Diversity in organization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diversity in organization - Research Paper Example Hence proper management of diverse workforce is acutely necessary for the organizations. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 The evolving concept of diversity 4 Multiculturalism 5 Benefits of diversity in workforce for for-profit business organizations 6 Challenges faced by the organization due to diverse workforce 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction The world is changing rapidly and the concept of diversity has become a truism in current times (Rosado, 2006). Change in the view of the world is more vividly visible since the onset of the twenty-first century. At present diversity has been acknowledged in social and business layers, which include variety in labor force, civil rights of the human being, their property right and living and working conditions of the people. In the different industrialized countries across the globe, instances of demographically diversified labor force are increasing. In many countries gender relations are changing swiftly and the ef fect of this change is visible in the business sphere. With rapid globalization, the number of emigrant workers is increasing and recent trend shows that immigration is taking place into the developed countries of the world (Dumont, Spielvogel & Widmaier, 2010). The structure of labor population is also changing with the aging population in the developed countries, due to which the labor intensive organizations are facing higher diversity in their workforce. Increased diversification within workgroups or labor force has to be dealt sincerely through efficient diversity management. Such changes cast potentially important impact on group performance within organizations. According to Bleijenbergh, Peters and Poutsma (2010) diversity management in an organization further encourages the organization to attain their strategic goals. It allows inclusion of diverse employee categories and provides scope to the organization to allow individual development of its employees. Diversity managem ent in business supports creation and retention â€Å"of equal opportunities† (Bleijenbergh, Peters & Poutsma, 2010, p. 414). In the long term it helps to create a sustainable employment situation and leads to profitable business. The evolving concept of diversity The needs of this century pose the demand for a mass of citizens â€Å"that is culturally sensitive and internationally focused, with an orientation toward the future rather than the past† (Rosado, 2006, p. 1). Recent research works reveal that diversity management has come through over the years. There has been a gradual change in the purpose of diversity management from the ‘purpose of exclusion’ to the ‘purpose of inclusion’. In the beginning of the twenty-first century there was no definite established pattern or model for the organizations to follow while dealing with diversity related to physical, biological and social or cultural differences. Any behavior or attitude that belo nged to outside of the ‘norm’ prevalent in the particular society were identified as diversity and were dealt with the policy of â€Å"exclusion and control† (Rosado, 2006, p. 4). With the passage of time, particularly in the profit oriented corporate firms, organizational policy of dealing with diversity has changed; today in order to realize the maximum potential

Donor Services Essay Example for Free

Donor Services Essay 1. What was Joanna Reeds diagnosis of the situation in the donor services department? Sam Wilson was an American who ran the Guatemala branch of a U.S. aid agency. Joanna Reeds diagnosis of the situation in his donor services department found many problems. LEADERSHIP The biggest problem was that there was no leader who was accountable. Elena was the supervisor but she had no control. She also had no leadership skills and did not get respect because she was not bilingual and of a different religion. The supposed leader, Jose, spent almost all his time in the community services department. He did not pay attention and left things up to Elena. INEFFICIENCY IN WORK The translators mostly did clerical work even though they were bilingual. The work in the office was divided into set tasks, one done by each person, and not divided evenly. Some workers had too much paperwork while the others had spare time. Those that had spare time did not help those loaded with work. There was also lack of training in English and in work, so quality was bad. The workers did not think about the job and used many extra steps and wasted time. TRACKING The data was not shared in the department, so people had little knowledge about their job. There were no statistics about time, requests for information, or responses. There was little communication, plus there was resentment of Elena by some. Jose did not hear about problems or about good results. MORALE The agency was run by a religion and Elena was not of that religion. However, everyone was proud of the agency and the religion. But morale was low because the workers did not use or improve their skills and had only a set and boring role to do. They are frustrated with the department. GROUP DYNAMICS One translator Magdalena had experience, college education, and maturity. She had strong belief in the agency and was more professional. Three translators socialized mostly, and their leader Juana was outgoing with good oral English. Other translators had too much work. Everyones English was only fair. Supervisor Elena was left out. Elena was treated like just a watchdog. Boss Jose was not around much and paid no attention. 2. What should she recommend to Sam Wilson? (HOW) Joanna might have made these suggestions: LEADERSHIP Magdalena might be a good supervisor instead of Elena. Magdalena had experience, education, belief in the agency, maturity, and professionalism. Magdalena could keep herself from making others dislike her by keeping a distance away from them. She could also have got respect. Juana could be given more leadership roles, to use her humor and outgoingness. Elena could do a job that required the hardest work. Jose could spend all his time in the community services department. INEFFICIENCY IN WORK The working strategy was changed to divide all the work more evenly, so all workers did all jobs. They could be less bored and learn more through such training. They could work in a team environment, rather than be selfish for themselves. Joannas identified unnecessary steps, which caused the system to be slow; could be changed to a better workflow. The workers could be asked to think more about improvements. The workers could be trained more in translating, perhaps they could translate easy documents or parts of documents. Socializing could be minimized to break times. TRACKING Statistics about time, requests for information, or responses could be kept and shared with all workers. Communication about problems or about good results would be increased through meetings, talks with leaders, and newsletters. MORALE All workers could know all jobs and be given a minimum of boring work, while improving skills. The religion should be emphasized along with service to others. The department could link with community services more. Communication should be encouraged. Togetherness as a team with an important purpose whould be emphasized. GROUP DYNAMICS The leader should be respected because of English languge ability and leadership skills and be of the right religion. Theleader should also be around all the time. The secondary leader should be a team worker and skillful in communication. The workers should respect each other and work as a team. All persons should have clear authority and responsibility. The workload should be fair. REWARDS Joanna could recommend rewards to change both the workers and the managers behavior. They could get a bonus for achieving goals. They could get awards for service and efficiency. They could have a chance to go to higher positions in the agency. Perhaps they could visit the U.S.!

The First Female Prime Minister of Canada :: essays research papers

Kim Campbell, Canada's first female Prime Minister, rose quickly in her political standings reaching, what she would find to be the height of her career only seven years after entering politics. It appeared like the loss of the 1993 election and the all around destruction of the Progressive Conservative party was completely Kim Campbell’s fault however actually was a joint effort by Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell. Kim Campbell rose so quickly in her political status that she did not have the experience that most of the others MPs had at her level. The Tories were finishing their second term in power and the people of Canada were displeased with Brain Mulroney by the time of his resignation. Kim Campbell was voted in as Prime Minister by her party and was not elected by the people of Canada. During the 1993 election Kim Campbell had an American company make a commercial that mocked Liberal party leader Jean Chrà ©tien’s physical disability. Kim Campbell’s first entered politics in 1986. She first won a provincial seat in Vancouver and in 1988 she won her bid for the House of Commons. She had many good ideas, one of them being the USA-Canada Free Trade Agreement. This part of her campaign was recognized by Brian Mulroney who was the current Prime Minister. In 1989 Mulroney appointed Kim Campbell to the position of Minister of State for Indian and Northern Affairs. Later, in 1990 she was appointed Minister of Justice and a year later became the Minister of Defence. Just two years after becoming Minister of Defence and 7 years after entering politics, she ran for leader of the Progressive Conservative party and became Brian Mulroney's successor. Kim Campbell inexperience in the world of politics gave her a huge disadvantage when things started to go wrong. Brain Mulroney and the Tories had been in power for two terms, a total of 9 years. The Canadians had become tired of Brian Mulroney and his Progressive Conservative government, so when it w as announced that he would resign most Canadians were happy to see him go. However his resignation did mean the end of the Progressive Conservatives power in Canada. Canadians unhappy with what the Progressive Conservatives had done chose to elect an other party. When Brain Mulroney resigned there was, in place of a federal election, a leadership convention. The Tories just had to elect a new leader who would then become the Prime Minister.

Continuities and Changes of the Commerce of the Indian Ocean Region from 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E.

