Operation management

Do You Think Marco Van Hopen Understands the Importance of Operations to His Business? Marco Van Hopen understands the importance of operations as he notes that the company is experiencing a considerable growth but there are a number of issues which can be handled when the company will become â€Å"organized† (as cited in Chambers Johnston, 2009, p. 29).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Operation management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company was founded in 1999 and it was a small organization. However, the company has grown into an organization with sixteen full-time employees and more than twenty part-time employees. Van Hopen notes that it is difficult to predict the costs and profit, which is inappropriate for such a big company. Van Hopen also claims that they have developed trustful relationships with their clients and it is crucial to meet their clients’ expectations. Remarkably, Mar co Van Hopen is enthusiastic about the change, though he still does not know how to plan and implement the change. For instance, he understands that production services are more profitable, but he is still indecisive as for the development of this part of the business. On the one hand, he claims that this area has a great potential as more and more clients need these services. On the other hand, equipment hire and sales is more predictable and, hence, it is a safer area. Therefore, he does not want to change the major focus of the company. He also states that the company needs certain restructuring which will enable employees cooperate more efficiently (Chambers Johnston, 2009). This collaboration will help the company reduce costs and potentially increase profits. What Contribution Does He Seem to Expect from His Operations? Firstly, Van Hopen wants to take control over the costs. Thus, he states that reorganization of certain processes can help reduce the costs, â€Å"by working together more we could increase our ability to take on more work without increasing our cost base† (as cited in Chambers Johnston, 2009, p. 29). Notably, costs reduction is one of the key elements of operation management (Slack, Chambers Johnston, 2010). Marco Van Hopen expects to get larger revenues as a result of the operations management. He notes that improvement of their operations will lead to new contracts and, as a result, to larger revenues. Admittedly, this is one of the core goals within operations management (Greasley, 2007). Finally, Van Hopen expects that they will be able to achieve the goals mentioned above without large investment, though he understands that certain amount of funds will be spent to carry out the change. Nonetheless, Van Hopen seeks for ways to reduce costs and increase revenues with minimum investment. One of possible ways (according to Van Hopen) is restructuring the organization. This is quite a cost-effective way to make the organization more efficient and competitive.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Supply Network for AAF and AAF’s Position within It To consider the supply network for the company, it is possible to exploit the principle of three levels of operations management analysis, i.e. the level of supply network, operation and individual process (Leseure, 2010). It is possible to note that there are two major operations, i.e. production services (installing equipment, design, etc.) and equipment hire and sales (see Fig. 1). The operations are somewhat intermingled as customers often order equipment as well as production services from the company. There are different suppliers to the company. These are often other companies providing equipment hire services and selling equipment. Remarkably, AAF keeps close relations with these companies and often supplies them with certain equipment or pr ovides some services. This collaboration is very important as it helps the company remain competitive. Fig.1. Supply Network As far as customers are concerned, the company provides services to other production companies as well as to end clients. Thus, Van Hopen notes that production companies often address AAF and order certain equipment which is further sold to end clients (Chambers Johnston, 2009). The company has recently started cooperating with end clients that find it easier to work with AAF directly as the latter provides equipment as well as production services now. What Are the Major Processes within AAF, and How Do They Relate to Each Other? It is possible to point out major processes within AAF, i.e. production services and design, equipment hire and sales, and administration (see Fig.2.). Notably, the process of production and design services are closely connected with the process of equipment hire and sales. This link can be explained by the fact that customers who o rder equipment tend to order design, installation and maintenance of the equipment (Chambers Johnston, 2009). Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Operation management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Fig.2. Operational Level It is possible to analyze these processes with the help of the 4 Vs of the company’s processes (see Fig. 3). The process of equipment hire and sales is characterized by high volume as the company provides a wide range of products and services in this area. It is necessary to note that AAF tries to use only advanced and up-dated equipment (Chambers Johnston, 2009). Therefore, the variety of this process is quite high. Notably, variation is not very high as the process of placing orders is similar even though different products may be provided. Finally, visibility of the process is rather low as it is quite difficult to predict the number of contracts in this area (compared to the number of contracts for installation which can be foreseen as many company’s clients request installation services along with equipment). As for design, this process is characterized by low volume as these services are only becoming popular (Chambers Johnston, 2009). Since every project is unique, variety of design is very high. However, variation is lower as these services are ordered by clients who get equipment from the company. This is why visibility of this process is high. Thus, it is easy to predict how many contracts there can be as in the vast majority of cases the number of design orders depends on the contracts on equipment supplies. Fig.3. 4 Vs of the Company Production services are very similar to design process as these two processes are often interrelated. At this point, it is necessary to note that theatrical groups are often the company’s clients. Equipment and especially design and production play a very important role in the creation of a performance (St uart Tax, 2004).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, these clients are often involved in the four processes of the organization. The process of production services is characterized by low volume as the services are quite new to the company. The variety and variation are high as each project is unique (though variation is a bit lower since customers often order equipment, design and production). Visibility is also very high due to the points mentioned above. Administration is the last process to be discussed with the help of the 4 Vs dimensions. It is necessary to note that administration process is rather difficult to analyze within this framework. The process is of high volume as each client may get a variety of services and lots of invoices can be sent. Administration is also characterized by high variety and variation as each invoice and each operation as well as service can be different. Finally, visibility of this process is quite low as the growth of the company has led to certain obscurity. For instance, Van Hopen cl aims that it is essential to improve the processes within the company (Chambers Johnston, 2009). It is possible to take a closer look at the administration process within AAF (see Fig.4). The administration includes storage, workshop, design employees and the crew. Van Hopen stresses that the employees do not cooperate close enough. In other words, there is little understanding of the processes and the goals set. More so, there is almost no cooperation among the parts of the organization. There should be more cooperation between the employees as this will help them complete more complex tasks within reduced time spans. This is vital as the company is growing and more employees will be hired. There is a need in a specific structure with certain communication channels. Fig.4. Process Level Analysis of Administration In conclusion, it is possible to note that administration processes require restructuring. AAF has grown into a big company that has loyal clients. These clients expect high-quality services within the allotted period. This will become possible if the company will have a well-structured administration processes. Reference List Chambers, S., Johnston, R. (2009). Operations and process management: Principles and practice for strategic impact. Essex, UK: Pearson Education. Greasley, A. (2007). Operations management. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Leseure, M. (2010). Key concepts in operations management. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Slack, N., Chambers, S., Johnston, R. (2010). Operations management. Essex, UK: Pearson Education. Stuart, F.I., Tax, S. (2004). Toward an integrative approach to designing service experiences: Lessons learned from the theatre. The Journal of Operations Management, 22(1), 609-627. This essay on Operation management was written and submitted by user Larry Riddle to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Operation management

