementation can be a priority. Prior to make the final decision of purchasing ASRS technology, there needs to be some deeper discussion as to what would happen to the security of the company’s network if the IT department had to spend more time on data integration. According to Ehow website, â€Å"the information technology department in an organization is responsible for the architecture, hardware, software and networking of computers† meaning that putting the IT department full time on the implementation of ASRS technology, can cause improper function of the mainly IT department functions, for instance, server maintenance (Kelchner, n. d. ). Agreeing to Wisegeek website statement, â€Å"if maintenance is not conducted on a computer network, regardless of whether the network is small or large, pplication software usually will not run as well as expected. In some cases, a network may even experience total or partial network failure if proper maintenance is not conducted. † Jack’s proposal can cause CanGo extra costs that have not been accountable for and put the entire company’s network at risk (server maintenance, n. d. ). In other to make this analysis effective, Jack should meet up with the IT department first and discuss how the implementation of this new technology will impact IT’s current work schedule. Jack and the IT department need to come with a plan that includes a work schedule for the new implementation without interrupting current projects. Therefore, if extra hours are demanded to complete the implementation whether CanGo will pay overtime to the IT department employees or temporary IT employees will be hired, this cost has to be added to the analysis. When choosing a strategy, every single department that is involved in the implementation should be contacted and informed about the project prior to present the final analysis.  It seems that Jack didn’t contact or discuss the implementation of ASRS technology with the IT department. 4. CanGo consumer buying process is in question when one of CanGo’s employee shares an elevated statistic that reveals over 75% of online shoppers don’t end up buying the products that they have selected in the website; as a result, Andrew replies that CanGo’s website mirrors the consumers choice by applying product recognition, informative search, alternating evaluation, etc. It seems that CanGo does not have an ongoing method for tracking hits vs. purchases on their website. The problem is that CanGo is not evaluating their consumer buying process properly. Andrew clearly wonders if that high statistic applies to CanGo clients. According to Aspire website, â€Å"using website metrics and tracking your leads and conversions should play a vital role in measuring what’s working and what’s not on your company’s website. Building up a history of metrics will enable you to identify trends and opportunities, analyze your traffic data to consistently improve your site’s effectiveness, and monitor your lead generation process, conversion rates, and your return on investment. CanGo should invest in website metrics because this will allow CanGo to conduct proper follow up that will confirm if the implemented consumer buying process is satisfactory (Website metrics, n. d. ). 5. CanGo needs to monitor the changes in purchases so that they can modify their marketing strategy. There are a few ways that CanGo can monitor changes. The company should start using web bugs on their site. A web bug is a graphic in a website or a graphic-enabled e-mail message. The Web bug can confirm when the message or page is viewed and record the IP address of the viewer (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse). This can help determine how many people are viewing their homepage and any other page on their site. CanGo can also apply direct marketing to their site. Direct marketing is a sales pitch targeted to a person based on prior consumer choices (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse). An example would be if the customer buys a romantic novel, then there will be suggestions for other romantic novels in a similar nature. Another method CanGo can use is behavioral marketing. Behavioral Marketing is the practice of collecting and compiling a record of individuals online activities, interests, preferences, and/or communications over time. Companies engaged in behavioral targeting routinely monitor individuals, the searches they make, the pages they visit, the content they view, their interactions on social networking sites, and the products and services they purchase (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse). After they have done the tracking they are able to show advertisements to the customers based on their behavior. This type of marketing is used through cookies, flash cookies, device fingerprinting and many other technologies. Whenever the customer goes to websites or social media that have advertisements on the side, the company’s ad would be there if the services were something that interested the customer. 6. CanGo seems to lack knowledge of unfamiliar territory. Since the online entertainment market is becoming saturated with entrepreneurs entering the industry, CanGo can definitely benefit from researching this particular market before they enter it. There are many reasons for any company that’s entering a new market to research it first. One reason is because it’s a way of keeping up with market trends, and in today’s fast paced world it’s paramount to stay on top of the industry and business trends. Lacking knowledge of unfamiliar territory can be extremely costly to an organization. Expanding into a new market involves a great deal of market research in addition to target customers. CanGo needs to develop an in-depth understanding of market growth rates, forecasted demand, competitors, and potential barriers to entry. CanGo isn’t entering a relatively undefined market, however, its new territory for the company. Needless to say maintaining a competitive edge is an important aspect of management today because organizations exist in a more global environment than in the past. Within most industries organizations compete with other companies that are able to provide the same goods and services. According to Steve Jobs, â€Å"Some people say, ‘give the customers what they want. ’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, ‘if I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, ‘A faster horse! ’’ People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page. † This was a pretty controversial quote but it was how he actually felt. Unfortunately, although he was extremely successful and considered a genius by many there we’re times in his career where understanding customers’ wants could have led to even more success, such as with his computing company NeXT. There are both and cons to researching a market before entering but the pros definitely outweigh the cons. researching your market is also very vital to understanding your target market and increasing sales. There are many reasons for CanGo to conduct research on a market they’re entering, for instance, identifying potential customers. It’s important who will be using your product or service. Are they male or female? How old they are? and so on. It’s also important to understand CanGo’s existing customers such as; why would customers choose their product over their competition. A market should be prioritized based on the strategic fit and the ability for CanGo to serve them. CanGo should be able to answer questions like: Are there gaps in this marketplace that can be filled? If so can they do better than their competitors? What value can they deliver to this market and how much are they willing to pay for it? (Isaacson, 2011).