Trade has been a major way to connect people to other parts to the world and to access to other products all throughout the world. Today, trade connects nations and products of the western hemisphere to those of the eastern hemisphere. The Indian Ocean was a major trading zone for the areas surrounding it in the time period from 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E. Several aspects of this trading area stayed constant during the aforementioned years, like the products that were traded and that India always remained a major participator in these trades. However, the dominating groups that had the most control over the area changed several times along with the culture of the area.Following the decline of the Mongol Empire, the overland trade route on the Silk Road was becoming an out-dated method of trade. With the advancement of technologies across the world a more expedient method of trade became even more necessary. Nations turned toward maritime trade to feel this need. The Indian Ocean served as a way to connect the Asian continents with the Middle East.Major traders of the area were Europe, Arabia, India, China, and Indonesia. Indian spices, cloth and yarn were transported across the hemisphere using the Indian Ocean. There spices intrigued the population of places like Egypt and China who were unaccustomed to Indian flavors. China spread its precious metals and porcelain across the area. Even animal, like elephants, were traded from Sri Lanka. Europe consumed most from the area than they contributed, which continued into the 19th century. Philosophies and religions were also ‘traded’ through the Indian Ocean route.Islam was introduced to the tribal regions of Africa and spread even farther into Arabia and India. Philosophies also spread from Rome into Arabia and India through the trade. Towards the end of the 2th century people began to be traded in the Columbian Exchange or slave trade. In the time period of 650 C.E. to 1750 C.E., the speed and vitality of t rade in the area was a major continuity.At the time, those who controlled the most of the Indian Ocean had a great deal of economic power. In the 8th century, the Hindus and Buddhists controlled the trade primarily between the eastern coast of Africa and Indonesia. From the 7th to 13th century, Indonesia commercial life flourished. After the Hindu-Buddhist period, Muslim leaders toke control of the area for trade through the Red Sea to Europe and China. Also, the Muslim period involved a lot of trade with India for its pepper from Calicut. Vasco de Gama discovered the Indian Ocean trade route for Portugal by travelling around the southern tip of Africa.Portugal toke advantage of their discoveries and used them to advance in the spice trade with Europe. Several Mediterranean empires tried to challenge the Portuguese control over the Persian Gulf however, by the 16th century they had established bases in the area. Shortly following that, the English and Dutch began placing officials i n India and Africa in order to farther their own endeavors.From the 7th to 18th century many things about the commercial life in the region of the Indian Ocean stayed constant however, many things were altered. After the potential of the Indian Ocean trade system began known, more and more countries began to enter into a power struggle for the control over the area. Precious metals, Indian spices, and exotic animals contributed to the reasons why so many explorers, mariners and traders were so intrigued by the prospects of trading in the Indian Ocean.

Learning To Play Piano Essay

I have always been interested in art since I was young so it did not take me too much time to decide the general area for my project. Drawing, singing or dancing have been growing with me since I was little. However, to make this project more challenging and interesting, I will try to do something I have never done before. At the end, I come up with the idea why don’t I try to learn how to play piano. Piano is a pretty popular instrument that lots of people play so I think that this is a good chance for me to start learning something new. I choose to go with this project because I have strong connection with art so somehow this will help me. Learning how to play piano is not as easy as it seems. To become successful, there are so many steps and challenges you may obstruct with. Briefly, my project will include four parts. First, I need to learn how to put my hand position correctly on the keyboard. Second, I will learn how to read the note precisely and where does it go. Third , I will start playing short music sheets to get used to moving my fingers around. And finally, the most challenging part, I will learn to play a long music sheet smoothly. Since I have been singing when I was young, I think that this will help me with reading the notes faster and understand how the melody goes throughout the music. At the end, I hope that I will not make any mistakes in playing wrong notes and everything will be fluent. However, nothing will be successful without effort. It will take a lot of time to finish this so I need to plan everything ahead and start early. As you can see, to be a good pianist, it takes people from years to years to actually play beautifully. Another obstacle is being patient. I am not a very kind of patient person so I think it will be hard for me to read all the notes slowly, also practice and practice again every day. The last problem I think that not so many people struggle with is that my fingers are really small so it is hard for me to surf on the keyboard and they are also easy to get tired. Despite all these disadvantages, I will still try my best to work on it. There are many learning goals I hope that I can achieve after finishing the project. Hopefully, I will find my interest in piano and keep playing for a long time so I can play some famous classical sheets. To achieve this, I cannot just go straight to the piano and start playing it. First of all, I need to do some research about how to play the piano such as looking up some videos people playing it. Then, I have to spend a little  time from every day to practice so by the time of presentation, I can play it beautifully. Besides the learning part, I will also look for some information about how piano has grown up throughout our lives and how it affects so many people in the world. I will also talk about some famous pianists. Since I cannot handle all of these by myself so I think that I really need someone’s help. With no doubt, my best friend, Tony, I think he will be the perfect teacher for me because he has been playing piano for about ten years. Ten years is long enough for me to believe that he will be a very good â€Å"expert†. He will help me a lot in finishing this project. In the first week, I will learn how to read the notes. Then, he will fix my hand position so that I can play the keyboard easier and more correct. He will also help me keeping the melody and beats in track and make sure that everything is going right. At the end, to make this project more special and interesting, we are going to play a song together on the piano. With all the problems we have gone through, I hope that the audience will be interested in my project. For the budget section, luckily, I have most of things are available for me. I can go the PA building because there are free pianos there for me to practice. I just need to set up my schedule to spend time going there. I may need to go to the library to borrow some books to look up some information about â€Å"how to play piano† and its history. To consider my project as â€Å"significant† I think that at least I need to achieve all the goals I have above and especially make the audience feel interested and excited after the presentation, make them actually want to learn how to play it, too. Since art is a very common area that lots of people will do so I think it is necessary that I need to make it special and unique. Although this project may not be meaningful for my long term carrier because my major is not about art, but it gives me another hobby so that I can have fun with, add beauty and entertain to my life. Playing the piano is also an excellent way to strengthen eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills, and people who take piano lessons learn a lot about discipline, dedication and the rewards of hard work. To demonstrate to the review panel that I met my learning goals, I will record everything that I did from the beginning to the end so that they can see how I have improved and what did I really achieve. Since my project takes a lot of time to finish, I need to start it early. I will spend at least an hour most of everyday to practice. First, I  need to spend hours to do the research about history of piano and how it continues throughout these years. Then, I also need to look up for the music sheets that I am going to play. As I plan, I will need to learn how to read short music sheet first, then Tony will help me with the hand position and start playing around with random notes. It might take one or two days for me to get used to it. After that, I will start with playing single notes with each hand. This may take up two or three days. Finally, I will learn how to play both hands together. I think this part is the most difficult and will take a lot of time so I will spend for the whole week to play two short easy music sheets for beginners. Then, after getting used to with everything, I will start learn how to play a longer and faster music sheet to show how much work I have put into this. I will meet up my â€Å"expert† maybe twice or three times a week so he can help me checkup things and if there is any problem, I can ask him to spend time together a lot to practice, understand each other so that we can both finish the song fluently. Since his and my study schedule at school is different so it is hard for us to find free time to study together. Therefore, I think that it will take even much longer time for us to finish studying the sheet, at least for two or three weeks. In conclusion, to make this project successful and significant, I have to spend lots of effort, courage, and time. Planning ahead is a very important thing to do so that the presentation will be finished on time. Hopefully, my project can make the audience find their interest and know more about piano. Also, for me, this project will be something meaningful and special for my life goals.

African Americans and the Progressive Era

African Americans and the Progressive Era The Progressive Era spanned the years from 1890–1920 when the United States was experiencing rapid growth. Immigrants from eastern and southern Europe arrived in droves. Cities were overcrowded, and those living in poverty suffered greatly. Politicians in the major cities controlled their power through various political machines. Companies were creating monopolies and controlling many of the nation’s finances. The Progressive Movement A concern emerged from many Americans who believed that great change was needed in society to protect everyday people. As a result, the concept of reform took place in society. Reformers such as social workers, journalists, educators, and even politicians  emerged to change society. This was known as the Progressive Movement. One issue was consistently ignored: the plight of African Americans in the United States. African Americans were faced with consistent racism in the form of segregation in public spaces and disenfranchisement from the political process. Access to quality healthcare, education, and housing was scarce, and lynchings were rampant in the South.   To counter these injustices, African American reformists also emerged to expose and then fight for equal rights in the United States. African American Reformers of the Progressive Era Booker T. Washington was an  educator who established the Tuskegee Institute. Washington argued that African Americans should learn trades that would offer them the opportunity to be progressive citizens. Instead of fighting against discrimination, Washington argued that African Americans should use their education and knowledge to become self-sufficient in American society and not in competition with white Americans.W.E.B Du Bois was the founder of the  Niagara Movement and later the NAACP, Du Bois disagreed with Washington. He argued that African Americans should consistently fight for racial equality.Ida B. Wells  was  a journalist who wrote about the horrors of lynching in the South. Wells work made her a muckraker, one of several white and black journalists who wrote news stories about social, political, and economic conditions that led to changes. Wells reporting led to the development of the Anti-Lynching Campaign.   Organizations National Association of Colored Women was established in 1896 by a group of middle-class African American women. The goal of the NACW was to develop the economic, moral, religious and social welfare of women and children. The NACW also worked to end social and racial inequality.Niagara Movement was developed  in 1905 by William Monroe Trotter and W. E. B. Du Bois. Trotter and DuBois mission was to develop an aggressive way of fighting racial inequality.National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was an outgrowth of the Niagara Movement and was established in 1909. Since then the organization has been essential to fighting social and racial inequality through legislation, court cases, and protests.National Urban League  was  established in 1910, this organizations mission was to end racial discrimination and provide economic empowerment to African Americans who migrated from southern rural areas to northern cities through the Great Migration. Womens Suffrage One of the major initiatives of the Progressive Era was the womens suffrage movement. However, many organizations that were established to fight for the voting rights of women either marginalized or ignored African American women. As a result, African American women such as Mary Church Terrell became dedicated to organizing women on the local and national level to fight for equal rights in society. The work of white suffrage organizations along with African American womens organizations ultimately led to the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote. African American  Newspapers While mainstream newspapers during the Progressive Era focused on the horrors of urban blight and political corruption, lynching and the effects of Jim Crow laws were largely ignored. African-Americans began publishing daily and weekly newspapers such as the Chicago Defender, Amsterdam News,​ and the Pittsburgh Courier to expose the local and national injustices of African Americans. Known as the Black Press, journalists such as William Monroe Trotter, James Weldon Johnson, and Ida B. Wells all wrote about lynching and segregation as well as the importance of becoming socially and politically active. Monthly publications such as The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP and Opportunity, published by the National Urban League became necessary to spread the news about the positive achievements of African Americans as well. Effects of African American Initiatives During the Progressive Era Although the African American fight to end discrimination did not lead to immediate changes in legislation, several changes did take place that impacted African Americans. Organizations such as the Niagara Movement, NACW, NAACP, NUL all resulted in building stronger African-American communities by providing healthcare, housing, and educational services. The reporting of lynching and other acts of terror in African American newspapers ultimately led to mainstream newspapers publishing articles and editorials on this issue, making it a national initiative. Lastly, the work of Washington, Du Bois, Wells, Terrell, and countless others ultimately led to the protests of the Civil Rights Movement sixty years later. Resources and Further Reading Diner, Steven J. A Very Different Age: Americans of the Progressive Era. New York: Hill and Wang, 1998.Frankel, Noralee and Nancy S. Dye (eds.) Gender, Class, Race, and Reform in the Progressive Era. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1991.Franklin, Jimmie. Blacks and the Progressive Movement: Emergence of a New Synthesis. OAH Magazine of History 13.3 (1999): 20–23. Print.McGerr, Michael E. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870–1920. Oxford: Oxford University PressStovall, Mary E. The Chicago Defender in the Progressive Era. Illinois Historical Journal 83.3 (1990): 159–72. Print.Stromqvist, Sheldon. Reinventing The People: The Progressive Movement, the Class Problem, and the Origins of Modern Liberalism. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2005.