18 Types of Spanish Verbs

18 Types of Spanish Verbs There may be as many ways of classifying Spanish verbs as there are people doing it, but discovering how Spanish treats different verbs differently is nevertheless a key part of learning the language. Heres one way of looking at the types of verbs, keeping in mind, of course, that verbs can fit into more than one classification. 1. Infinitives Infinitives are verbs in their most basic form, the way you find them listed in dictionaries. Infinitives by themselves tell you nothing about who or what is performing a verbs action or when. Spanish infinitives- examples include hablar (to speak), cantar (to sing), and vivir (to live)- are the rough equivalent of the to form of English verbs and sometimes of the -ing form. Spanish infinitives can function as verbs or nouns. 2, 3, and 4. -Ar, -Er, and -Ir Verbs Every verb fits into one of these types based on the last two letters of its infinitive. In Spanish there is no verb that ends in anything other than one of these three two-letter combinations. Even verbs that are made up or imported such as surfear (to surf) and snowboardear (to snowboard) require one of these endings. The distinction among types is that they are conjugated based on the ending. 5 and 6. Regular and Irregular Verbs The vast majority of -ar verbs are conjugated in the same way, and the same is true for the other two ending types. These are known as regular verbs. Unfortunately for Spanish students, the more used a verb is, the more likely it is not to follow the regular pattern, being irregular. 7 and 8. Defective and Impersonal Verbs The term defective verb is usually used to refer to a verb that isnt conjugated in all its forms. In traditional Spanish, for example, abolir (to abolish) has an incomplete conjugation set. Also, soler (to usually do something) doesnt exist in all tenses. Most defective verbs are also impersonal verbs, meaning that their action isnt performed by a distinct person or thing. The most common such are the weather  verbs such as llover (to rain) and nevar (to snow). Since theres no logical reason to use forms that mean something like we rain or they snow, such forms dont exist in standard Spanish. 9 and 10. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs The distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs is important enough to Spanish grammar that the classification is given in most Spanish dictionaries- vt or vtr for verbos transitivos and vi for verbos intransitivos. Transitive verbs require an object to make a complete sentence, while intransitive verbs do not. For example, levantar (to lift or raise) is transitive; it must be used with a word that indicates what is lifted. (In Levantà ³ la mano for He raised his hand, mano or hand is the object.) An example of an intransitive verb is roncar (to snore). It cannot take an object. Some verbs can be transitive or intransitive depending on the context. Most of the time, for example, dormir is intransitive, as is its English equivalent, to sleep. However, dormir, unlike to sleep, can also mean to put someone to sleep, in which case it is transitive. 11. Reflexive or Reciprocal Verbs A reflexive verb is a type of transitive verb in which the verbs object is also the person or thing performing the action of the verb. For example, if I put myself to sleep, I could say, Me durmà ­, where durmà ­ means I put to sleep and me means myself. Many verbs that are used in a reflexive way are listed in dictionaries by adding -se to the infinitive, creating entries such as dormirse (to fall asleep) and encontrarse (to find oneself). Reciprocal verbs take the same form as reflexive verbs, but they indicate that two or more subjects are interacting with each other. Example: Se golpearon uno al otro. (They beat up on each other.) 12. Copulative Verbs A copulative or linking verb is a type of intransitive verb that is used to connect the subject of a sentence with a word that describes it or says what it is. For example, the es in La nià ±a es guatemalteca (The girl is Guatemalan) is a linking verb. The most common Spanish linking verbs are ser (to be), estar (to be), and parecer (to seem).  Verbs that arent copulative are known in Spanish as verbos predicativos. 13. Past Participles A past participle is a type of participle that can be used to form the perfect tenses. Most past participles end in -ado or -ido. As in English, past participles can also usually be used as adjectives. For example, the past participle quemado , from the verb quemar, meaning to burn, helps form the present perfect tense in He quemado el pan (I have burnt the bread) but is an adjective in No me gusta el pan quemado (I dont like burnt bread). Past participles can vary in number and gender like other adjectives. 14. Gerunds Present adverbial participles, often known as gerunds, end in -ando or -endo as the rough equivalent of English -ing verb forms. They can combine with forms of estar to make progressive verb forms: Estoy viendo la luz. (I am seeing the light.) Unlike other types of participles, Spanish gerunds can also function much like adverbs. For example, in Corrà © viendo todo (I ran while seeing everything), viendo describes how the running occurred. 15. Auxiliary Verbs Auxiliary or helping verbs are used with another verb to give it vital meaning, such as a tense. A common example is haber (to have), which is used with a past participle to form a perfect tense. For example, in He comido (I have eaten), the he form of haber is an auxiliary verb. Another common auxiliary is estar as in Estoy comiendo (I am eating). 16. Action Verbs As their name suggests, action verbs tell us what someone or something is doing. The vast majority of verbs are action verbs, as they include the verbs that arent auxiliary verbs or linking verbs. 17 and 18. Simple and Compound Verbs Simple verbs consist of a single word. Compound or complex verbs use one or two auxiliary verbs and a main verb and include the perfect and progressive forms mentioned above. Example of compound verb forms include habà ­a ido (he has gone), estaban estudiando (they were studying), and habrà ­a estado buscando (she will have been seeking). 10, 20, and 21. Indicative, Subjunctive, and Imperative Verbs These three forms, known collectively as referring to a verbs mood, indicate the speakers perception of a verbs action. Simply put, indicative verbs are used for matters of fact; subjunctive verbs often are used to refer to actions that the speaker desires, doubts or has an emotional reaction to; and imperative verbs are commands.