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Merchant Of Venice By William Shakespeare

The Merchant Of Venice By William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a comic, revengeful and tragic play which is set in Venice and the nearby country estates of Belmont. Shakespeare wrote the play during times when England like much of the Europe had restricted the rights of the Jews and even escalated to extremes of banishing them from England in 1290 by King Edward I and were not officially allowed to return until1655 when Oliver Cromwell allowed them. This exile of Jews was still in effect when Shakespeare wrote this play and many scholars believe that some Jews still lived in England at the time of the Christian guise. At the time renaissance Christians disliked the Jews because they believed that their behaviour of charging interest on money they lend (usury) was against the societal morals. During the time of renaissance Christians had become heavily indebted to the Jews who had loaned money to them with interests rates hence their increased hatred for the Jewish counterparts who started terming them as inhuman by demanding usury on the monies they lend. This was a selfish and unfair reaction from the Christian community in Venice because they started treating Jews harshly by imposing hefty taxes on them failure from which their land was confiscated and defaulters imprisoned. Such heavy taxing was intended to boost the financial status of the government especially during adverse economic times (Mahon, 345). Merchant of Venice is a revenge tragedy play which its plot revolves around the quest of its main character shylock a Jew who is bitter on the way his neighbors supposedly Christians treat him and he is on a mission to avenge for such in human treatment. He plans and implements his revenge by engaging in money lending which offers him chance to avenge when a Christian defaults him after he lend the money. In Venice Bassanio borrows money from his merchant friend Antonio to help him woo a wealth noble woman Portia. Antonio does not have ready cash to lend to his friend but he gives him a permission or guarantee to borrow the money he needs on his credit. Antonio is expecting his ships to arrive at the harbor with a lot of merchandise that will enable him to settle the loan. Bassanio is given loan of 3000 ducats by the Jewish moneylender Shylock that is not in good terms with Antonio. Their dispute is a racial and religious one and shylock seizes the opportunity to offer a bizarre alternative to Antonio if he defaults and for sure Antonio chances of defaulting hits peak as the news that his ships had been wrecked. Shylock then takes the case to court demanding that he be given permission to cut one pound of flesh from the defaulters chest as agreed upon earlier. The case is solved amicably by the judge and the play ends in a good way when the main characters Bassanio and Portia marry ea ch other and the ships of the Antonio are found and arrives at the harbor. Shylock is a Jewish money lender who lives in Venice and he has been bittered for many years by the way Venetian Christians have been mistreating him especially by the merchant Antonio. The mistreatments by the Christians have shaped the religions and racial identity of shylock. The character of Shylock in the play merchant of Venice is portrayed as devilish and murderer whose dear intentions is to take away the life of the Christian Antonio believed by his fellow Christian to be the most kind mind to have ever lived in Venice. Shylock wants revenge on the Christian Antonio because he wants to avenge his revenge on the Christians who even call him a villain because nothing seems to stop him at getting the pound of flesh from Antonios chest even after Bassanio offers to pay him twice the agreed upon debt of six thousand ducats. He adamantly refuses to accept the money and demand for the pound of flesh which he claims he bought it hence he must have it because its legally his. Jews like shylock hate Christians at the time so dearly because Christians themselves had no liking for Jews because they believed they killed crucified Jesus Christ hence were on the side of the devil. Christian also hated Jews because they believed they were not human by charging usury on money they lend to Christians but the truth is that Christians had become heavily indebted to Jews who had lend money to them hence their intentional unfair reaction by being anti-Semitic. So the murderous character of Shylock is as result of the hatred and bitterness his arbors against Christians who constantly show hatred towards him and other Jews. He claims for what he believes is his rightfully and seizes the opportunity of Antonios defaulting to make himself to be recognized a as a just man by the Christians who always sees him as an unjust man. This newly earned character of shylock can mainly be attributed to Christians who forced him to hate them and even have a conspiration to kill Anton io, hence offering yet evidence why Christians are portrayed to have contributed to the construction of Shylocks character in the play. Shylock is forced to charges some interest on the money he lends and this becomes his obsession as he wants to acquire lot money to ensure his own security from the ungrateful Christians. With is addiction to getting more money he becomes a greedy person who is not his true self he only need the money as a reaction to the treatment he receives from the Christian community. Shylock sees that getting financial security is the only way to proof to the Christians like Antonio that he is also somebody worth respect and human dignity and not the way they always see him. He thinks that being wealth will make the Christian treat him well but that ends up not the truth as everything he has worked for ends up in the possession of his enemies when the court fines him for conspiring to kill Antonio and that costs half of his property and he later becomes broke and desolate forcing him to become a Christian hence making him loose his identity. Shylocks fate of losing his identity as a Jew is attr ibuted to his past greedy behavior of charging usury on the money he lends to Christians to get as much wealth as he could just to get at his Christian enemies hence it can be successfully argued