Evolution of Dinosaurs to Modern Animals

Evolution of Dinosaurs to Modern Animals Dinosaurs didnt spring suddenly into existence two hundred million years ago, huge, toothy, and hungry for grub. Like all living things, they evolved, slowly and gradually, according to the rules of Darwinian selection and adaptation, from previously existing creatures- in this case, a family of primitive reptiles known as archosaurs (ruling lizards). On the face of it, archosaurs werent all that different from the dinosaurs that succeeded them. However, these Triassic reptiles were much smaller than later dinosaurs, and they possessed certain characteristic features that set them apart from their more famous descendants (most notably, the lack of a locked-in posture for their front and hind limbs). Paleontologists may even have identified the single genus of archosaur from which all dinosaurs evolved: Lagosuchus (Greek for rabbit crocodile), a quick, tiny reptile that scurried across the forests of early Triassic South America, and that sometimes goes by the name Marasuchus. Evolution During the Triassic Period Confusing matters somewhat, the archosaurs of the middle to late Triassic period didnt only give rise to dinosaurs. Isolated populations of these ruling reptiles also spawned the very first pterosaurs and crocodiles. For as much as 20 million years, in fact, the part of the Pangean supercontinent corresponding to modern-day South America was thick with two-legged archosaurs, two-legged dinosaurs, and even two-legged crocodiles- and even  experienced paleontologists sometimes have trouble distinguishing between the fossil specimens of these three families! Experts are unsure whether the archosaurs from which the dinosaurs descended coexisted with the therapsids (mammal-like reptiles) of the late Permian period, or whether they appeared on the scene after the Permian/Triassic Extinction Event 250 million years ago, a geologic upheaval that killed about three-quarters of all land-dwelling animals on earth. From the perspective of dinosaur evolution, though, this may be a distinction without a difference. Whats clear is that dinosaurs gained the upper hand by the start of the Jurassic period.  (By the way, you may be surprised to learn that therapsids spawned the first mammals around the same time, the late Triassic period, as archosaurs spawned the first dinosaurs.) The First Dinosaurs Once you climb your way out of late Triassic South America, the path of dinosaur evolution comes into much sharper focus, as the very first dinosaurs slowly radiated into the sauropods, tyrannosaurs, and raptors we all know and love today. The best current candidate for the first true dinosaur is the South American Eoraptor, a nimble, two-legged meat-eater akin to the slightly later Coelophysis of North America. Eoraptor and its ilk survived by eating the smaller crocodiles, archosaurs, and proto-mammals of its lush forest environment, and may have hunted by night. The next important event in dinosaur evolution, after the appearance of Eoraptor, was the split between saurischian (lizard-hipped) and ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs, which transpired just before the start of the Jurassic period. The first ornithischian dinosaur (a good candidate is Pisanosaurus) was the direct descendant of the vast bulk of the plant-eating dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, including ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, and ornithopods. Saurischians, meanwhile, split into two main families: theropods (the meat-eating dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurs and raptors) and prosauropods (the slender, bipedal, plant-eating dinosaurs that later evolved into gigantic sauropods and titanosaurs). A good candidate for the first prosauropod, or sauropodomorph, is Panphagia, the name of which is Greek for eats everything. Ongoing Dinosaur Evolution Once these major dinosaur families were established, around the start of the Jurassic period, evolution continued to take its natural course. But according to recent research, the pace of dinosaur adaptation  slowed down drastically during the later Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs were more rigidly locked into existing families and their rates of speciation and diversification slowed. The corresponding lack of diversity may have made dinosaurs ripe pickings for the K/T Extinction Event  when a meteor impact decimated planetary food supplies. Ironically, just the way the Permian/Triassic Extinction Event paved the way for the rise of dinosaurs, the K/T Extinction cleared the way for the rise of mammals- which had existed alongside the dinosaurs all along, in small, quivering, mouse-like packages.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgeralds greatest novel- a book that offers damning and insightful views of the American nouveau riche in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby is an American classic and a wonderfully evocative work. Like much of Fitzgeralds prose, it is neat and well-crafted. Fitzgerald has a brilliant understanding of lives that are corrupted by greed and turn out incredibly sad and unfulfilled. He was able to translate this understanding into one of the finest pieces of literature of the 1920s. The novel is a product of its generation- with one of American literatures most powerful characters in the figure of Jay Gatsby, who is urbane and world-weary. Gatsby is really nothing more than a man desperate for love. The Great Gatsby Overview The novels events are filtered through the consciousness of its narrator, Nick Carraway, a young Yale graduate, who is both a part of and separate from the world he describes. Upon moving to New York, he rents a house next door to the mansion of an eccentric millionaire (Jay Gatsby). Every Saturday, Gatsby throws a party at his mansion and all the great and the good of the young fashionable world come to marvel at his extravagance (as well as swap gossipy stories about their host who- it is suggested- has a murky past). Despite his high-living, Gatsby is dissatisfied and Nick finds out why. Long ago, Gatsby fell in love with a young girl, Daisy. Although she has always loved Gatsby, she is currently married to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby asks Nick to help him meet Daisy once more, and Nick finally agrees- arranging tea for Daisy at his house. The two ex-lovers meet and soon rekindle their affair. Soon, Tom begins to suspect and challenges the two of them- also revealing something that the reader had already begun to suspect: that Gatsbys fortune was made through illegal gambling and bootlegging. Gatsby and Daisy drive back to New York. In the wake of the emotional confrontation, Daisy hits and kills a woman. Gatsby feels that his life would be nothing without Daisy, so he takes the blame. George Wilson- who discovers that the car that killed his wife belongs to Gatsby- comes to Gatsbys house and shoots him. Nick arranges a funeral for his friend and then decides to leave New York- saddened by the fatal events and disgusted by the way lived their lives. Gatsbys Character and Societal Values The power of Gatsby as a character is inextricably linked to his wealth. From the very beginning of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald sets up his eponymous hero as an enigma: the playboy millionaire with the shady past who can enjoy the frivolity and ephemera that he creates around him. However, the reality of the situation is that Gatsby is a man in love. Nothing more. He concentrated all of his life on winning Daisy back. It is the way that he attempts to do this, however, that is central to Fitzgeralds world-view. Gatsby creates himself- both his mystique and his personality- around rotten values. They are the values of the American dream- that money, wealth, and popularity are all there is to achieve in this world. He gives everything he has- emotionally and physically- to win, and it is this unrestrained desire that contributes to his eventual downfall. Social Commentary About Decadence In the closing pages of The Great Gatsby, Nick considers Gatsby in a wider context. Nick links Gatsby with the class of people with whom he has become so inextricably associated. They are the society persons so prominent during the 1920s and 1930s. Like his novel The Beautiful and the Damned, Fitzgerald attacks the shallow social climbing and emotional manipulation- which only causes pain. With a decadent cynicism, the party-goers in The Great Gatsby cannot see anything beyond their own enjoyment. Gatsbys love is frustrated by the social situation and his death symbolizes the dangers of his chosen path. F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a picture of a lifestyle and a decade that is both fascinating and horrific. In so doing, he captures a society and a set of young people; and he writes them into legend. Fitzgerald was a part of that high-living lifestyle, but he was also a victim of it. He was one of the beautiful but he was also forever damned. In all its excitement- pulsating with life and tragedy- The Great Gatsby brilliantly captures the American dream in a time when it had descended into decadence.