A View of Sexism Evident in Nike’s Athletic Promotion

A View of Sexism Evident in Nike’s Athletic Promotion What’s One More Thing for Men to Rule: Finding Women’s place in Athletics This text is questioning why men are looked as being the superior athletes in comparison to women in sports, and more specifically in long distance running. It also questions why we as society feel the need to compare them. The Men Vs. Women challenge advertisement campaign put on by Nike plus acts as the representative example for this text in order to see how society still values male athletes more than female athletes. The author consulted Robert Degner’s work, which explains how men have experienced a longer predisposition to being competitive. The author also joined a conversation with Christine Wegner about her research regarding statistics of female marathon runners. It was found that the number has plateaued and it speculated that this is caused by social norms restricting women from spending extra time on training that they are using right now to raise children. One more thing for men to rule, is the caption on the advertisement of the Men vs. Women challenge put on by Nike Plus (Gould). This particular ad is obviously supporting the men in the challenge. One more thing for men to rule. Is it supposed to intimidate women? Or empower men? Did Nike even think about the fact that the ad might come off as offensive? What exactly are they trying to accomplish? But mainly, why are we making it a competition between men and women? With all this being said, if society knows that there are limitations that have held women back from being as physically capable as men and, if male and female bodies are created differently, why does society continue to value male athletes as more capable and superior to female athletes? My initial hypothesis is that because men have been participating in sports for a much longer period of time than women have, we tend to value them more than female athletes. The Nike Plus ad, which I will be analyzing as my representative example, was part of a campaign originally to get more women to join Nike plus, an app that connects to your iPod or phone to track your mileage and pace. I chose to use this advertisement as my representative example because Nike is a pretty well known company and they are still ignoring gender equality just for one of their campaigns. The employees at Nike decided that the best way to get women to join the app was to start a battle of the sexes. On the ad in favor of the men’s side there is a guy running wearing Nike running clothes. He looks very focused. There are big white words in front of him saying â€Å"one more thing for men to rule.† and then under that in smaller letters are words saying â€Å"join the men vs. women challenge at nikeplus.com.† He looks like he knows what he is doing, like he is an experienced runner (correct form, proper running clothes, defined muscles, etc.). There was an ad similar to the men’s ad supporting the women. There is an experienced, focused female runner with words in front of her saying, â€Å"Ladies First. Men second.† It seems ironic that they chose to say ladies first because at no point in history have women dominated sports. Men have a vastly different athletic background than women do. The Olympics have been around for thousands of years, running events have been included in all of them. Except, only for men. Women weren’t able to participate until 1900 and didn’t start competing in running events until the 1928 Olympics (The History of Women’s Running). A handful of women were able to compete in the 800m run in 1928, however a lot of them collapsed at the end of the race so it was banned until 1960. This seems really unfair because even though they were allowed to finally run they hadn’t gone through proper training, or education on how to race an 800m. After that event there became a rule that women could not race more than 1.5 miles because they physiologically incapable of running more than that. The marathon was not incorporated into the games for women until 1984 after a group of women fought long and hard to prove that they should have the rights to race more than 1.5 miles (The History of Women’s Running). Women have not had nearly enough time to adapt their bodies for maximum potential because our history did not include lots of physical activity. Why were men participating in sports when women weren’t? Men on the other hand have had plenty of time to adapt their bodies for physical activity. Robert Deaner and some of his colleagues published an article exploring the evidence that men have had an evolutionary history of physical competition, they hypothesized that because men were involved in more physical activity, â€Å"Men have experienced a longer predisposition to be competitive, which has driven them to be more interested in sports†¦Societies have documented female participation in sports but men were always shown to be more involved.† (Deaner) While they did document women participating in sports they weren’t nearly as competitive or involved in them as men were. Could this biological response have been influenced by the social norms of that time? Where these social norms influencing females drive for competition as well? How has women’s biology played a role into their athletic participation? Why was it acceptable for men to play sports while women stayed inside and cared for children? Women are still evolving their bodies to be capable of maximum athletic performance. Russell Pate and Jennifer O’Neill published a paper about the advances women have made in the sport of marathon running. They looked into the trend of the best marathon times for women over the span of 30 years to see how they have changed. It was discovered that women improved their marathon times by 15.6% over thirty years, while the best male marathon times have remained fairly constant for recent decades. They also looked at the physiological differences between male and female runners. â€Å"The male runners had statistically significant higher values of height, weight, sum of 6-site skinfolds, V ?O2max and V ?E compared with the female runners.† (Pate). These biological differences have been adapted over many centuries so that men could run to catch food or fight off enemies. It’s okay to compare males and females. However, we need to draw the line when comparison turns int o a hierarchical comparison and a placement of women and men on a scale based on factors that shouldn’t be compared. This is why I found the Nike ad destructive to the work that many people have put their entire lives into for gender equality. Does being a child bearer mean that women’s bodies aren’t as physically capable of athletic performance because their bodies are able to bear children? It seems like we’ve made a lot of progress with feminism but we still have a lot of work to do. Social norms of women and mothers being the primary caregivers for children have had an impact on the number of women participating in sports. Christine Wegner did a study about the number of women running full marathons and discovered that â€Å"While the percentage of female runners at every distance up to and including the half marathon has increased continually over the past 10 years, the percentage of women participating in full marathons has plateaued since 2006, with women still representing the minority in this distance at 43%.† (Wegner) Women are now the majority of half marathon runners at 61%. They suggested that women have found their spot in running and have become most comfortable running half marathons. They continue and say, â€Å"The environmental filter that once precluded women from distance running has appeared to shift, moving the exclusionary barriers, and now seems to apply only to the longest race distances of 26.2 miles and beyond.† (Wegner) The article mentioned that it is not difficult for women to start running initially, that we have jumped that hurdle but it does become difficult for women to up the amount of time they spend training for races longer than the half marathon (Wegner). They speculate this is because it takes more time out of each day to train for a full marathon that most women using to take care of their children. So have we really jumped over social norms? Society used to see women as exclusively caregivers and nothing else. Their job was to stay at home, care for the kids, and clean the house. Now, it’s socially acceptable for women to run and race but they still have to devote their main priorities to caring for children, given that they are mothers, but running is something they can do if they have spare time. Men have less of a hard time fitting running into their schedules because of they aren’t expected to see to their children as much as women are. Another issue with society’s hierarchy or gender is the pay scale for women compared to men. This article titled, â€Å"Heres why its fair that female athletes make less than men† by Shane Ferro discussed why its fair that women get paid less. It’s because not as many people come to watch female athletics. This specific article looked into soccer players but this is common among most sports. The writers used â€Å"fair† in the sense that what their sport makes is relatively equal to what each athletes makes. They went on to point out that what we really need to be focusing on is why, why are people less inclined to go see women compete, and put less time and money into female sporting events? â€Å"The real question is not why female athletes are paid less. People should be asking why fans and sponsors are less interested in supporting womens sports — and this is what they should be outraged about.†(Ferro) Once again it all goes back to socia l norms that male sports are dominate, which somehow makes them more interesting. Why? Could this difference in pay scale discourage women from running? Could it also empower them to fight for their rights to have equal pay? If we know that our historical differences have led to different biological capabilities than why are we still initiating competitions between men and women? Who is this healthy for? Could this be potentially harmful to men as well? Men too feel pressure from the hierarchy that we have created as well. Except, they don’t worry about whether they will be able to compete in a sport, rather they worry If they will be able to keep up with the expectations that society has set for them as ‘fit males’. When men see that women can beat them in a race they feel intimidated and embarrassed that a girl could beat them. This hierarchy has led to many male athletes afraid because they are supposed to be better, according to society. If they aren’t though, they can feel pressure from other males as well as media to be better, stronger and faster. Athletes will go to extreme measures to prove to society that they are the top dog. One common way they do this is by abusing performance-enhancing drugs. A document released by The American College of Sports Medicine stated that, â€Å"Lifetime prevalence rates for steroid use among male adolescents generally range between 4 and 12 percent and between .5 and 2 percent for female adolescents.†(Yesalis) This is showing that males have a higher chance of using steroids, this article also mentioned that drug use can start pretty early in life, signaling that it could be due to social pressures. If kids are using steroids so early in life it could be hard for them to stop later in life and also change their mindset that they don’t need to use steroids to be great athletes. How do we move forward? I think we have done a lot to get women in sports to where we are today, but yet we still see sexist acts and comments being made on a large scale. Eric Anderson did a study on the cultural forces that are affecting male athlete’s attitude towards sexism. He says in his research, â€Å"Competitive male team sport athletes might maintain socio-negative attitudes toward women even in a time when institutional sexism has been shown to be decreasing.† (Anderson 258). He used data from heterosexual men who played football in high school, a much masculinized sport, and then went on to join collegiate cheerleading in college. He found that the guys largely changed their views regarding women’s athletics. They respected women’s leadership abilities and valued their friendship. While this is all well and good, it astonishes me that men have to actually see women participating in sports close up and interact with them for us to gain their res pect. It shouldn’t have to be like this, but if it helps men take women more seriously in the athletic world then we need to continue in that direction. Maybe this means that we just need to combine more sports and allow men to see that we are just as willing to put in the work as they are. Is this the right way right that we should be going about trying to demolish gender norms? I don’t think there is a â€Å"right† way to do it, however, we need to continue to talk about gender norms and help break them down. There really is no need for comparison, we should be able to respect each other’s differences whether it be due to biological differences or others, but at the same time be able to support one another. Athletics is about bettering yourself and improving your health, ultimately.

Executive Summary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Executive Summary - Research Paper Example Sonic healthcare shows an EV/EBITDA ratio of 9.86 for the next 12 months. This is higher than the median of its peer group: 8.31. The company valuation of sonic healthcare according to these metrics is above the market valuation of its peer group† (Sonic Healthcare market valuation multiples (AU000000SHL7 - ticker: SHL), 2010). Sonic healthcare is solely dedicated to diagnostic services primarily in the field of pathology and recently in the field of radiology. With the aim of becoming the largest diagnostic company in the world Sonic Healthcare has enlarged its operations to around seven other big countries other than Australia. . Problem: â€Å"Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX:SHL) has reported a 13 per cent drop in its first half net profit, and advised that full year profit is expected to fall at the lower end of its earlier guidance range† (Sonic Healthcare H1 profit drops, 2011). Owing to the regulatory issues in Australian pathology and the impacts of the recent severe w eather the expected profit of Sonic Healthcare for the 2011 financial year is reported to rest at 5 to 15 percent range. Solution: To solve the problems faced by Sonic Healthcare an amalgamation team has been set up as part of broader rationalization.