that Christians can be held responsible for the final man that Shylock becomes as its their hatred and ill treatment that forced him to charge usury which converted him to a greedy person. Through out the play merchant of Venice Christians in Shylocks neighborhood show a consistent hatred and dislike for the Jewish shylock and even fail to call him by his given name but prefers calling him detestable alienating names like the Jew, cruel devil, harsh Jew, currish Jew, infidel, impenetrable cur, the villain and even the devil in the likenesses of the his Jewish identity. Such name calling alienated shylock from the Venetian Christians and make him diabolically foul which gradually constructs shylocks identity and makes him a bitter man who focuses in taking revenge against the Christian community who he beliefs are treating him in humanly. Shylock notices the habit of Christians to assess the worth of them and others according to faulty standards like using money value or grade ones status and value in the community. Christians belief is that the more money one has the greater value and status one belongs to and Shylock in his conspiration to unleash his monomaniacal lus t for revenge against his Christian enemies forced him into money lending ventures which he earns a living from the usury. Shylock sees this means as the only way for him as a Jew to compete with his fellow Venetian Christians. Shylock exhibits a monstrous behaviour especially against his Christian defaulters like Antonio as he sees it as the only achievable and fulfilling way of unleashing his revenge. This change in shylocks behaviour is as a result of the constant cold treatment he receive from his Christian neighbors and this has made him a different person which is not characteristic of the Jew he was at first hence an evident that Christians in Merchant of Venice greatly contributes to the construction of Shylocks racial and religious identity. Shylock in the play admits that he hates Antonio and even declines his invitation to dinner on the grounds that he is a Christian. Shylock hates Antonio even more because he himself is a usurer who lends money with high interest rates that has enabled him to acquire immense wealth. He accuses Antonio of lending money to people in distress without demanding for any interest charge and this escalates his hatred for Antonio because he sees him as a person who threatens his job since he causes his business to lose money as a result of reduced business. Shylock is therefore made to act harshly towards Christians because he accuses them of stealing his business and his run away daughter. This illustrates that the behaviour of Christians like Antonio being kind makes Shylock to change his character and become more harsh and unkind towards his perceived enemies Christians hence the construction of his character in the play. In the play Shylock has been portrayed an isolated, greedy, unreasonable and self-thinking individual who doesnt think of the needs of other people. He even loves money more than his daughter and doesnt want to eat, drink or even pray with anyone and he avoids making friendship making him cranky and steadfast and even rigid in his beliefs. He does a stereo-typical profession as a money-grabbing money lender; a job which makes him hard to let go off his greedy tendencies as he doesnt see any reason why he should do so event at the point where it warrants mercy and pity. He describes the idea of getting a pound of flesh from Antonios chest as a merry sport and finds it very pleasing when flesh is cut out of someones body and this is evident when he insist only for the pound of flesh even after being offered double the priced he is owed. Such unreasonable and weird secluded behaviour portrayed by Shylock is attributed to the racist treatment he receives from the Christians who have neve r seen anything in him other than his Jewishness. Shylock wonders why he is being treated that way by Christians yet he has eyes, has hands, and has organs, dimensions, feelings, senses and even passions just like them. The unreasonable and rigid character of shylock is as a result of the racial discrimination that he has received from the Christians hence the argument that Christians are the ones responsible for construction of his character. Christians are seen as the main modes through which the character of Shylock is shaped through out the play as Shylock constantly claims that he has done no wrong by treating Christians badly because he is simply following what his Christian neighbors has taught him which it eventually becomes an integral part of his character later in the play. His conspiracy to kill Antonio is borne of the insults and injuries which Antonio had inflicted upon him in their previous encounters. This means that by planning to kill Antonio he is does not consider himself as a murderer but rather as a mechanism of applying what his past relationship with Antonio has taught him. For instance Shylock when responding to Salarinos query on what good thing that having the pound of flesh will benefit him, he answers that it will offer him a chance to execute the villainy that Christians has taught him. This means that almost every action that Shylock does is attributed to some past experience that Christians have done to him hence the evidence of the role that Christians play in construction of Shylocks character in Shakespeares play the Merchant of Venice (Bradbrook, 126). During the court session, Shylocks proofs that he is a smart character who can defend himself in every adversary despite the great opposition from his Christian enemies who want to stop him from succeeding in demanding for the pound of flesh from his defaulter Antonio. Shylock guided by his keenness for revenge uses any wit within his disposal to ensure that he is granted the permission to finalize his revenge of killing Antonio. He has nobody on his side but he shows no sign of giving up until he satisfies his yearning for revenge; he argues to the judge that Christians refuses to set free their assess, dogs and mules simply because they bought them thus they own them and they are their slaves then why should he be denied the pound of flesh which he bought in accordance to the law and that why he beliefs that he is acting as per the law hence