A)The Hurricanes Pauline on the cost of South Pacific is caused for Research Paper

A)The Hurricanes Pauline on the cost of South Pacific is caused for the climate changed or is human responsible( what causes and effects) - Research Paper Example Hurricane Pauline struck the south pacific coast on October 5 1997. The winds were at a speed of 135 miles per hour, enough to shatter everything that came in its path and take more than 200 lives in the process. Hurricane Pauline affected a large area of Mexico and dissipated on October 10 1997. While hurricanes are considered to have a history as old as the existence of this very world, their frequency has increased in the recent past, an important point for the rapidly growing world to give a thought to. Are we humans responsible for their increased frequency or is it just nature showing its wrath upon us. Many of the researchers and scientists have raised questions on the progress of the world and global warming. There have been debates concerning the relation of global warming and increased number of hurricanes than ever. Indeed some of the researchers have been able to prove that global warming has somewhat a role in this increased number of hurricanes and their disastrous effect. It has also been proposed and later proved that climate change has major role in the power dissipation of Atlantic system of hurricanes. These climate changes either natural or not have an important affect in the increased activity of hurricanes in the Atlantic region (Emanuel, 2007). It has also been told that human activities in the Atlantic area have been shown to cause detectable or undetectable changes that might have been leading to increased hurricane activity in that region. Hurricane Pauline that destroyed cities and took hundreds of lives was followed by Hurricane Katrina and many other in the later years specifically in areas where an annual rise in temperature was recorded showing the role of global warming directly and humans indirectly in causing hurricanes. To conclude, we humans have been progressing rather too rapidly, at a pace at which we might leave everything

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Assignment Example It is only by changing the mentality of human particularly the fishermen that the aquatic life will be protected from possible extinction. It is wrongful for a few individuals to engage in practices that benefit only a few but has dire consequences suffered by all. A good example is overfishing, which destroys aquatic life affecting even those who do not practice it. 2. How were your views and opinions challenged or changed by your reading of In Pursuit of Giants, if at all?   Before reading this book, I considered humans dynamic in that they can change their behaviors depending on the situation. However, reading this book made me realize it is not always the case. This is because people continue fishing using inappropriate methods irrespective of the fact that the species they are capturing are at the verge of extinction. The fisheries management, which is supposed to facilitate conservation of aquatic life, involve themselves in corrupt deals, which end up worsening the crisis. I t is pathetic to realize that the same governments that obtain a lot of revenue from export of fish are doing little to protect the life of the endangered fish species. 3. Name three industrial fishing practices mentioned in the book, and explain how they create bycatch and harm marine life.   Fishing can be done in large scale or small scale. Fishing is a practice that leads to killing of the highest number of animals. Large scale, commercial or industrial fishing entails capturing of large quantities of fish. In most large-scale fishing, destructive fishing methodologies are used, which leads to inadvertent capture of immature fishes as well as other aquatic organisms commonly referred to as bycatch. Some of the methods that lead to bycatch and have been mentioned in Rigney’s book include trawling, seining, and long lining. The above-mentioned methods are a true cruelty towards aquatic animals. Trawling entails using nets that are hooked to two t Using trawling as a fishi ng method results of both target and non-target species. Trawling, particularly bottom trawling leads to capture of large quantities of bycatch, which include all organisms that happen to be along the path of the trawl nets. Most of the bycatch die as the nets are dragged along the ocean floor while other dies when the nets are hauled from the ocean due to changes in pressure. This is commonly referred to as decompression. Additionally, the method leads to destruction of the ocean beds. Mid-water trawling is another commercial fishing method commonly used in different parts of the world and entails immersing nets net in areas with high water volume. The nets are then hooked to trawl door or towed behind two boats. Just like bottom trawling, Mid-water trawling leads to capture of high numbers of non-target species. Seining is another fishing methodology that leads to large numbers of bycatch. Purse seining is used to capture fish species such as tuna. Seining involves use of nets com monly known as purse seine. However, the method leads to large bycatch particularly of dolphins that are frequently found near tuna. Long lining involves sinking long fishing lines, Bout 50 miles in length, threaded with baited hooks. The line with the hooks is then hauled behind a boat or left afloat overnight. This method is mainly used

Police discretion postion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police discretion postion - Essay Example It is the action that a police officer takes, according to personal judgment, conscience, morals, attitude, and beliefs; as well as the officer’s education, training and experience. This paper proposes to discuss the use of discretion in police work. The mythical aspects of the use of discretion, the sources, and the methods by which police discretion may be controlled will be identified. From the analysis a list will be created of ten police actions in which discretion may be used, and the reasons for their use will be given. Further, the use of discretion in each of the police actions will be justified either as reasonable, or denounced as an abuse of power. In the maintenance of order and in crime prevention police officers play a complex and sensitive role which extends far beyond merely arresting law breakers. Historically, police have asserted authority in several ways, often not involving arrest. In more commonplace police actions such as handling alcoholics and panhandlers or resolving disputes between neighbours, the police do not generally make any arrests. Though exercising discretion is essential, the police should not be allowed to employ random or arbitrary policing. Also, rather than strictly following a rule book, policing should reflect a neighborhood’s values and sense of justice, and should be in line with residents’ concerns so that justice will be achieved. Increasingly, the police officer’s role in the justice process demands â€Å"greater commitment to developing policy guidelines that set standards, shape the inevitable use of discretion, and support community involvement† (Kelling, 1999 : iii). Furthermore, formal training of police personnel should include some basic factors to teach them to act democratically as well as judiciously in their work, in order to successfully achieve outcomes which are just (Marenin, 2004). Discretion in police work is

IT projects risks, success and failures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT projects risks, success and failures - Essay Example According to Lindquist (2005), to avoid this, Cox Communications did employee empowerment first. They did this by training them on how the system is used to increase ease of adaptability. They also monitored the whole process by drafting an implementation chart which gave timelines on implementation schedule. This helped it have a successful software addition which improved its data handling capabilities. Ford Motor Company decided to replace their old purchasing and procurement systems with a new system. This was to manage their huge transactions; it was also set to provide financial analysis tools which could provide real time results. It was christened the â€Å"Everest† project and was to move supply systems to an internet based model, powered by Oracle as the service providers. This program later has proven to be a costly and involved redistribution of IT staff who were sent to the outlets to upgrade the systems. The company had not fully appreciated the software because the project team gave no clear directions on implementation schedules. Luck has no place in determining success on projects initiated by companies or individuals. What it takes is an adoption of a working formula that ensures the various implementation steps are followed. The first activity done in such kind of a project is needs assessment which looks into the risk factors while at the same time assessing the pros and cons associated with the new system. The management then delegates duties to employees based on areas of competence.

Where does Europe end and why Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Where does Europe end and why - Essay Example The boundaries which constitute Europe are thus vague, rather dynamic as Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005) indicate, i.e. Europe is still going through an economic as well as political transformation whereby it is struggling to incorporate the spaces surrounding the traditional Europe as buffer regions, stability of which is crucial for the sustainability of European states. The European Union is consistently going through a transition which is further expected to enlarge after the incorporation of Turkey into the European Union. In this case, according to the social theory model of EU proposed by Delanty and Rumsfeld (2005), the boundary in further going to be enhanced creating a further confusion about the end of Europe. The paper aims at answering the question in geographical as well as in economical, political and sociological perspectives to give the most valid explanations about where does Europe actually end. The paper intend on arguing that the boundaries of Europe in its true sens e extend beyond the Russian as well as Turkish borders. To further draw patterns and conclusions across variables, it is important to assess the traditional borders of Europe which the geographers have relied upon for years. According to the geographers, Europe is divided from Asia at the East from Ural Mountains and seas, whereas it is surrounded by watersheds on other sides. By this explanation, Europe ends somewhere around Russia at its East, and in Turkey around it`s South East where Asia or rather Middle East begins. This is where the problems still lie. Russia and Turkey both are located about halfway in Europe, thus it becomes difficult to assess where the other continents begin. Geography can`t be studied keeping political and sociological angles aside, thus when these factors are also considered it becomes difficult to decide where Europe ends. It can however be concluded, for the purpose of eliminating confusion that Europe ends

IT projects risks, success and failures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT projects risks, success and failures - Essay Example According to Lindquist (2005), to avoid this, Cox Communications did employee empowerment first. They did this by training them on how the system is used to increase ease of adaptability. They also monitored the whole process by drafting an implementation chart which gave timelines on implementation schedule. This helped it have a successful software addition which improved its data handling capabilities. Ford Motor Company decided to replace their old purchasing and procurement systems with a new system. This was to manage their huge transactions; it was also set to provide financial analysis tools which could provide real time results. It was christened the â€Å"Everest† project and was to move supply systems to an internet based model, powered by Oracle as the service providers. This program later has proven to be a costly and involved redistribution of IT staff who were sent to the outlets to upgrade the systems. The company had not fully appreciated the software because the project team gave no clear directions on implementation schedules. Luck has no place in determining success on projects initiated by companies or individuals. What it takes is an adoption of a working formula that ensures the various implementation steps are followed. The first activity done in such kind of a project is needs assessment which looks into the risk factors while at the same time assessing the pros and cons associated with the new system. The management then delegates duties to employees based on areas of competence.