Policy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Policy Analysis - Essay Example The center sought to consolidate the country’s security resources such as personnel, databases, and infrastructure in the fight against terrorism. This way, the process of tracking, apprehending and litigating terrorists become easier and faster possibly creating a safer society for the American population. Rule Terrorism is the greatest threat to the American development and often jeopardizes the country’s ability to provide her citizens with the quality of life it espouses on its bill of rights. Terrorism is the worst international crime that seeks to instill fear on a country’s population thereby sparking revolt against the serving government. Terrorists operate on the principles of mass destruction and murder thereby instilling fear on the citizens owing to their government’s ability to protect them. Such are likely to stifle the government’s operations thus causing constitutional crises in the country. With an elaborate understanding of the abi lities of terrorism and the intent of terrorists, the country developed the Homeland directive in order to increase protection on the American president. The United States of America is the global super power with the best economy and the strongest military apparatus in the world. With such titles, the citizens of the country therefore feel entitled to several life provisions such as increased longevity owing to the government’s ability to provide a safe and secure environment. The president of the United States of America is an international figure of both power and authority. Should terrorists access and cause injury to such a figure, it would portray the country’s inability to protect its institutions of power thus imply that the citizens are most vulnerable. The country invest billions of dollars in guaranteeing the safety of her presidents in order to prevent the recurrence of the murder of serving presidents as witnessed with two historical figures. Application H omeland is the security outfit mandated with the internal protection. The security outfit has an unprecedented amount of resources to carry out extensive research on battering the state of security in the country. The homeland security presidential directive 6 provides the security outfit with the ability to monitor the activities of the citizens and every other person migrating into the country in order to determine the terrorists networks and their supporters. The directive provides for the establishment of a terrorist screening center administered by the Federal bureau of investigation, which is the country’s biggest security apparatus with access to the international security contraptions has the ability to keep the country safe from both internal and external threats. Several security bodies in the country approved the development of the terrorist center in order to integrate the operation of the previously segmented security apparatus that often resulted in confusion of jurisdiction in the country. After the 9/11 incident, the government determined the potential of the country’s enemies and therefore developed a number of security institutions to help create a safer nation. The 9/11 commission approved the development of the screening center since such would pool the country’

Ebay Culture Essay Example for Free

Ebay Culture Essay What is organizational culture? This indefinable combination of values, beliefs, and practice that a corporation posses, which makes the difference between surviving and thriving, succeeding and failing. Most large corporations typically have a strong culture with values and norms appropriate to the organizational purpose. In a big organization, sub-cultures also exist, division to division, office to office. In this part of this group assignment I will describe the organizational culture of one of the most famous internet companies in the world, which is also the largest marketplace in the internet – EBay. Many articles and books have been written in recent years about culture in organizations, usually referred to as Corporate Culture. The dictionary defines culture as the act of developing intellectual and moral faculties, especially through education. This paper will use a slightly different definition of culture: the moral, social, and behavioral norms of an organization based on the beliefs, attitudes, and priorities of its internal community. Every organization has its own unique culture or value set. The culture of the organization is typically created unconsciously, based on the values of the top management or the founders of an organization. Organizational culture has been defined as â€Å"a pattern of basic assumptions, values, or beliefs and norms of behavior. According to O’Reilly, organizational culture defined as the values shared by members of an organization. These basic values may be thought of as internalized normative beliefs that can guide behavior inside an organization. If organizational culture is developed as an organization learns to deal with the dual problems of both external adaptation and internal integration, then values that enhance the organization’s capability in these two functions should be useful for it. To the extent that members of an organization share the same sets of values, thought processes, and languages, they will have similar mind-sets and behaviors as they integrate their efforts inside the organization and adapt to environmental changes. Research has documented a variety of outcomes that are related to organizational culture. For example, organizational culture has been found to relate to organization growth and organization performance. Other studies have shown that its effect can be observed directly at the individual level, in outcomes such as commitment, resource allocation decisions, retention, and perceived attractiveness of an organization. Given the dramatic changes in both the external environment and the internal structure of worldwide organizations, organizations that emphasize cultural values that relate to external adaptation and internal integration should be more effective than those that do not. The character of any corporation or an organization characterized by set of values and principles by which the founders and the upper management run the company from its creation when it’s really begin to become part of the DNA of the company. I believe that companies form culture very early on and they get imprinted very early on with a sense of right and wrong. And it starts from the top. It started with the CFO, the President, and CEO. According to Whitman, sis he had innate sense that they needed at EBay to establish very early on what the code of behavior was going to be, what the code of ethics would be. EBay’s internal company culture was very dominant and strong. Even though its culture had great influence of its member’s behavior, the culture encourages its members to feel more commitment. Employees were expected to be open and honest, to treat one another with respect, and to speak up if they believed they were not being treated in this manner. EBay functioned as being a nonhierarchical, democratic organization that encouraged ideas and feedback from all employees. The culture at eBay characterized as being open and low risk, where employees were encouraged to express their opinions despite their different points of view. Mistakes were acceptable, but employees were encouraged to truly learn from them. According to Whitman, unlike other companies where different views and opinions from the senior management were barely heard , at EBay they do not have â€Å"punishes† attitude, meaning that there is no penalty for being on the wrong side of an issue or changing your mind in the face of better information. If an employee`s point of view contradict with his/her colleague when you end up convinced to be wrong, the culture is to appreciate your opinion and at the same time to come with the approach of: â€Å"ok? hat’s smart. You’re right. Let’s move on. † In addition, As role models, senior managers had to act with a high degree of professionalism and respect. EBay does not encourage people who scream loud or pound the tables. At EBay, it’s pretty even-keeled culture. Sustaining its culture provide a better understanding of the strength of the culture. As EBay grew , in order to conserve the unique internal culture of the organization, EBay made sure it hires only individuals who fit with the culture of the organization. In order to emphasize the importance of its culture, EBay`s CEO Meg Whitman, met with new candidates and describe eBay’s values and to set expectations for how each employee would support and contribute to the company’s culture. According to EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, experience was not the only quality they were looking in potential applicants, but for someone who really understands the significance of its both internal and external communities and that person should express its most respect to these communities. Moreover, measuring the community and organization very often represents a major challenge in terms of being sure the values and culture of EBay are being communicated correctly. Therefore, on the organizational side, they had to be sure they were hiring quality employees who fit with the culture; they could not afford to let that slip. Even though most well establish cultures resist changes, EBay was able to accept changes within its upper management and the way it works. For example, when Whitman arrived EBay she tried to make some changes because she felt they were needed the way the company goes and in order to adapt to these new changes. An example would be her trying to set up these meetings, but no one had a calendar. According to Whitman, at EBay this was a culture where appointments were not needed because of its small size there were only 35 people at the company. So she laid out a calendar and asked people to sign up for appointments. She did not appreciate the feedback; the employees did not like the changes. What ended up happening was that the employees who had previously worked in big companies signed up for multiple meetings, and the people who had worked primarily in start-ups didn’t sign up at all. Furthermore, EBay`s culture was designed to mirror its external community culture. Very important element of EBay`s culture is a respect for its community. It goes far beyond â€Å"the customer is always right† because eBay wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for its community The meetings helped Whitman realize just how special the chemistry was between eBay’s internal and external communities. EBay’s internal culture mirrored many of the characteristics of its external community culture in tangible ways: they were empowered to develop recommendations, and the company employed a nonhierarchical, team-based approach to problem solving. According to Omidyar this configuration was so important: Internally, EBay had to share the same values as their community because they indirectly influence the community in everything they do. Everything EBay put on the Web site, every press release, every utterance to the press, every corporate action, every deal, every partnership that happens in any part of the organization eventually trickles down to the community. EBay rely on all of its executives and then their managers to continue to communicate the culture. The message should trickle down to the very last employee, so that everyone really understands what we’re about and what our values are. EBay also encourage its employees to call the upper management if we’re doing something that is not quite right. EBay empowered everyone to be a guardian of the culture everyone.

High Noon Essay -- essays papers

High Noon The movie High Noon is a western style movie about loyalty and betrayal. Throughout the whole movie, you can see how Kane is loyal to the town and how the town betrays Kane. The film tells a story about a man who was too proud to run— a tale of a lone, stoic marshal (Will Kane) who was left desolate and abandoned by the townspeople he has sworn to protect because of a four-man gang led by Frank Miller. This is where the loyalty part comes in. Kane did not have to stay and protect the town’s people because he was â€Å"retired† and was going to leave town with his wife. Nonetheless he did stay because he felt that it was his duty to protect the townspeople even though no one would volunteer and help him. His wife, Amy along with the some townspeople tells him to leave town im...