granting him the right to have the pound of flesh from Antonio as per the agreement they signed. This portrays that Shylock is stopping at not hing to ensuring that he succeeds in vending his hatred for Christians until he kills Antonio. Such courage enamates from his dearly anticipated revenge which he attributes to the cruelty he has gone through in the hands of the Christians hence its the way Christians treated him earlier that becomes the driving forms that makes Shylock a master of his own destiny. This shows that Christians therefore contributed o the construction of his Character in the play merchant of Venice. Christian merchant Antonio resulted to his own destruction when things fail to work according to his will. Shylock suffers a spiritual ruin when the clever Portia helps Antonio in solving the case in the court. Portia disguised as Bellario and Nerissa as a law clerk articulately influence the outcome of the court especially when Shylock adamantly refuses to show mercy for Antonio. Portia then allows him to get the pound of flesh as stipulated by the signed agreement and that was to be done without spilling of even a dot of blood. Shylock gives up and thus losing the case resulting to being fined for conspiring to murder Antonio and this forces him to lose have of his property and in addition is forced to convert to Christianity (Barton, 252).After Portia striping Shylock off his property he becomes broke and loses his Jewish religion and this is as result of the combined forces from the Christian community both outside and in the court. This twist of events therefore changed Shylocks religious identity for the rest of his life. During the time of Shakespeare Jews were treated harshly by the Venice Christians and nobody really cared whether they lived or died. As a way of showing their uncaring behaviour Christians became anti-Semitic and the government of the day taxed them heavily and striped off their money during times that the governments money became low or just for government financial boost. If Jews failed to pay the money taxed on them individually or collectively, then their property especially land was confiscated and defaulters imprisoned. Therefore the Jews population was treated harshly and with a lot of disrespect by Christians who lived in Venice during the renaissance period. This prompted Shakespeare to develop the character of Shylock in Merchant of Venice as to portray the bitterness that Jews felt as a reaction to the harsh treatment they were accorded to by the Christian community. During the time of renaissance Jews had to be portrayed and villain ands people never expected anyone of them to show any drop of compassion for his enemy because the Christians were the ones expected to show compassion towards others especially the Jews who were stereotypically viewed as the murderers of Jesus Christ thus forcing Shylock who is a Jew to behave like the devil. This construction of Shylocks character give Christians like Portia the chance to show their mercy when he corners him using the law which was his only weapon and strips him his property only to give half of it back after he loses his religion to become Christian. The behavior of Shylock charging usury gives Antonio the Christian another chance to show him mercy by refusing to collect part of his goods as a compensation for his conspiration to eliminate him. The outcome of the court forces Shylock to kneel and beg for mercy from the Christians judges which served the interests of the renaissance Christian popul ation in Venice (Shakespeare et al, 145). In conclusion, the discussions and argument made in the essay goes beyond any reasonable doubt that the character of the Shylock who is one of the main characters in the play Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare is heavily constructed by the presence, interactions ad behaviors of the Christian community who happened to be the neighbors of the character. Shylock undergoes a lot of transformations in his character throughout the play and almost everything he does claims that he was thought by his Christians neighbors and in fact he shows no remorse or mercy or even take responsibility for the outcome of his actions since her doesnt even see anything wrong with his weird character. Shylock becomes greedy, alienated, villain, infidel, unreasonable, rigid and even a murderer which all are linked to his dear intentions in trying to avenge for himself and the rest of the Jews for what he terms as inhuman, intolerable and ill treatment by the Christians in Venice and the neighborhood. He belief s that by taking a revenge by killing Antonio he will have succeeded in making the Christians pay for the past unacceptable behaviors against Jews.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Machiavelli Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the great political minds of the 15th century, accomplished what many mathematicians today only dream of, having one’s name used as an adjective. To be Machiavellian is to demonstrate characteristics of expediency, deceit, and cunning and as Machiavelli wrote in, The Prince, these are the qualities of a great leader. The Prince was published in 1531, creating great controversy with other political thinkers of the time. Machiavelli completely ignored the popular religious teachings of the era and erased the moral and ethical considerations from the leadership equation; the actions of a ruler should be governed solely by necessity. â€Å"Since I intend to write something useful to an understanding reader, it seemed better to go after the real truth of the matter then to repeat what people have imagined† (221). The predominate theme of The Prince is that it is the responsibility of any leader to secure and maintain the polit ical power of their state by any means necessary. One can consider many leaders in history who took this to heart, some into success and some into infamy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using the cold light of pure reasoning, Machiavelli analyzed human behavior and concluded that man is not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a leader who wishes to remain in power to learn how to not be good and to use this behavior and knowledge and bring it to bear on the decision he is making. â€Å"Hence a