Sociology class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Sociology class - Essay Example mple given in the role of women as housekeepers and child-raisers has not only been generally observed but has been true since the beginning of recorded human history. This might be accounted to the physical built of the woman who is generally small than men and who are seen to be the weaker sex or more able and fit to face the demands of physical and mental strength required in such a responsibility. On the other side, men are expected to do the more difficult tasks especially those which demand physical output like farming, mining and the likes. Sociology then helps us understand our roles and, to the inquiring or curios thoughts of a person why things work in such ways and not in another way as he may see fit, provides an acceptable explanation. As mentioned earlier, the reasons behind every role one performs is inspected in the study of human beings and their relations and provides information that does not only help men to understand their roles but to accept them. However, like any other kind of study, not everything that one aims to pursue results to the bounds of an individual’s objectives of his study. For instance, the roles of men and women have been accepted to have separation and difference without question as they have been the norms we have grown through. However, in the passing of time, when the women proved that they are also able to do hard jobs, women’s liberation was borne which resulted to the many changes that we now see around us. There is no problem to the author about this matter but wha t is being pointed out here is the fact that sometimes studies extend its results to things that are out of our hands and still affect the sociological relationships we embrace. Thus, the things we once observed to have been accepted without question are now overturned and women now demand to be treated as equals to men, affecting not only men’s relationships in general but also affects the smaller groups of our society like husband and wife

Cross Cultural Beliefs About the Afterlife Essay Example for Free

Cross Cultural Beliefs About the Afterlife Essay Abstract A study of American undergraduates indicated that the beliefs about the nature of life after death were quite complicated. A 41-item questionnaire produced 12 independent groups of beliefs. Belief in an internal locus of control and that one’s life is owned by God were associated with a more positive view of the afterlife, as was being Roman Catholic rather than Protestant. The most common beliefs were that one is reunited with family and friends, that the afterlife is comforting, that there is Heaven and that the transition is peaceful, all believed by more than 90 percent of the students. The afterlife is an idea that the conscious or mind of a being continuous after physical death occurs. There are many different believes about how the afterlife will be and what effects that outcome. In many popular views, this continued existence often takes place in an immaterial or spiritual realm. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion. Deceased people are usually believed to go to a specific planet after death. Regardless of the lack of evidence that is typically believed to be determined by a God. This is based on their actions during physical life. In contrast, the term reincarnation refers to an afterlife in which only the â€Å"essence† of the being is preserved, and the â€Å"afterlife† is another life on Earth or possibly within the same universe. Lester, Aldrige, Aspenberg, Boyle, Radsniak, and Waldron (2001-2002) based their research proposal on what Flynn and Kunkel (1987) found. Flynn and Kunkel (1987) used data from about one thousand respondents in the 1983 from a General Social Survey to analyze beliefs that the people had for life after death. They found three groups of beliefs. One is Otherworldly: life of peace, tranquility, paradise of pleasure and delight, loving intellectual communication, union with god and reunion with loved ones. Worldly Rewards: life of intense action like it is here on earth but a paradise of pleasure and delight. The third group was No Rewards: life without many earthly joys, a pale, shadowy sort of life, spiritually involving mind and not the body. The researchers found that the type of belief held about life-after-death was related to social class, financial status, and a history of trauma. No recent studies were identified on this issue until Lester et al. (2001-2002). The designing of this study was made to explore and expand the beliefs that people held about life-after-death. They used a 21-item questionnaire of the concepts of the afterlife. In the first method the questionnaire was given to 50 students who were enrolled in social science undergraduate courses. The mean age was 23.8 years old and the participants were mainly white. In the first method nine factors ever extracted about beliefs about afterlife. There were three major findings from the research that was obtained. One was that 19.8 percent accounted for that the life is much like the life on earth. There is a good and an evil. Not everyone is equal and that there are material objects in the afterlife. 13.4 percent accounted for that the cause of death, rituals carried out for you, the physical and psychotically state at death has an effect on how the afterlife would be. Lastly 8.5 percent accounted for the belief that the afterlife is a specific place, there is a day of judgment, and there is eternal bliss and that that is the final destinations. The second method was designed to enlarge properties, increase sample size and explore other personality correlates of beliefs, specifically belief on external locus of control. The research study consisted of 152 male and180 female participants who were undergraduate students from the same state college as the participants in the first method. The second method was expanded into a 41-item questionnaire. The mean age in the second method was 22.5 years old and the participants were mainly white. In this method twelve factors were identified about beliefs about afterlife. Three of the major factors were that 12.1 percent believe in Heave and Hell. 7.9 percent believe in reincarnation and 6.6 percent believed that there ate material objects and sexual desire in the after life. The gender differences that were found are that men are not less likely to believe in afterlife but they were less likely to believe in Heaven, reuniting with loved ones, communication with the living and request for forgiveness before death. Men were more likely the women to believe that there are material objects, that spirits have human form, that there is pain, hunger, thirst and that rituals carried out after death are important. The religious differences they found were that Protestant students were less likely to believe in life-after-death then Roman Catholic students. On the other hand, Protestant students were more likely to believe that there is Hell and that forgiveness needs to be requested to get into Heaven.One of the strengths that this article has is that they provided a broad hypothesis. It was not specific and that gave them more room to play around with how they want to test the beliefs on life-after-death. They basically just wanted to explore from what was found in previous search on the afterlife and find more detailed data. Another strengths in this article were the specific questions that the participants were asked about their beliefs in the afterlife. The researchers made the questions into simple yes or no answer kinds. This made it easier for the participants to answer what they believe in about the afterlife and it also made it easier and clearer for the researchers to extract the exact data that they were looking for. Also the researchers conducted two methods. There were extra questions that were added also. This helped the researchers find other specific beliefs. Overall, having two methods gives a better view of what data is best to keep and present. The first weakness of this article is that the date was only consumed from one specific university. This has a major limit on how this data will be taken into account by others. When data is taken only from one part of he country it limits how credible the findings are and how they can be used in future research. Another weakness is that the researchers only conducted a questionnaire in their method to finding data on beliefs about the afterlife. Another weakness is that the sample size was small in the first method. It may be hard to compare data between method one and method two because they have significant difference in sample size. Lastly, a major weakness would be the data expenditure of only undergraduate students with mean ages of 23.8 and 22.5 within the two methods verses consuming data from many different age groups. Cross-cultural research on beliefs about the afterlife is one of the major directions that can be taken with this research topic just as it was done by: Ambwani, Warren, Gleaves, Benito and Fernandez (2007) in their research on fear of fatness across the world. The data they conducted showed differences in beliefs on what body shape is socially acceptable in the United Sates verses Spain. There are so many different religions, cultures and individual beliefs regarding how life should be lived and what will come out of that. Some religions do not believe in the afterlife at all and some believe that this life is just a test for what will be the ever-lasting life after death. These differences need to be taken into considerations and research on more to further our understanding about all the cultures in our environments. Another future directions that can be taken with beliefs about the afterlife can be of great importance to the medical fields in research. Patients that have experienced trauma in their lives may have very important data that can help understand why people may have the different thoughts and beliefs about how the afterlife will and what will be in it. Research