Deviance in Bowling for Columbine

This paper entitled, â€Å"Deviance in Bowling for Columbine† intends to find out the validity of the opinion expressed by the film’s author. It also aims to articulate personal opinion with regards to the issue raised in the film. Furthermore, it will also present a solution to the issue raised. Last but not least, it will state an obvious obstacle to the solution. Validity of the Opinion Expressed by the Film’s AuthorThe validity of the opinion expressed by the film’s author may not at all be questioned basically because his articulations resulted from a true-to-life story. In addition to that, he reiterates violence and deviant behaviors so as to reintroduce to this growing problem of society. To help us understand better the validity of the opinion expressed by the film’s author, let us go through some of the film’s details: The story of â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† is about the United States’ obsession of violence and guns (Bowling.. , 2002).It is a sort of a documentary wherein the story is based on the incident dated April 20, 1999 (Bowling.. , 2002). Here, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, students of the Columbine High School, attended their bowling class before they carried out a killing spree at the aforementioned school in Little, CO (Bowling.. , 2002). While Michael Moore, the star of the movie, thinks about the aforementioned alarming event, he takes into consideration the relation or association of bowling or the game of ten pins and random violence (Bowling.. , 2002).He, then now calls on the Michigan Militia to: 1) spend time with James Nichols, the brother of Terry Nichols who is one of the people responsible for the bombing of Oklahoma City; 2) visit K-Mart’s offices, where two young individuals were injured as a result of the Columbine massacre; 3) request K-Mart to discontinue selling ammunitions; 4) place under scrutiny the role of the media in the United States in relation to the fear and anger that it brings about; 5) compares United States and Canada’s statistical information on crime rate; as well as 6) question Charles Heston, the president of the National Rifle Association, with regards to his participation to the rally of pro-gun, which was held in Littleton just days after the massacre in Columbine, as well as, another protest in Flint, MI, just after a 6-year-old was killed by a classmate using an Uncle’s gun (Bowling.. , 2002). Personal Opinion on the Issues Raised in the Film Violence is highly related with deviance or deviant behaviors. Deviant behavior is technically defined as â€Å"a behavior or an act that is known to violate of defy social norms† (Wikipedia, 2007).I strongly believe that the issues raised in the film were timely and appropriate since his movie shows the advantages of deviant behavior to the society through the three major sociological theories, namely: a) Structural Functionalism, b) Conflict Theory, and c) Symbolic Interactionism. Through the killing/gun shooting shown in the movie, cultural values and norms were affirmed, moral boundaries were clarified, social unity is upheld, and social change is encouraged (Wikipedia, 2007). Because it is such a terrible occurrence, the movie is utilized to address violence, as well as, the deviant behaviors illustrated in it. More specifically, the issue raised here is with regards to how the society deal or handle guns and how it contributes largely to deviance or deviant behaviors in our society. Alternative and Probably the Most Successful Solution to the Issue RaisedI strongly believe that the most successful solution to the issue raised, at this point, is gun control. Several things may be carried out to control the consequences of gun handling and some of these are the following: 1) weight the advantages and disadvantages of owning a gun before eventually acquiring one; 2) promote â€Å"no gun† zones within the school; 3) get the local involved in school safety training; 4) take note of what the children are watching on television, tell them what programs they should watch and let them know the importance of watching only informative ones instead of violent ones that may motivate them to become one tool; 4) etc (Michigan.. , n. d. )Impediments/Obstacles to the Solution which may be Raised by Persons which have a Stake in the Outcome The only apparent obstacle to the solution which may be raised by persons which have a stake in the outcome are those who have extreme love for guns. They may protest on it since they know they will experience a little â€Å"uneasiness† since it will no longer be that easy to acquire a gun. Reference Bowling for Columbine. (2002). Retrieved May 28, 2007 from http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0310793/ Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence. (n. d. ). Retrieved May 28, 2007 from http://www. mppgv. org/what_you_can_do_content. htm Wikipedia. (2007). Deviant Behavior. Retri eved May 28, 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Deviant_behavior

How did religion influence the fabric of colonial life? Essay

Increased autonomy in the hospital interns of the budget. These include decisions like what and how much to spend on staffing and drug purchases. Performance should be used in rewarding management team. This will encourage the team to make more sound judgments and implement better policies. Increased budget for drugs and any other medical supplies. When the budget is adjusted positively, the hospital will be at a position of buying more drugs, this will encourage quality care and utilization rate; in terms of the number of admissions. At the long run, this decreases the total cost per admission. Changing Normal practices for specific admission cases. This is through physicians of different departments of the hospital. When this is put into practice, the length of stay will be reduced by more than 50%. The reduction of stay realizes a decrease in the cost. Level of competency should also be increased in terms of staffing ratios per bed, supporting technology, team work and services rendered by the organization are all determinants of the quality of services. An upgrading formula encourages changes and efficiency. For instance, patients at ICU will tend to need more patients than patients at orthopedics. Maintenance of hospital equipments. Normally, maintenance of hospital equipments in majority of US hospitals today, maintenance is mainly focused of repairing hospital equipments that have already been confirmed as out of order. But it doesn’t take maintenance to prevent future damage seriously. If preventive measures are taken, this will reduce the cost of future spending. What should cost containment programs focus on? Maximizing available funds for budgets’ sake. This can be done through four ways one is through Medicare maximization. A couple of states may be service providers but some of these funds are got through general funds. Such should be converted to become Medicare programs. This in return adds on revenue through increased federal funds. Switching from low match to high match categories is another way the government can gain by receiving enhanced reimbursement for services that are already provided. Government should also focus in inter-governmental transfers. This focuses on lending to less advantaged sectors of the economy by the sectors that are doing fine. Containment programs should also focus on reconfiguring the long term Care delivery system. This encourages community and home cares for status since they are able to cut Medicare spending or also provide more effective and attractive services. This requires more focus on the long term demand for long term care services. Considering how expenditures for prescription drugs moved up, focus should be directed to states that cover outpatient prescription drugs under Medicare. They must cover necessary cost with the government to pay taxes for the product they purchase. The state should also perform management benefits included for people with more drug costs. The state also focuses on adjusting reimbursement rates for specific services to containment strategy. Managing health care better: This can involve Primary Care Case Management (PCCM) or conventional managed care. People should work hand in hand with the state to improve the quality of a care given. In addition the federal government should also focus on expanding managed care. The government should encourage Movements like Medicare. Selective contrasting is the last form of focus that the federal government should consider. The government can turn to selective contracting or let people be involved in competitive bidding in order to cut cost. (Kala 2002) What Should Be Done In Order To Reduce Cost Inefficiency Hospitals should not be let to run independently and if they have to, the government should run majority of the hospitals and the private sector be left to run a similar percentage to cut monopoly that gives entrepreneurs the right to increase hospital costs. â€Å"Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient. And so he simply set about achieving that efficient monopoly† (Mario Puzzo 1920) The government should introduce rules and regulations that manage the hospitality industry at large. If the federal government monitored the spending and introduced rule that doctors should follow they will have no reason to ignore. the general public too will know that they are obliged to do a particular task. For instance ignorance of the general public is encouraging exploitation because they are turning to insurance companies. Insurance companies on the other hand have realized that there is a big opportunity to maximize profits due to the linking of hospital costs. If the general public decides to ignore insurance or have their terms and conditions stated first, then insurance companies will cut cost too. Government spending should be monitored. In cases where any particular government introduces a particular monetary policy, spending is automatically regulated. If the USA government introduced a fiscal or monetary policy, Different sectors of the economy can be taxed more in order to reduce the difference; for expansion and sales. An example is the drug companies and insurance companies. Bibliography Appleby J (2007) Consumer Unease with US health care grows.USA Today. Garman N. & Tyler. J. (2004), CEO Succession planning in freestanding US hospitals: final report. American College of healthcare executives. Golda D, Richard R, Latha M: (2005). Containment in the intensive care unit. The internet journal of pulmonary medicine: Puzzo (1969) US Novelist. The Godfather Ladenheim Kala (2002) Medicaid Cost Containment: legislation’s tool kit. Fried H Productive, (1998) Scale and scope efficiencies in US hospital-bases nursing homes Patrick M, Rosko M, Vaidmanis v . Relationship between hospital cost inefficiency and debt ratings.