Prince who wants to keep his post must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires† (222). Machiavelli not only wanted people to let go of the idealistic fact that man is not pure at heart, but to take it a step further and embrace this assumption. Those who do embrace this assumption as a fundamental ‘given’ will be the ones with the power to manipulate and control the masses. â€Å"Men are so simple of mind and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived† (228). Decades of thought about religion and po litics are intertwined in this thought. The common man willing to give up their free will to that of a higher power and many a deceitful theologian willing to exploit that ignorant passivity for their own purposes. Why does Machiavelli has such a low view of man? Was he just cynical ... ...orals have no place in politics because they prevent the ruler from doing what must be done to maintain control. †No prince should mind being called cruel for what he does to keep his subjects united and loyal; he may make examples of a very few, but he will be more merciful in reality than those who, in their tenderheartedness, allow disorders to occur, with their attendant murders and lootings† (225).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Getting a large, mostly Christian populace to suspend ethics and morality for the greater good is no small task. Machiavelli was making a statement about how society really functions rather than how people choose to perceive it. While still very controversial in a timeless way, Machiavelli makes some excellent points and his logic does produce results and much food for thought. However, there is one aspect Machiavelli failed to consider, are results the only thing that are important to a society? What is sacrificed to achieve his ultimate end? And is that price worth paying?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Machiavelli, Niccolo. â€Å"The Morals of the Prince.† 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Samuel Cohen. NY, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 221-229

Friday, October 11, 2019

Plato/Education Essay

Having knowledge is important in every society, whether it be a totalitarian society, or a democratic society. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors discuss how to educate children. Is it right to keep them censored, or should they be allowed to study all and every subject(s). The education of children is very important because they are the future of the society. They are the possible rulers, philosophers, guardians, and so on. So, it is important to shape them wisely. This concept is no different than what shapes our society today. It is well known that one of the many qualifications of a good leader is that who can improve the country’s educational system. Why? , because the youth are our future leaders and teachers. A parent would rather pick a private school over a public school, and a job interviewer would look more highly on a private school graduate over a public school graduate. You can say that education is important in today’s society, as well as Plato’s society. The youth can be educated in many different ways, either by keeping them in the shadows, or exposing them to the light. this means that the future of the society can be either ruled by a person who is oblivious to the society’s past, or by a person who has been fully exposed to the society’s history. If a person is censored from education, then they love their life as a perfect world. this is best described when Socrates says that a Guardian should be a person who â€Å"must be gentle to their own people and harsh to the enemy. † (375b-c). Socrates wants to educate these Guardians to be noble, righteous, and tentative to their every word, like a robot. He wants to educate them by making them obedient. He also believes that repressing their knowledge of music/narratives, and physical strength will make them grow into smarter adults. Socrates believes that a censored society is a better one. He believes that the city will prosper if it is concealed and trained. He says that people are most limber in their youth. So, he goes on to show that music/stories, and physical training are all things that are stressed in the youth of children. Music begins with stories or tales. â€Å"We won’t admit stories into our cities- whether allegory or not.†, this shows that he wants to cut down the telling of tales because he says that children absorb these tales in a literal sense rather than a hypothetical one. He says â€Å"You know, don’t you, that the beginning of any process is most important, especially for anything young and tender. It is at this time that it is most malleable and takes on any pattern one wishes to impress on it. â€Å". (377b) It’s not that he wishes to rid off all stories, but just censor them so that they all depict a good message, and show no violence or hate. Also, he believes that only moderate melodies are acceptable. (399d) Socrates goes on to say that music and poetry are important, but should only be taught when a person is old enough to tell the difference between right and wrong. After his discussion about music and narratives, he goes on to discuss the physical body, and how it affects one’s mind. â€Å"†¦ a fit body doesn’t by its own virtue make the soul good, but does the opposite. † (403d) This is exemplifies that being having a good soul will make a good body, and that a healthy body leads to a good intellect. This was achieved by gymnastics at the time. So, all in all, a good education can consist of gymnastics and good music. But, isn’t society today based on telling the whole truth and learning everything possible? Our society in the Unites States is democratic, which means that we choose our leaders. To do this, we have to be well-educated in our county’s history. So, in every school music, English, history, and math are required for every student to learn. This is because the government wants people to be well-educated so that they can understand what goes on in society. That is the reason for newspapers, to keep the society informed. This is different from what Socrates believes to be the best way to educate children. We believe that knowledge is at its best when everyone is educated with everything, and Socrates believes that knowledge is at its best when it is cleaned up and censored. So, what is the best way to be educated? Is it to censor society into a â€Å"perfect† one, or is it to teach everything wholly and hope that great wisdom derives from this? Socrates’ idea about society is much different from what society has evolved into. What would become of today’s society if the music and poetry of Socrates’ time was censored into disappearing? I think that people should be taught everything in their youth, because improvement can only be made from mistakes, and also, a perfect society would be a boring one. NEW PAPER Blair KhokerPhilosophy 101 Education? How? Having knowledge is important in every society. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors discuss how to educate children. Is it right censor what they learn, or should they be allowed to study all and every subject(s). In today’s society the term ‘children are our future† is said a lot. It is important to shape the children of our society wisely, and the educate them well. A parent would rather pick a private school over a public school, and a job interviewer would look more highly on a private school graduate over a public school graduate. You can say that education is important in today’s society, as well as Plato’s society. The youth can be educated in many different ways, either by keeping them in the shadows, or exposing them to the light. this means that the future of the society can be either ruled by a person who is oblivious to the society’s past, or by a person who has been fully exposed to the society’s history. If a person’s education is censored, then they love their life as a perfect world, because they don’t see the big picture. All they see is what others let them see. This is best described when Socrates says that a Guardian should be a person who â€Å"must be gentle to their own people and harsh to the enemy. † (375b-c). Socrates wants to educate these Guardians to be noble, righteous, and attentive to their every word, like a robot. He wants to educate them by making them obedient. He also believes that repressing their knowledge of music/narratives, and physical strength will make them grow into more just adults. Socrates believes that a censored society is a better one. He believes that the city will prosper if it is concealed and trained. He says that people are most limber in their youth. So, he goes on to show that music/stories, and physical training are all things that are stressed in the youth of children. Music begins with stories or tales. â€Å"We won’t admit stories into our cities- whether allegory or not. â€Å", this shows that he wants to cut down the telling of tales because he says that children absorb these tales in a literal sense rather than a hypothetical one. He says â€Å"You know, don’t you, that the beginning of any process is most important, especially for anything young and tender. It is at this time that it is most malleable and takes on any pattern one wishes to impress on it. â€Å". (377b) He wants to censor children from hate and violence . Also, he believes that only moderate melodies are acceptable, because they are calmer and won’t bring about radical behavior. Socrates goes on to say that music and poetry are important, but should only be taught when a person is old enough to tell the difference between right and wrong. After his discussion about music and narratives, he goes on to discuss the physical body, and how it affects one’s mind. â€Å"†¦ a fit body doesn’t by its own virtue make the soul good, but does the opposite. † (403d) This is exemplifies that having a good soul will make a good body, and that a healthy body leads to a good intellect. This was achieved by gymnastics at the time. So, all in all, a good education can consist of gymnastics and good music. But, isn’t society today based on telling the whole truth and learning everything possible? Our society in the Unites States is democratic, which means that we choose our leaders. To do this, we have to be well-educated of our county. So, in every school music, English, history, and math are required for every student to learn. This is because the government wants to educate people about their country, so that they can understand what goes on in society. That is the reason for newspapers, to keep the society informed. This is different from what Socrates believes to be the best way to educate children. We believe that knowledge is at its best when everyone is educated with everything, and Socrates believes that knowledge is at its best when it is cleaned up and censored. So, what is the best way to be educated? Is it to censor society into a â€Å"perfect† one, or is it to teach everything wholly and hope that great wisdom derives from this? Socrates’ idea about society is much different from what society has evolved into. What would become of today’s society if the music and poetry of Socrates’ time was censored into disappearing? I think that people should be taught everything in their youth, because improvement can only be made from mistakes, and also, a perfect society would be a boring one. Word Count: 790.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Lead And Manage A Team Essay

1.1 -Explain the features of effective team performance The features of effective team performance is set up through positive leadership, this is something which is developed and nurtured. An effective team will work together, be focused and all the time supporting each other along the way to achieve and reach goals. For a team to be effective, each team member needs to be clear on their roles and responsibilities relating to their job. Team performance will be more effective if there is respect for the leader/manager and an understanding towards their job role and responsibility. The leader/manager should also be aware of the skills or weakness within the team and be able to provide support were necessary and also utilise their strengths. Training and support will enable staff to improve performance, develop confidence and lift spirit within the team. A leader should encourage any conflicts to be resolved through healthy, professional confrontation and willingly and openly negotiate necessary changes. Effective leaders are a bit like cheerleaders for the team, they encourage and support members who are committed and actively with their teams and engage those members who aren’t participating. 