Purpose Cross-cultural Research would be a key direction to take beliefs about afterlife on. This would assess the differences in beliefs about afterlife beyond America. Cross-cultural research is beneficial because it covers a much wider range of variations in cultural activities then other studies that are based on single societies. For this particular subject on afterlife a comparison between America and Croatia will be done. The cultural differences about what beliefs individuals hold will be taken. The purpose is to show how different cultures may have different dynamics in how they believe their life had effected the belief they hold on afterlife. Croatians compared to Americans on average will believe in afterlife more. Another proposal is to test participants that have experienced trauma verses participants that have not experienced trauma. This would show how experience of trauma can affect a person view on life and how they may feel about afterlife. For this particular research it would show the difference been the two countries and between experience with trauma and experience with no trauma. On average participants that have experienced trauma will have a greater belief in afterlife verses participants with no experience with trauma. Research Methods The budget for this research proposal is 12,000.00 dollars. There are 400 participants to which 20.00-dollar Starbucks gift card will be given. That is 40020, which equals 8,000.00 dollars. The money for the Starbucks gift cards will be transferred from here to Zagreb Croatia trough Bank of America free of charge. There are also four research assistants. Two native speaking Croatians that also speak English from the University of Zagreb and two Americans from Oakland University. Each of the assistants receive 1,000.00 dollars 41000, which equals to 4,000.00 for a total of 12,000.00-dollar research budget. The ideal characteristic for the participants in this research would be that they are college health college students that have a global point of view so that the date that will be collected from them is from a point of view that has seen more then just one way to live. The participants would also be ideal if they are completely honest about their answers since these are completely confidential items on the questionnaire. An equal amount of men and women would also be ideal. Although, that may be a difficult task it can be established by keeping track of how many men and women have come to take the online questionnaire. There will be 400 student participants will be chosen from America and Croatia. From America the participants will be gathered from Oakland University in Rochester Michigan and from Croatia the participants will be gathered from University of Zagreb in Zagreb. The participants will not be from a specific major study or group but randomly selected individuals. They will all be undergraduate students. There will be a total of 400 participants. Students will be split, 200 from Oakland University and 200 from University of Zagreb. The sampling methods will proceed in the fallowing order. The questionnaire will be taken online on a website make just for this research. The website that will be made by the Oakland Universities IT departments assistance free of charge. The online questionnaire will be taken individually in a room that will be provided for the research. This way the students do will feel more comfortable and less anxious about answering the questionnaire. There will be a research assistant present in that room during the time when participants take the online questionnaire to assist them of they have any questions about how to start the questionnaire and to assist them when they are done. After the participant completes the online questionnaire the research assistant will grant them with a twenty-dollar Starbucks gift card. The Measurements will be done with the questionnaire from method two of the original research study. The questionnaire will be back translated to Croatian. Items 1 to 41 will aid in determine if the participants believe in afterlife and what specific facts they believe about afterlife. How will the afterlife be? What will be in the afterlife? These items are very specific and will with no trouble help distinguish between participants that believe in afterlife verses those participants that do not in America and Croatia and it will help find the specifics that participants believe in about afterlife. Items that do not pertain to research purposes will be taken out and replaced with more appropriate items for the research. The participants will be asked to report their age. Also other items will be added to the questionnaire to fit the need for data consumption for the research of effect of trauma on participants and their beliefs (see appendix 1 for questionnaire items). Items 42 to 55 have been added to assist in finding the right data that is needed. These specific items in the questionnaire will help determine what kind of traumatic even the participant has experienced. Do they believe this has changed how they think and feel the afterlife will be like? Also a consent form and confidentiality agreement will be given to participants to sign. The data analytic plan will consist of Two-way ANOVA. A Two-way ANOVA of variance is an extension to the one-way analysis of variance. There are two independent variables. Some of the assumptions for Two-way ANOVA are that the population from which the samples are obtained must be somewhat normally distributed. The sample must be independent. The variance of population must be equal and the groups must have the same sample size. The two independent variables in Two-way ANOVA are called factors. The idea is that there are two variable, factors, that effect the dependent variable. Each factor will have two or more factors within it. For this research study the two independent variables (factors) are American students and Croatian students. Each of the factors has two other factors in it. In this case study the participants with trauma versus participants with no trauma are the factors within the independent variable. When using Two-way ANOVA the main effect, interaction effect and within variation are also establish. The main effect involves the independent variable one at a time. The interaction effect is the effect one factor has on the other factor. Lastly the within effect is the sum of squared within each treatment group. Two-way ANOVA will provide all the necessary dynamics need to aid in this research in finding and separating the data. The research procedure will consist of the fallowing method to assemble the participants and obtain the data needed. Back-translate the original questionnaire to Croatian. Invite participants to take part in the study via email and announcements by the staff member that are chosen as assistants in this study to their students in class. As participants walk in they will be guided to a computer in the designated room to take the online questionnair. Before participants take the online questionnaire they will be asked to sign a consent and confidentiality form. After taking the online questionnaire participants will receive their twenty-dollar Starbucks gift card. Then data will be collected and analyzed from America and Croatia. The significance of this research proposal is simply that it can be used in many ways for future research. This is simple because researching on culture always brings up interesting data apart from what the researches goal was to find in first place. However, to focus on the main significance of this research is health care. It is always the fasted growing field and the most advanced in technology but there is also always room for more improvement for people skills and knowledge about diversity. Being that America is the melting pot of the world, knowledge about cultural differences is always needed. This future direction can serve nurses and doctors and other medical professionals in understanding and communicating better with their patients. Since trauma is nothing new to the health care world it is a major fact that all health care professionals need to advance and keep getting educated about. Trauma has major effects on an individuals and it will have a major effect on what they believe after the traumatic experience. Some people may have come close to death in their traumatic experience. This might have taken them to the thought about what may be next? Is this it? These are just some of the questions people may wonder about. On the other hand people that have ever had major trauma may and may just have a broad belief about what they think the afterlife will be. Research on afterlife would benefit the medical fields in a great way. The nurses and other health care professionals would have a deeper understanding on what their patients that have chronic illnesses are feeling intrinsically. It would also give them a better chance of understanding different culture and know what the patient feels or does not feel comfortable with. This research can also benefit social worker and counselors and educators in connecting with their patients or students in a better way. Education about how traumatic experiences effect how people believe their afterlife will be can also be a factor of why they feel the way they do right now. This research will also open many more doors for future research on sub topics regarding afterlife and other interesting factors that may rise from this. Since there is not much research on afterlife this can be the icebreaker. References Ambwani, S., Warren, C., Gleaves, D., Benito, A., and Fernandez, M. (2008). Culture, Gender and Assesment of Fear of Fatness. European Journal of Psychological Assesment. 24, 81-87. Flynn, C. p., Kunkel, S. R. (1987). Deprivation, compensation, and conception of an afterlife. Sociological Analysis, 48, 58-72. Lester, D., Aldridge, M., Aspenberg, C., Boyle, K., Radsniak, P., and Waldron, C. (2002). What Is the Afterlife like? Undergraduates Believes about the Afterlife. Omega Center for the Study of Sluiced. 44, 113-126.