4 Reasons to Major in a Foreign Language (and 3 Not To)

4 Reasons to Major in a Foreign Language (and 3 Not To) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Gaikokugo ga suki desu ka?That’s Japanese for â€Å"Do you like foreign languages?† If your answer is a resounding yes, then a foreign language major might be for you. In 2013, I graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in Japanese. Though I sometimes doubted whether I should major in Japanese, I ultimately knew it was the right choice because being able to understand and use Japanese was a skill I wanted to have for the rest of my life. Moreover, I didn't just enjoy learning Japanese but also loved getting to know Japanese culture. These are the reasons I chose to major in Japanese. That said,a language major isn’t for everyone. So should you major in a foreign language? What are the reasons you should? And what are the reasons you shouldn't? In this guide, I give you four reasons to major in a foreign language and three reasons not to. I also go over what questions to ask yourself before deciding whether to pursue a language major. But first, what exactly is a foreign language major? What Is a Foreign Language Major? Before I go into the reasons you should and should not major in a foreign language, let me explain what I mean by majoring in a foreign language. Many US colleges offer undergraduatemajors that focus on a specific language and the main region/culture it's spoken in. In other words, you’re not simply majoring in a language but rather a language and where it’s most commonly used. So if your major is French, you’ll likely learn about France. Similarly, If you’re studying Mandarin Chinese, you’ll likely learn about Chinese culture. Colleges offering foreign language majors typically house them inhumanities departments or at colleges of letters, arts, and sciences (or something equivalent). Although most foreign language majors combine language and cultural studies, many are named after the language only. For example, if you’re studying Spanish (in addition to Latin American or Spanish culture), your major is most likely called Spanish instead of something like Spanish culture or Spanish language and culture. However, some schools use slightly broader names for their foreign language majors.My alma mater, USC, for example, offers an East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) major, which lets you study Japanese, Chinese, or Korean (as well as the language's respective area). As a result, students mainly studying Japanese might say they’re majoring in Japanese when in actuality they’re majoring in EALC with an emphasis in Japanese (as in my case). Some schools also offer foreign language majors that let youstudy more than one language at a time.One example is the University of Michigan's Romance Languages and Literatures major. For this program, students can study two Romance languages (out of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and French) at the same time. Finally, some majors have college language requirements but are not specifically focused on the language (or area) itself.Examples include comparative literature majors and linguistics majors. For the former, you must typically learn at least one foreign language so that you can compare texts in their original languages. For the latter, you must know a foreign language so that you can effectively analyze its linguistic properties. Though these two majors clearly involve language study, they're not the same as language majors in that they don't focus on area/cultural studiesas well. Overall, it’s arguably more accurate to call language majors "foreign culture majors" or "foreign language and culture majors," since these majors almost always combine the study of language and culture. Learning culture is just as important as learning language. My Story: I Majored in Japanese Now that you understand what a foreign language major is, let’s get down to business: who am I, and why am I writing this article? As I briefly mentioned at the beginning, I majored in a foreign language (and in English- what can I say? I love languages!). My language of choice was Japanese. Why did I choose this language? Well, I’d been studying it since junior high school, absolutely loved learning it (even though it was really, really hard at times- and still is), and envisioned myself eventually using Japanese in my career. Because I knew I wanted to major in Japanese before I even started college, I looked specifically for colleges that offered a major in Japanese. Eventually, I enrolled at USC where I declared a major in East Asian Languages and Cultures with an emphasis in Japanese. For this major, I had to take mostly Japanese-language classes as well as classes on topics relating to Japanese and East Asian studies, such as literature, art, and history. Since graduating from USC, I’ve worked as an English teacher for the JET Program (a government-sponsored program that pays you to teach English in Japan) and am now enrolled in a Japanese Studies Master of Arts program at the University of Michigan. Here are the primary reasons you can trust my advice in this article: I have firsthand experience with learning and majoring in a language:I know what kinds of classes you’ll likely need to take and understand how tough it can be to keep up your language skills (especially over those long summer breaks!). I have worked in a job that uses my target language: Obviously, what kinds of job options you'll have after majoring in a foreign language will depend on several factors, but know that I, too, have gone through the process and will try my best to lend you a (relevant) hand. I majored in what I loved: Ultimately, I chose to major in Japanese because it was something I found interesting, useful for my career goals, and downright fun. Now that we've covered all the basics, let’s take a look at the main reasons you should (and should not) major in a foreign language. 4 Reasons to Major in a Foreign Language We’ll start with the positive points. What are the benefits of majoring in a foreign language, and what are the main reasons you should consider doing it? #1: You’re Passionate About the Language and Want to Use It in Your Career This is rule #1 in my book. You should only be majoring in a foreign language if you’re absolutely passionate about it. The reason passion is so important is that learning a foreign language is really hard work and takes years of practice to become fluent. Majoring in a language is also a smart idea if you plan to use the language in your career.If you want to be a translator/interpreter, for instance, majoring in the language you want to translate is a 100% practical decision and will give you the background necessary for doing well in your job. But a foreign language major won't make you a lot of money, right? Not necessarily. Although liberal arts degrees have a reportedly harder time landing well-paying jobs, recent reports show that many liberal arts majors earn about as much as, if not more than, STEM majors do. #2: You’ll Learn a Practical and Lifelong Skill Although many people don’t think a foreign language major is practical, knowing another language is an excellent lifelong skill to have and can come in handy in a variety of situations, particularly if you want to travel abroad or work in a global industry. You've probably heard thatthere are tons of mental benefits of being bilingual, such as improved memory and better multi-tasking skills. But there are also broader benefitsof knowing a foreign language that apply to your career and lifestyle. Here's whatan article posted on Trinity Washington University’s websitehas to say about knowing multiple languages: "The ability to communicate in multiple languages is becoming more and more important in the increasingly integrated global business community.*Communicating directly with new clients and companies in their native language is one of the first steps to founding a lasting, stable international business relationship." *Emphasis mine Clearly, majoring in a foreign language not only teaches you how to speak a language but also how to communicate effectively with people (and potentially business partners!) from different cultures and language backgrounds. This is an excellent attribute to have in the workplace and might even result in higher pay in the long run. It’s also a great skill to have when applying for jobs since your ability to speak another language will help you stand out from other applicants. An article on Penn State's websiteagrees, claiming that multilingualism increases your desirability in the job market: "In our globalized world, it has become even more essential in the job market to know another language. Companies and businesses have a natural desire to expand their existing networks. Having fluency in another language gives an edge on any resume by showing employers potential to converse with an entirely different group of people."* *Emphasis mine As you can see, there are some great occupational benefits to majoring in a foreign language and being familiar with another culture! #3: You Want to Work in a Foreign Country If one of your goals is to work and live in another country- in particular, an area where your target language is spoken- a major in that language is a logical choice. Such a major proves that you are familiar with both the language and culture. For some jobs based in your target country, knowing the local language might be expected. Even if it’s not required, though, your knowing the local language couldgive a boost to your resume,as it implies you’ll require less help adjusting to your new environment. #4: You Like the Idea of Double Majoring Majoring in a foreign language can be useful for your career goals if you plan to double major. This way, you’ll have a different skill or field you can apply your language knowledge to. You’ll be most appealing as a job candidate if you pair a foreign language major with a major in an entirely different field,such as business, international relations, political science, economics, STEM, or education. This kind of double major will give you a vast range of skills you can apply to a variety of careers and fields, from business to PR to teaching. Hoping to earn a lot of money? Then pair your language major with a STEM major. According to a report by The Conversation, this combination offers the biggest potential for high earnings. (Note, however, that a dual STEM degree typically brings in the most cash.) There are even programs that encourage students to double major in STEM and a foreign language. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of the humanities, it's OK to double major in a language and another liberal arts major. Just know thatyour potential for high wages will be lower than if you combined your language major with a major in a technical- or business-oriented field. This doesn’t mean that you will for sure earn a small salary- just that your job options might be more limited. 3 Reasons Not to Major in a Foreign Language Now that we’ve gone over the good side, it's time to head on over to the dark side. What are some reasons you shouldn’t major in a foreign language? I introduce my top three below. #1: You’re Not Passionate About the Language You’re Learning This is a pretty obvious reason, but if you're not passionate about the language you’re learning and don’t intend to use it after college, don’t major in it. Learning a language is tough- sometimes it feels impossible. So if you’re majoring in one, you need to have the patience and diligence to study it for the long term. A language major means you'll be learning the language the rest of your life. This is what you must doto keep up your communicative skills and be able to use the language consistently in both your career and social life.If you’re not ready for this lifelong process or aren’t sure whether this is something you can commit to, don’t major in a foreign language. Don't know what you want? Take a class or two in your desired language of study and then decide whether this is something you can see yourself studying (and enjoying!) for a long, long time. If you enjoy learning a foreign language but are more interested in other fields, consider minoring in the language. This way, you’ll still be able to use the language fairly effectively but more so as a supplementary skill- meaning that it won’t be the main skill set you graduate with but will still be an important one. #2: You're Expecting to Be Fluent by the Time You Graduate Unfortunately, even if you study a foreign language for four years straight in college, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll graduate with full fluency in it. The reality is that many foreign language majors won't actually attain fluency by the end of college. It’s not that these students are bad at the language or that their schools are bad at teaching it- it’s simply that students typically need more time and language practice than what college offers. So if you're not ready to dedicate your personal life as well as your academic life to this language, it's probably not in your best interest to major in it. While it's possible to attainsome level of fluency by the time you