1.2 -Identify the challenges experienced by developing teams Lack of Diverse Skills and Interests: If a team consists of members with similar skills and interests, the purpose of the team may not be achieved. Consider the scope of the project before selecting team members to determine which skills and interests best serve the team. Choose team members who have a range of different skill sets and interests. Read more:  Explain the Features of Effective Team Performance Poor Communication When individuals work as part of a team, communication is a key. If a team member treats his role as an independent one, communication suffers. If the team leader doesn’t communicate with the team members, the office suffers. Hold team meetings to discuss expectations. Ask team members about their successes and challenges to gauge the level of communication. Supervisions are key as they are often a good tool to set objectives and measure success. Role Confusion Even though a team works together to achieve a goal, each person needs to know his specific role within the team. Otherwise, role confusion results. When team members lack an understanding of their specific roles or choose not to follow through with their roles, the team cannot develop as a cohesive and well-functioning unit. As a branch manager it is important that i ensure that i develop specific, well-defined roles for each team member. Explain each role, in detail, to each team member to avoid confusion. Monitor team members to make sure they adhere to their assigned role. 1.3 -Identify the challenges experienced by established teams Conflict Conflict can occur in work place for all sorts of reasons, however it can often occur in established teams. Often established teams can become quite friendly and personal issues can interfere or cause problems within the working environment, it is important for me as the branch manager that these are indentified and dealt with sooner rather than later as often it can become difficult to manage if it escalates. Norming Tuckman model refers to Forming – Storming – Norming and performing, Experienced teams can often get stuck in norming which is where everything becomes stagnant and just ticks over day to day. Day to day tasks are complete but nothing above and beyond, as the branch manager its my role to get the team from this stage to performing, this can be done through regular team meetings, supervisions. 1.4 -Explain how challenges to effective team performance can be overcome Working as a part of a team can be challenging depending on different personalities and working styles, however it can be just as rewarding, tasks can get completed quicker and the working environment can be fun and enjoyable. If not managed effectively the team will not function and there are some basic things to bare in mind. Clear job roles Regular team meetings Regular supervisions/appraisals Team building days All staff are aware of what we are working towards Manage performance effectively 1.5 -Analyse how different management styles may influence outcomes of team performance There are many management styles and i believe having one particular type all the time wont work, i find myself more of a democratic which is: Democratic style, the manager allows the employees to take part in decision-making: therefore everything is agreed upon by the majority. The communication is extensive in both directions (from employees to leaders and vice versa). This style can be particularly useful when complex decisions need to be made that require a range of specialist skills: for example, when a new ICT system needs to be put in place, and the upper management of the business is computer-illiterate. From the overall business’s point of view, job satisfaction and quality of work will improve, and participatory contributions from subordinates will be much higher. However, the decision-making process could be severely slowed down unless decision processes are streamlined. The need for consensus may avoid taking the ‘best’ decision for the business unless it is managed or limited. As stated above this does have its disadvantages as decisions can be slow and staff can become to involved in the managing of the business. Other types of management styles are: Consultative Persuasive Autocratic Chaotic Democratic is more my style but I will step into other styles should the need arise, however democratic style has its pros and cons, not all decisions can be made or involve the team and during these times conflict and anxiety may arise, it also has the potential to blur job role boundaries as staff may feel they are in a higher position than they actually are, I think its important during times staff can not be involved in decisions then other styles of management should explored, being stuck in one style can become predictive and staff may become complacent. A good style of management is also Autocratic this style of management is where the manager makes all the decisions and this can be an assertive style however it can make the staff  feel less involved in the day to day running of the business, it does have it pros – staff can feel well lead and managed with the business under control as the manager can come across confident. I think its important to move between the both styles depending on the situation, for example if you are disciplining someone the a more assertive style would be needed, where as if you are trying to reach targets or setting KPI’s then the democratic style would be more suited as you would involve the whole team and let everyone decide how the KPI’s would be achieved, staff are more likely to achieve targets if they are involved in the process. 