Current and future strategies

Current and future strategies 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose: The purpose of this report is to understand and analyse the current and future strategies of NEXT in terms of its market in the United Kingdom. This report also considers the tactics to reach potential markets and expand into newer market segments. Approach: In order to conduct a comprehensive study of the company, the factors taken into account are an internal and external analysis, the generic strategies used by NEXT and a thorough understanding of the 4 Ps, PLC, BGM and Ansoffs Matrix has been done in correlation with the future and currents strategies. Findings: Next is the second largest clothing retailer in the UK operating through 500 NEXT retail stores within UK and Eire with over two million active customers. Next aims to provide high quality and beautifully designed products to their customers. From the internal and external analysis of the market strategy of Next, results conclude that next has been a mid market retailer for nearly two decades. It has achieved huge amount of success in the internet and online shopping environment and have been able to cope to with the recent recession within UK and globally. Limitations: Next has suffered sales in the last year due to the recession in the UK and has been moving from a low price retailer to a design and quality product provider. In achieving this aim of providing high quality and designed products it has suffered loss in the UK in sales and growth. It also needs to be aware of the risks of increasing their shop sizes, as the store space to sales growth ratio is very poor. New out of town stores has not been great success and has only added additional costs. 2. INTRODUCTION The only way to attain the successes the company has experienced in the past few years in terms of growth of sales and profits is to see what opportunities lay on the horizon. The Marketing Department of Next Plc has performed a series of internal and external scans throughout the company in order to identify these opportunities. This report contains an analysis performed on the structure, culture, and the micro and macro environment of NEXT PLC. The outcomes are presented in the form of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the company. A PEST analysis focuses on the environment that the company now is in (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) and a scan based on the Five Forces Model of Michael Porter. Furthermore, there is the presentation of mix map model, which analysis the 4 Ps (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) and product life cycle, Boston Group Matrix, Ansoffs Matrix of NEXT. An executive summary has been constructed to provide the company vision and a sense of direction with the help of data gathered by the Marketing Department. The above mentioned activities are performed In order to discuss and evaluate the current marketing strategy of NEXT PLC and to recommend an appropriate strategy for the near future to expedite further growth. 2.1 MISSION ANALYSIS NEXT is a retailer of clothing, footwear, accessories and home products. Next clothes are designed by in-house design team to offer consistency of style, quality and value for money with a contemporary fashion edge. The company operates through five reportable business segments namely: Next retail, Next directory, Ventura, Next sourcing and other. NEXT PLC aim to provide â€Å"Exciting, Beautifully designed, Excellent quality clothing and home ware that reflects the aspirations and means of our customers† (Nextplc, 2009) and keep providing quality products for their target markets. In lay-mans terms, a mission statement describes what business the firm is in (Thompson and Martin, 2005). Objectives describe the kind of results the business seeks to achieve while the strategies simplify the way to achieve the desired objectives. Market can be defined as location where the buying and selling of merchandise takes place and marketing can be defined as the process of identifying a target market and developing appropriate strategies for product development, pricing, promotion and distribution (Burns, 2002). NEXT also aims to respond to the particular needs of their customers through the package of measures, which they believe support all customers including those with additional needs. NEXT PLC operates through 500 NEXT retail stores within UK and Eire, Next directory, a direct catalogue and transactional website with over two million active customers and NEXT franchise which includes around 170 stores worldwide. Online shopping was introduced in 1999 and was first in home shopping in the UK. Like other retailers, NEXT has also suffered sales decline due to the recession but aim to carefully manage costs, whilst maintaining and retaining the talent and skills to ensure a positive position within market and emerge stronger than before. NEXT PLC also believes in the importance of maintaining healthy relationship with communities in which they operate and also work with charities to ensure their part in public welfare. NEXT is positioned firmly in the middle mainstream fashion market, targeting 25-45 year olds (upper, middle and lower middle class consumers) who are fashion followers. Easey (2009) maintained that fashion marketing is the application of a range of techniques and a business philosophy that centres upon the customer and potential customer clothing and clothing-related products and services in order to meet the long-term goals of the organisation. In recent years NEXT has been criticised about their marketing methods and has not been seen as a retail business wi th up to date marketing strategy. The word ‘strategy is used frequently and loosely, and is often no more than management jargon. There is obviously a deeper and more practical meaning to it. Strategy is about how an organization sets about getting to where it wants to get it is about setting, pursuing and achieving its mission and objectives (Thompson and Martin, 2005). Knowles (1996) maintains that applying the concept of strategy to an organization implies that the organizations managers try to allocate resources, establish policies and procedures, assign responsibilities and give direction to the organization. Strategic planning is a precise discipline and a process designed to fully utilize the collective expertise of the decision makers through a facilitated process which results in a strategic plan. In the following paragraphs, current in depth marketing strategy of NEXT PLC will be thoroughly discussed. 3.SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS As discussed earlier, success of an organisation in todays competitive world depends on to a large extent on strategy formulation and implementation. An analysis of the internal and external environments provides a look in towards building and developing current and future strategies. Situational analysis is a planning step which helps us examines the current situation of our organization and its external environment so that we can identify and agree on major issues which affect how we plan for the future. SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate a firms strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in a project or business venture. Strengths and weaknesses are considered to be internal factors of the organisation while opportunities and threats are considered to be external factors as opportunities or threats lie in the external environment. This analysis is called as SWOT analysis (Stahl and Grisby, 1997). In order for a firm to carry out SWOT analy sis it needs careful and critical examination of these various internal and external factors which are often unique to an organisation depending on the type of business. After a SWOT analysis has been performed the managers are able to formulate a strategic plan which comprises of objectives and subsequent strategies. Next always seeks to give the price, value and quality products and services, the upper hand when turning towards customers. Next aims to provide an inclusive high level of service to all customers, whether they shop in high street, shopping centre or retail park stores, the Next Directory, or online through our website. This can also be seen in the way the company sees the importance of its personnel in relation to its customers. NEXT PLC needs to look into the future for improving the customer care by streamlining activities. It also wants to continue the same success pathway it has had in the last 5 years which is demonstrated by (Verdict, 2009). 3.1 INTERNAL ANALYSIS Internal factors are those factors which influence the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation. These strengths are internal to the organisation, its strategies and its position in relation with their competitors (Mercer, 1999). Given below is an internal analysis of Next plc. 3.1.1 Structure In terms of structure, Next plc operate on a centralised system. Their target market is 25-45 year olds (Next, 2009). The company logo ‘next in lower case signifies a different approach, more trendy. There are3 main channels of distribution used by next to ensure their products reach the desired customers: Next has around 500 stores in the UK which acts as its main point of sale. (Next plc, 2009). Next directory which is an online web portal which allows customers to buy products through the web site. There are almost 2 million active next directory customers (Verdict, 2009). Around 170 international stores make up the third channel of distribution. 3.1.2Culture Jackson and Shaw (2009) define culture as the attitudes, values, standards and behaviours of a group that are often defined by nationality. According to Vignali et al, (2008) culture is made up of both abstract elements such as values and ethics, and material components such as cars and foods, which allow us to describe, evaluate and differentiate cultures. Approximately 30% of the clothing bought in the UK is from MS, Arcadia and Next (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). They further state that during 2006 Next lost their market dominance. This means the culture affects consumer behaviour to a great deal. However Next plc, was one of the first to develop and adopt an internet based shopping branch as a high street retailer (Next plc, 2009). Next operates on a role culture concept with which they have a principal board committee which includes the audit committee, remuneration committee and a nomination committee which work on their own in the company (Next plc, 2009). 3.1.2.1Cultural Web Stories: These are the past events and what people talked about inside and outside the company (Mindtool, 2009). Rituals Routines: The daily behaviour and actions of people that signal acceptable behaviour (Mindtool, 2009). Symbols: These are the visual representations of the company (Mindtool, 2009). Organizational Structure: This includes both the structure defined by the organization chart, and the unwritten lines of power and influence (Mindtool, 2009). Control Systems: The ways that the organization is controlled (Mindtool, 2009). Power Structures: The pockets of real power in the company (Mindtool, 2009). 3.1.3Value Chain core competencies Value chain is a framework for identifying where value is added and costs are incurred within a company. It embraces the key functions and activities within a company or organisation such as NEXT (Thompson and Martin, 2005). Core competencies: NEXT make use of an Internet based home shopping and has also established a good brand posture with individual style, beautiful design, excellent quality and affordable price (Next, 2009). NEXT stores are specious and they also make use of standalone lime stores. 3.2 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS The external factors may be threats to one organisation while offering opportunities to another such as technological change, legislation, socio-cultural changes, etc. It can also include changes in the market place or competitive position (Mercer, 1999). 3.2.1 Forces Influencing the Market Porters five forces is a model that helps marketers to analyse the competitive environment by identifying five major forces that continually impacts on organisations. These forces are: Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of consumers Threat of entry into the market by new entrants Threat of substitutes into the market Level of competitive rivalry amongst existing firms (Porter, 1980 cited by Jackson and Shaw, 2009) The bargaining power of our suppliers is very low and the prime problem exists in achieving the quality we ask from our suppliers. Most suppliers only deliver into this market, yet can also change to other markets (professional clothing) that are less profitable and the level of competition is great. With the availability of many suppliers, this force acts positively but can affect the quality aspect of NEXT brand name if suppliers are changed on regular basis. For the consumer bargaining power, there is not much leverage from their account: their money spent on clothing per person is not substantial enough when compared with, our total sales and their total spending budget (Next annual report, 2008). As, per person spending power is not huge it does not provide customers any bargaining power. NEXT can also consider this force as positive but needs to be aware of the customer demands in order to maintain this positive nature of the force. The threat of new entrants is rather low, yet, as said before, the German ESPRIT company is trying to enter the market. This is an exemption, because ESPRIT has a lot of resources that make this possible as well as a lot of experience. In words of product differentiation they are in the league of Levis and others (Verdict, 2009). These brands have extra benefits: Image and superior quality. This force acts as a positive force, as the threat of new entrants is low for NEXT plc but caution needs to be taken in order to maintain this force as positive. The products that can reduce our sales in the form of substitute products or services are not there, however a ‘threat of Internet portals and other forms of home shopping does exist. This is not a severe threat for the company as it already is active in this channel of selling. The discount retailing of A-brands e.g. Levis in outlets through parallel imports can be a problem. New internet portals and other home shopping forms are the only form of substitution threat to NEXT, but as they have been achieving a huge amount of success with NEXT directory and Ventura (Nextplc, 2009), this force does prove to be positive for them. There is some rivalry in the ranks of the market, for there are declining sales due to a decreasing market. In order to attain customer base, companies have increased their discounts and that leads to the destruction of the market. The main cause for this is the fact that people do not want to pay the full price amount of the products and companies have to suffice with lower profit margins. NEXT is the second