graduate, what skill level you're at will ultimately depend on many factors, including how well you did in your language classes, whether you studied abroad (trust me, it helps!), and how often you used (and continue to use) the language outside of class. Part of fluency also depends on the language you're studying and what your native tongue is.Data released by the Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of Stateshows thatit takes native English speakersfar less time to reach proficiency in Spanish, French, or Italian than it does to reach proficiency in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Arabic. In my case, I spent the equivalent of four years studying Japanese in college. I even studied abroad in Tokyo for a semester. But would I say I was fluent by the time I graduated? Far from it. Though I loved the Japanese language and certainly felt I was at an advanced level, I still struggled to speak and understand it. Some of this was due to laziness- I didn’t make much of an effort to integrate Japanese into my daily life, which I strongly regret- and some of this was due to a lack of confidence in my abilities (I always got shy whenever I tried to speak Japanese with people). However, once I moved to Japan after college and began living in a small town where virtually no one spoke English, my Japanese rapidly improved. Basically, what I’m trying to get at is that you shouldn’t expect to be a totally fluent speaker in a language simply because you majored in it. In reality, you’re likely going to need to spend time outside of and after school practicing the language and really making it part of your life until you can honestly say you've reached a comfortable level of fluency. In short, a foreign language major takes a lot of additional effort to make it worth it. #3: There’s a Higher Chance of Unemployment and Low Pay I’ve already touched on this a little above, but it can be difficult for language majors to find a well-paying job (especially if you majored inonly a language and didn't double major). Let’s start by looking at unemployment rates.According to Forbes, non-technical majors have higher unemployment rates than STEM, business, and health care majors do. Moreover, recent graduates with liberal arts degreesface an unemployment rate of 9.2%. But what about salary?A 2015 study conducted by Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that the median salary for those who majored in a foreign language was about $52,000. While this salary might not sound too bad to you, by comparing it with the median salaries of other common majors, you'll see that salaries for foreign language majors don't rank that high: General engineering: $81,000 Economics: $76,000 Architecture: $67,000 Nursing: $66,000 Public policy: $65,000 Biology: $56,000 Journalism: $56,000 History: $54,000 Foreign languages: $52,000 Commercial art and graphic design: $51,000 Psychology: $49,000 Secondary teacher education: $48,000 Overall, majoring in a foreign language is a somewhat risky business. Not only might you have more trouble finding a job, but you’re also likely to have a lower starting salary. Should You Major in a Foreign Language? 3 Questions to Ask Yourself So far we’ve looked at some of the reasons you should and should not major in a foreign language. In the end, though, should you do it? Here are three questions to ask yourself before making your final decision. #1: What Kind of Career Do You Want (or Think You Want)? Although you don’t technically have to use your major in your career, it’s a good idea to try to find a way to apply the skills you acquired in college (in this case, mastery of a foreign language) to your professional life. But what kinds of jobs will a language major prepare you for? Two of the most popular fields for language majors aretranslation and interpretation. However, there's both good and bad with this. The bad news is that these two jobs typically don't pay a ton. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for translators and interpreters in May 2016 was $46,120. Wages can vary a lot, though.While the lowest 10% of translators made less than $25,370 in 2016, the highest 10% made more than $83,010. That’s a difference of almost $58,000! This variation in pay depends on a number of factors, including whether you’re a self-employed or in-house worker, where you live, and what languages you know. So what’s the good news? Translation/interpretation jobs are on the rise. According to the BLS, the projected growth rate for interpreters and translators from 2016 to 2026 is 18%- that’s % faster than the growth rate for all jobs in the US! But what if you’re not interested in becoming a translator or interpreter? That’s fine! Not everyone who studies a language wants to sit around all day translating business manuals or interpreting at conferences. Here are some examplesof other jobs can you do with a foreign language major: International relations specialist Teacher/professor Consultant Advertiser Foreign service officer Attorney Public relations For more examples of jobs for language majors, check out these excellent lists by Southeastern Louisiana University and Georgetown University. #2: How Fluent Do You Want to Become? If you’re expecting absolute fluency in your target language by the end of undergrad, know that this might not happen.(Again, this really depends on multiple factors, including what language you're learning, whether you study a lot on your own time, etc.) Although you can learn a lot with four years of college-level language instruction, it’s generally not enough to make you truly fluent in a language. This is why I suggestlooking at your bachelor’s degree as a starting point. I know, this probably sounds horrible- you spend four years learning a language and I'm calling that a starting point. But the reality is that language learning is a lifelong process. And if you expect to use your language in your future career, you’ll need to spend time after college studying and practicing it as well. Here are six ways you can further improve your language skills after college (note that you can do most of these tips during college, too!). Tip 1: Visit and/or Live in a Country That Uses Your Target Language Although easier said than done, immersion is one of the best ways to get a language down fast. If you're in college, study abroad. Already graduated? Try to apply for jobs in your target country. One "easy" way to gain access to a country is to teach English.If you’re studying Japanese as I did, you could apply for the JET Program. If you’re studying Korean or Spanish, you could apply for the EPIK program in Koreaor the Auxiliar de Conversacià ³n Program in Spain. Tip 2: Study on Your Own Time This tip is crucial (and really hard to do when you’re no longer in school!). Finding time to study on your own is what will ultimately help you keep up your language skills and stay sharp. I suggest buying some textbooks and keeping the ones you used in college so you can review what you've learned. Your goal here is to continuously work on improving your vocabulary and grammar knowledge. Flashcards are an excellent way to jog your memory. If you're like me and hate making flashcards, try using Anki or Memriseto make and download digital flashcards instead. Tip 3: Join a Local Language Group When I felt that my spoken Japanese was getting worse, I decided to look for a language group in my area using the website Meetup. Through the Japanese-language group I found, I was able to converse in Japanese with both native Japanese speakers and other language learners. The group wasn’t just great for practice but was also extremely fun! I recommend using Meetup if you ever want to look for (or make) a language group. Tip 4: Hire a Tutor or Online Language Partner If you want to practice speaking and listening but can’t find anyone to do this with in person, try looking for a language partner or tutor online. Tons of companies offer language lessons over Skype and other video chat programs. Some of the best includeVerbal Planet, italki, and Live Lingua. Tip 5: Attend a Language School If you're hoping to improve your language skills and prefer doing so in an academic environment, consider applying to a language school. While tuition can be high, the experience and vast set of skills you acquire often make it worth the price. For example, many people I know attended aMiddlebury Language School over the summer- and all of them loved it! Tip 6: Go to Graduate School If you not only want to become fluent in a language but also want to be able to use it effectively in both professional and academic settings, grad school might be a good option for you. However, as you probably know, graduate programs (particularly master's programs) in the US can get pretty expensive, soI recommend applying for as many fellowships as possible. One of the best-funded scholarships for language learners is theForeign Languages and Area Studies (FLAS) program, which typically covers full tuition and offers a yearly stipend of $15,000 for grad students ($5,000 for undergrads). #3: What Language Are You Interested In? It’s important to understand that if you plan to use your foreign language major in a career, then your job/salary prospective will depend, in part, on which language you choose to study. For those of you thinking about becoming translators/interpreters, here’s what theBLS has to say about the types of languages that will be most in demand: "Demand will likely remain strong for translators of frequently translated languages, such as French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.Demand also should be strong for translators of Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages;for the principal Asian languages including Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, and Korean;and for the indigenous languages from Mexico and Central America such as Mixtec, Zapotec, and Mayan languages."* *All bold emphasis mine If you want to work for the US government, your best bet will be to major in a critical language. But what is a critical language exactly? According to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), critical languages are languages that are "less commonly taught in US schools, but are essential to America’s positive engagement with the world." At present, there are 14 critical languages: Arabic Azerbaijani Bangla Chinese Hindi Indonesian Japanese Korean Persian Punjabi Russian Swahili Turkish Urdu Note that thisdoesn’t mean you won’t be able to find a job if you studied a language not on this list, such as Spanish, French, or Portuguese. Rather, all this indicates is that if you’re planning to work for the US government in particular, you might have a slightly harder time getting a job, as there is a smaller need for your language than there is for the ones listed above. Conclusion: When to Pursue a Foreign Language Major Overall, there are both advantages and disadvantages to majoring in a foreign language. I chose to major in Japanese because I knew it was the right path for me- and one I really,really wanted to take, despite the challenges I'd inevitably face. If you're thinking of pursuing a language major, make sure you're doing so for the right reasons. Once again, here are the four best reasons to major in a foreign language: You’re head over heels in love with the languageand want to make a career out of it You’ll learn skills you can apply to a variety of careers and situations You’ll be more likely to secure a job abroad should you want to work outside the US You’re interested in double majoring, which will give a professional boost to your foreign language major by equipping you with more skills you can use in the future That said, majoring in a foreign language isn't for everyone. Here are the top reasons you should not major in a foreign language: You’re not passionate about the language you’re studying You're expecting to be totally fluent by the time you graduate (while not impossible, this usually requires you to spend a lot of extra time studying and practicing your language) You’ll face a higher risk of unemployment and a lower starting salary If you're still on the fence about pursuing a language major, ask yourself the following questions to help you determine whether this major is the right decision for you: What kind of career do you want? How fluent do you want to become? What language do you want to study? In the end, whether you decide to major in a foreign language is your choice and yours alone. Just make sure you have a good reason to do so and have considered all possible pros and cons before committing to a language major! What’s Next? Not sure what to major in? Get expert advice in our guide to choosing a college major, and learn the five main factors to consider before you declare a major. Foreign language majors can be lots of fun- but they're not typically the most lucrative. Our guide tells you which college majors are likely to bring in the most cash, and offers tips on whether you should pursue one. What are the worst majors for college students? If, after graduation, you want to have an easier time finding a job with ahigh salary, consider avoiding these 26 majors. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