1.6a &B -Analyse methods of developing and maintaining – trust / Accountability Trust develops from consistent actions that show staff you are reliable, cooperative and committed to team success. A sense of confidence in the workplace better allows employees to work together for a common goal. Trust does not always happen naturally, especially if previous actions make the employees question if you are reliable. Take stock of the current level of trust in the workplace, identifying potential roadblocks. An action plan to build positive relationships helps improve the overall work environment for all employees. Remain honest with your employees about both positive and negative aspects of the business. Expect your management team to maintain the same level of honesty with the employees. This sense of integrity makes your employees and colleagues more trusting of your actions Involve all employees in achieving company goals. Be transparent with your company’s mission and goals so all employees feel they are a valuable part of obtaining those objectives. Employees who feel management values them are more likely to instil trust in those leaders Value all input from your employees. Encourage employees at all levels to share their ideas for improving the company. Listen with an open mind even if you don’t ultimately choose to follow a suggestion made by an employee. Define the duties. Eighty percent of the job is specified by your job description and responsibilities. Twenty percent of your time, however, is spent helping colleagues and clients. Create an atmosphere where everyone bends over backward for the other person. A successful, trusted and well-respected team  member uses words like, absolutely or certainly when asked for help. Look for things that need to be done and do them without being asked! This is the true definition of teamwork. Be clear with prospective employees during the interview process. What are your expectations? Hold your existing employees and new hires to consistent standards, outlined in your policy manual. True teamwork demands that all employees are held to the same standards and, most importantly, do whatever is necessary to take care of the customer! Define your expectations in a workplace policy manual. A personnel policy and workplace manual should cover individual and team responsibilities. If you don’t already have one, or if you have one that needs updating, be sure it includes items such as: Job description Office and working hours Leave time Professional appearance, including body piercing, tattoos and hair color Salary Other benefits Outside employment Probationary periods Performance reviews Absenteeism Discipline Termination Be aware, however, that more important than defining your expectations: You need to be consistent in holding all employees to the same standard or else you will create an atmosphere of favouritism! Outline the time commitment and set aside adequate time for each task. It is not fair to assign or accept a responsibility and then have no time to accomplish the task. Be realistic about the timeframe, and make sure your team members are aware of the deadlines for each project they take on. Be careful to not overload your staff with too many commitments or too many interruptions. They will get discouraged and burned out. Instead, focus on delegating one task at a time, communicating the objective and timeframe clearly. Open the lines of communication by having an open-door policy. Manage by â€Å"walking around.†Ã‚  Know the concerns of your team and deal with them head on. Ignoring your staff’s concerns will NOT make them go away! Be positive in your approach and dependable in your attitude. Do not lose your temper. Instead, be reasonable and predicable. If you respond inappropriately, whether out of anger or insult, your team will remember the 10 percent of the time that you were out of control, not the 90 percent of the time that you did well! By following these steps and increasing the accountability of your office staff, you create trust and respect in the workplace. With these changes, your sense of teamwork and trust will grow, while decreasing your levels of stress and conflict 1.6 -Compare methods of addressing conflict within a team Be Aware when conflict occurs Knowing that conflict may and will occur is the first step to resolving it, especially if you know that certain team members may disagree with each other. By recognising that there will be conflict, a manager knows what to expect. Set the Ground Rules At the beginning set some ground rules in your first meeting. Be sure to address what process will be taken to address conflicts, as they are bound to rise and will need to be taken care of before they spiral out of control. Tell team members that everyone’s ideas are valid and that they shouldn’t be dismissed, even if you do not agree with them. Learn About Destructive Conflicts Conflict becomes destructive when no resolution is in sight or the issue cannot be resolved. A psychological model for explaining destructive patterns is the persecutor-victim-rescuer triangle. The persecutor would be the bad-guy or bully in this scenario, but the rescuer is also placing him or herself in a position of superiority over the supposed victim. Stop yourself if you see yourself slipping into any of these roles and also try to recognise it in your team. Stop Conflict when it Happens Conflict should be addressed immediately before it can grow. If a discussion  grows heated during a meeting, do not wait until the next meeting to address the issue. Instead, discuss the issue while in the meeting; even if members disagree, they are still able to see each other’s points of view. Get the Whole Story Be sure you understand the perspectives of every person involved. Conflicts arise when there are differences of opinion, but also due to miscommunication or misunderstanding. As the manager, you should get all the information you can in regards to the conflict so that you can resolve it efficiently and effectively. Meet for Resolutions If the conflict can’t be resolved during the initial meeting, set up a separate meeting with those that are having the conflicts, so that a resolution can be reached without getting the other team members involved and picking sides. Discuss Both Sides of a Perspective Even if you are inclined to agree with one side of the conflict, do not make a final judgment until each person has had their say. Ending a discussion without hearing each person out can escalate the problem. Explain the pros and cons of both ideas, so that both people can consider the opposing view. Make Compromise a Goal Compromising between parties is helpful, as it can allow for both conflicting parties the ability to use their ideas. Most times, points can be combined in order to make a better idea or solution.