largest clothing retailer in UK but has also suffered a decrease in sales. While most of its competitors struggled from the declining market Next manage to increase its market share and during the present recession they maintain their stand in the market (scribd, 2009) 3.2.2 Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) analysis: All organisations operate in market places that are affected by forces outside their control ( Jackson and Shaw, 2009, pp 300).Factors considered within the macro environment affect not only the company but all the other members of its micro environment, namely its suppliers, consumers, etc ( Easey, 1995). An analysis of the external factors that influence the firm is known as the PEST analysis i.e. Political, Economic, Social and Technological. Political Politics will affect both the producer and the consumer in various ways (Bohdanowicz and Clamp, 1994). A stable political surrounding is the basis for long-term decisions. The United Kingdom, as a Member State of the European Union, fulfils this prerequisite. The government has to act within a definite political framework to achieve the conditions of the European Union and this guarantees NEXT PLC a higher scope of economic actions. Another advantage of the European Union is the open transfer of goods. This makes it easier for NEXT to sell their products in the different European countries. There are no trade barriers that aggravate sales and it also provides as a means of direct form of participation within the foreign markets (Hines and Bruce, 2001). Economic Vignali et. al, (2008), express that economic trends are extremely important for the business and that they depend to a great extent on the governments politics. Investments in Europe for NEXT PLC are very interesting. The British currency nowadays is exceedingly strong (ex., 2009). This is due to the independence of the British pound to the Euro and has several effects. First, foreign investments for NEXT are relatively inexpensive, and second, it is costly for outside firms to establish in the United Kingdom. The effects of exchange rates also need to be monitored closely. The devaluation of the sterling in 1992 led to a rise in the cost of imports to UK while making manufactured items more competitive. However, many countries are reluctant to engage in trade because of these reasons. In the face of a truly difficult trading environment it is a case of survival of the fittest. Being good is not good enough, retailers have to be exceptional and stand out from the crowd. (Verdict 200 8). Chief executive of Next states â€Å"The outlook for the consumer economy remains challenging and as we have said before, the first half will be particularly tough (Wilson, 2009) Social Changes in lifestyle and opinions influence the demand and the way of selling products (Vignali et. al, 2008, pp. 364). Key Note (2009) estimates that in the year 2036 more than 64.9 million people will be living there. This statement would mean two possibilities. This means a lot of new customers for NEXT PLC but the age of the population is increasing. On the other hand, the social structure has changed dramatically. The progress in medical service and the self-awareness of living leads to increasing life expectancy. Following development of sex education and rising numbers of career women, the birth rate has dropped. These reasons are responsible for declining figures in the NEXT 20 to 40 year old target group. Bohdanowicz and Clamp, (1994) analyse that young people no longer feel the pressure to be married or have children, and therefore many are living a single life or are cohabiting. Technological As in all areas of industry new technology is making great inroads to improve quality of life and increase speed and quality of manufacture (Easey, 1995).The age of Internet and the reception of new media reveal a lot of potential opportunities for NEXT to boost profit. Some companies in the United States already offer online-orders where the customer can exactly define his wishes and measurements, and send it to the place of production. 48 hours later he receives his package. Using this method the companies can react instantly to changes in behaviors. Social networking site facebook also provides as a means of information and education and also helps in advertising for NEXT PLC (Facebook, 2009). Some new entrants in UK market such as Zara use latest technology body scanners and follows fast fashion which is contrasting to NEXT. 4. SWOT Strength: 1. Performance in recent years. (Verdict, 2009) 2. Next Directory sales. (Verdict, 2009) 3. Good promotion. 4. Powerful design philosophy. Weakness: 1. Overpriced. (Verdict, 2009) 2. Profit margin declined than previous years. (Verdict, 2009) 3. No celebrity brand ambassador. (Verdict, 2009) 4. More formal wear than average. Little underwear.(Verdict, 2009) Opportunities 1. Optimize store space. (Verdict, 2009) 2. Consolidate internet marketing and buying. (Verdict, 2009) 3. Expansion into new markets. (Verdict, 2009) Threats: 1. Marks and Spencers biggest competition. (Verdict, 2009) 2. Arcadia and Primark trying to overtake. (Verdict, 2009) 3. Target market reduced. 5. GENERIC STRATEGIES According to Kotler 2004, strategy is the roadmap for achieving the envisaged goals. The strategic decision made by a commercial organisation is concerned with establishing the basis upon which it intends to compete, develop and sustain a competitive advantage and outperform competitors. Porter defined strategy as creation of a unique and valuable position involving different set of activities. Strategy can be formulated into 3 generic types Overall cost leadership Here a business aims at delivering its products at the lowest prices in the market and win a large market share. Such businesses require being good at engineering, purchasing, manufacturing and distribution. A disadvantage of this strategy is that some other company will eventually emerge with still lower costs. Brands may be able to achieve cost leadership at category level if they have sufficient market share (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Focus- Here a firm concentrates on one or more narrow market segments. It first identifies such a segment and then pursues either cost leadership or differentiation in them. Differentiation- Here a business aims at achieving superior performance in an important customer area valued by a large chunk of the market. It could strive to be the service leader, the quality leader, the style leader or technology leader. Differentiation of one company from another is extremely important due to the ever changing customer demands (Oelkars, 2004).It is also considered as strategy based upon being different from the competition through a range of factors such as design, style, image, trend, product quality etc (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). NEXT prides in offering consistency of style, quality and value for money with a contemporary fashion edge for their target market. NEXT marketing departments have been taking a differentiation approach which has helped them achieve superiority above their competitors. NEXT has differentiated their products from their competitors on the basis of above qualities such as style, design, quality and value for money. However, in this ever changing fashion industry nothing can be permanent. On the basis of porters five forces discussed above NEXT have all the forces in their favour but there are few issues which they need to consider in keeping these forces on the positive side. NEXT needs to be aware of the risks of changing suppliers in case of conflict as new suppliers may provide good products with change in quality which can easily damage the brand name. Due to global recession, textile firms in Mauritius that supply Europes biggest high-street stores are looking forward to tough 2009 . With 10% decrease in sales, these stores fight among themselves to achieve better prices, which results in middle market stores to suffer like NEXT (Scribd, 2009). Only a small amount of internet portals threat has emerged for NEXT but their Directory has been a success and continues to do so (Verdict, 2009). 6. MIX MAP MODEL 6.1 MARKETING 4 PS The marketing mix consists of 4 Ps that are product, price, promotion and place. Product and Price are the product related elements where, price can also be consider as an element of its own. The other two are parts of the delivery system which is about delivering the physical product and the sales message (Mercer, 1999). Product: What business offers customers to satisfy their needs e.g. Quality. According to the mission statement of NEXT, their focus is providing high quality and beautifully designed product for their customers. For this reason maintaining and improving their quality and design of their products is very important for NEXT (nextplc, 2009). Price: Amount customers are ready to pay for products e.g. discounts. NEXT has been one of the known retailers to provide huge discounts on festive occasions, with discounts upto 70% on many products. It also provides special discounts for taller and plus-size customers (next, 2009). Being a mid-market retailer, in order to maintain its competitiveness it is very important for NEXT to provide special discounts schemes and offers during the festive seasons. NEXT also relies on linked selling, one of the biggest areas of sales. For example, it recommends fashion accessories to customers buying clothing online (next, 2009). Place: involves getting the product to the customers e.g. warehouse. Location of retail stores and shops has always been considered as the prime method to increase sales and growth. NEXT has always been one of the high street retail stores. It also has many different store types, eg flagship sores, factory outlets (nextplc, 2009). For this reason it is really important to have different location for customers to choose from. Promotion: It includes ways that encourage customers to buy a product e.g. magazines (Oelkers, 2004). NEXT hugely promotes a great deal of its products through magazines e.g Vogue and also produce great deal of discounts in store and on online shopping. It recently plans to introduce extra 16 billion pounds in advertising its products and online sales records 530 million pounds (Mintel, 2009). 6.2PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE According to Jackson and Shaw 2009, as with all types of product, fashion follows cycles and products follow the Product Life Cycle. In a broader sense, no product can go on selling forever. Once a product has been introduced into the market and accepted by consumers, it goes through a phase of growth, maturity and decline until it becomes obsolete. Stages of a product life cycle: Design Development Stage: This stage is undertaken ahead of the product launch. Design development costs create negative profitability as the sales at this stage are zero (Jackson and Shaw, 2009). Introduction: Introduction is a period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. Profits are non existent at this stage because of the heavy expenses done for the product introduction (Kotler, 2004). Growth: This is a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement. Maturity: This is the period of slowdown in the sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profits decline or stabilize. Decline: Sales show a downward drift and profits erode. Although the PLC is an accepted underpinning of all marketing theory and practice, Jackson and Shaw 2009, cite the major problem for the fashion marketer to grapple with is the fact that the actual position of a fashion product on the cycle at any point in time is hard to define accurately. Hence an accurate mathematical model of the PLC is impossible. PLC is an important issue for NEXT as it provides growth for the company and has highest operating profit margin amongst its competitors (Verdict, 2009). It also has a increase in store size by 50% from 2004-2008 (Verdict, 2009). Therefore Next is positioned in growth stage of PLC with signs of improvement. 6.3BOSTON GROUP MATRIX As a visual tool for managing portfolios, the Boston Consultancy Group has developed a matrix known as BGM. The BGM offers a very useful map of the organisations products strength or weakness (Mercer, 1999). A typical BGM is given below. The matrix is in a four box quadrant layout. The horizontal axis is expressed as the market share of the business compared to that of the market leader, whilst the vertical axis shows the average annual growths rate of the market that the business is operating in. The four quadrants are called stars, question marks, cash cows and dogs, which explain how the business stands relative to the market leader. Stars are market leaders in high growth markets. They are generally expensive in terms of promotional expenditure (Jackson and Shaw 2009). Generally businesses start off in the quadrant of question marks. Cash cows operate in a market where the growth rate is less than 10 percent. Dogs are a decline stage where a small share of limited and stagnant market. Growth of NEXT has been an important issue for the company with a higher amount of concentration going towards increasing store size. Since 1997 the average store size has increase from 3500 sq. feet to 10,500 sq. feet (Verdict, 2009). In their mission statement Next aims to provide excellent quality and design for its customers and target younger market. Next chief executive admits 2009 being a tough year for NEXT. (nextplc, 2009). NEXT appears to be existing in between the dogs and question mark stage and needs to concentrate to achieve position to the other end of the BCG Matrix. 6.4 ANSOFFS MATRIX Ansoffs Matrix provides four different growth strategies by considering ways to grow via existing products and new products, and in existing markets and new markets. As seen in the diagram above; The Market Penetration strategy seeks to achieve growth with existing products in the current market segment, aiming to increase market share. Market Development strategy seeks to achieve growth by targeting existing products to new market segments. The Product Development strategy develops new products targeted to its existing market and the Diversification strategy helps the firm to diversify into new businesses by developing new products in new markets. With increasing number of new retailers entering the market NEXT has achieved a great level of success in maintaining their market share and has also grown their business in new products such as directory and online shopping (Verdict, 2009). NEXT has always been an innovative retailer, as it was the first retailer to introduce internet shopping in 1999 (nextplc, 2009). Since then it has introduced many new products and Next Directory has been a great success. 7. RECOMMENDATION On the above data analysis it is proven that NEXT has been one of the successful retailers in UK. It has grown immensely in the last decade both in regionally and internationally. Being the first clothing retailer to introduced online shopping; it has improved