Report on The Green Tea whitening Series Launching Program Assignment

Report on The Green Tea whitening Series Launching Program - Assignment Example In the scanning process, it evaluates the three major competitors of Ginvera. It also gives the result of SWOT analysis. The planning stage also outlines the best marketing strategies for the launching program. It gives detailed findings by describing the best planning process for the launching event. The doing stage states how the marketing team would implement the plans for the launch, and how they would evaluate the success of the event. It concludes with the finding and gives recommendations on how the organization could improve on the launching program. Dr.Tor Lam Huat established The Ginvera Beauty Company in 1985. It originated from Singapore but with time, it has grown and established itself in more than fifteen countries, including Europe. The majority of the consumers associate this company to its Bio-essence products, such as the face lifting cream, and the wide range of products it has launched in the past (Kimoko, 2011). The beauty products involve skin care, body care a nd hair care products. The company’s mission is to be a caring and innovative organization that brings youthfulness and beauty to the public (L.D.Waxson (S) Pte Ltd, 2013). It has a special concern for its consumers and, therefore, strives to manufacture products that are safe and user friendly. It has a vision of being the leading global manufacturing organization for beauty products (Group History, 2013). The company has manufactured a new product, The Green Tea whitening Series. The skin care product protects the skin from damage from the sun’s rays because of its green tea content that delays the oxidation process, hence, an anti-aging product (L.D.Waxson (S) Pte Ltd, 2013). Therefore, the company had to conduct market research to identify the target market, the best location for the launching event, the best product price, placement and competitors. The researchers collected data through interviewing consumers who used the Ginvera Beauty Products, issued questionn aires to randomly selected consumers from the social media and benchmarked the Injex U.K Ltd that was about to launch its new SHIREEN-Poring cosmetic treatment, which was also an anti-aging product (Jonathan, 2013). The Scanning Phase The research showed that the beauty world is dynamically changing and therefore the best planning framework is the strategic planning process because it is cost-effective and aids employees to adapt to the demanding market. The process involves three phases: the Scanning, planning and doing phases (Gru?nig & Ku?hn 2005, p67). The scanning phase ensures there is an evaluation of the market. The marketing department, in this phase, has to collect and analyze data, which would affect the launching program positively or negatively (Ottman 2011, p121). The collection and analysis of data would ensure that the event is at par with the vision and mission of the organization. From the Shireen benchmark results, the marketing manager has to ensure that the comp any analyses its competitors in order to identify its strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats in the market. Competitors There are three major competitors in the market (L.D.Waxson (S) Pte Ltd, 2013). The Ganga Prasad Puneet Kumar has a large product line. It has a better financial position than the Ginvera hence a larger production capacity. Its high level of experience in the R&D department enables it in the production of more innovative products that stand out in the market. An advantage of Ginvera over the company is its high marketing strategies and attractive packaging. The Radico Fashion Pvt Ltd poses as

Bx3082 part2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Bx3082 part2 - Essay Example The main barriers to entry are represented by the legislative requirements as per the Appellation dorigine contrà ´là ©e and the relevant business requirements. These issues will be addressed according to the requirements, and in conjunction with the Invest in France Agency, which will add valuable insight and assistance to establishing within the Burgundy region. The selected geographical location of operations stand to benefit in terms of reduced distribution costs by virtue of the existing location and infrastructure, whilst the staggered approach to location and facility development alleviates mass capital cash flow and enables the suitable implementation over the defined period. The selection of the Premier and Grand Cru farms, together with a professional winemaker and team, allow the company to produce a differentiated high quality Pinot Noir wine that can be marketed to the discerning individual and upper class establishments, ensuring the brand positioning within the competitive wine