Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Scenario planning – Industry scenarios

Before embarking on the discussion, there is one question or so we need to ask ourselves. What is a scenario? What is scenario planning all about? What constitutes industry scenario planning? Straight away, a scenario is a story or a descriptive narrative about the future which aims at sketching the boundaries of the probable and it is assembled on a methodical scrutiny of various factors bearing in mind those alternatives which are credible and somewhat measurable. These factors are: – social, political, economic, environmental and technological. Future environment of a given business, region or policy area could be shaped by these very factors. According to the World Economic Forum, the scenarios explore three or four dissimilar eventualities of how the world might look if the most uncertain and important drivers unfold in different ways. The same source elaborates further that good scenarios are not just dry, analytical descriptions of possible future outcomes. No matter how meticulous they are constructed, they should also be well inspired and highly compelling enough to engage the imagination. They challenge postulations wile at the same time raising awareness of fundamental factors and inspire participants into fresh thinking about what could happen and what it would mean for them. They offer both a new perspective on events and a scaffold for positive deliberations. Scenario planning on the other hand can be used by distributors as a tool of management to predict and benefit from change. In this article, we shall briefly introduce scenario planning, its relevance in connection to distributors and we shall also look at its application as a valuable tool in the industrial sense. As we have said above, that when we think of scenario planning, one great point that has to cross our minds is that a range of alternative futures has to be put into consideration, each of which is considerably diverse and varied from the present operating atmosphere. It would be better to compare and contrast alternative views on how the industry may evolve rather than pinning ourselves on a single forecast which we have assumed to be most probable. Scenario planning is externally oriented and therefore very effective at identifying growth strategies for the company as well as impending threats to its market positions. Scenarios can also help us identify the specific external industry changes that might be causing the company to lose market share or margins. In his article, Scenario Planning Basics for Distributors, Fein Adam presents ways in which distributors are using scenario planning to the betterment of the company. Distributors, he says, should make sure that the management of their company does not erroneously presuppose that changes will not place in the future. In other words, they should explore all the possibilities the company can face and, not only that but, come up with viable alternatives. In connection to this point, they should also assist the management to identify and understand possible threats comprehensively. They should point out growth strategies for the company and test the success of its current strategy in various possible futures. Lastly, they should understand and appropriately react to new customer buying behavior since the customer is the basic unit of the industry and the satisfaction of the customer should be the prime objective of any decision made by the company. Facing the Forces of Change has suggestions of four possible scenarios for distributors to consider. The first scenario is that which stretches into the future and here distributors have entirely incorporated technology into their companies. Given the high level of information development, customers expect distributors to work with them impeccably across numerous communication interfaces. Distributors have effectively achieved this due to rapid rates of developments. These distributors still remain the prime route to market for manufacturers. Coordinated Channels is another scenario where customers seek more information directly from manufacturers. Here, manufacturer Web sites give existing product specifications, comprehensive technical data and also appropriate product feature are selected by the customers who want such information. This information can be accessed by the customers both directly and indirectly. Directly they get connected to the manufacturer Web site and indirectly through an allied distributor’s Web site. Product collaboration between manufacturers and distributors is undertaken on the internet with marketing and inventory management also being done in the channel. However, it still remains the role of the distributors to provide information back to the manufacturer and ensure new performance qualifications are met The third scenario is the one describing a world where consumers and producers pay for the specific conduit activities they may be in need of. This Unbundled Supply Chain has distributors competing directly with supply chain organizations and intermediaries in this scenario are rewarded according to their rate of activity performance. That is, what they have done on behalf of their customers and producers. In the fourth scenario, there is a world with a cluster of consumers forming open and non-profit online exchanges. These common platforms handle the data among supply chain partners. Scenario planning requires a few guidelines to be followed. One must establish a core planning team because analysis of the strategic implications is best in groups. Secondly, a cross section of expertise should be availed, and this includes the heads of the all functional areas of the company. Bringing the ideas of the thinkers the company is endowed with is such a feat worth the take. It is worthwhile to include the outside people by incorporating information gathered from them into the whole system. The focus here should be on infusing appealing and challenging perspectives into the discussion. Outsiders include customers, suppliers, consultants and competitors who hold a vital position in the success of the company. There should be great care in selecting the person to facilitate the scenario planning strategy. An employee of the company should not be part of the choice, neither the senior executive officers. This is because the facilitator should be someone who is focused on planning processes and the two do not appear in this category. Implications scenario planning, just as other forms of business planning, needs an extensive spending of resources from all the individuals of the company. Therefore, the support of top management is a very important determinant of success the company’s planning capability. What this implies is that there should be readiness from every corner of the company in order for this planning strategy to work in the success and goodwill of the company. An honest assessment must be carried out to ascertain as to whether the senior decision makers in the company are not only involved but also dedicated to the scenario planning process. Should the company be unready to work with the process, then even the most sophisticated techniques of a manual or outside consultant are destined to fail. In addition, if the company is faced with a threat of financial insolvency, then it must suspend the identification of long-term threats and other prospects until business stabilizes because this kind of planning is not suited with survival planning. Disruptive innovation is one of the revolutionary theories of technological change used to describe the impact of new technologies on firm’s existence. (Nauosa Hirotta). Combining scenario planning with disruptive innovation is unavoidable in this era of high level of technological embrace. It is sure and straight that a company which does not embrace technology in its strategic plan is left behind. Disruptive technology which initiates the advent of disruptive innovations for example e-marketing is a vital tool but has to be fused with industry scenario so that the company does not lose its clients for the companies. Summary There must be clear repercussions for the company and its strategy if at all scenarios planning is intended to be meaningful. Each scenario can be viewed as a playing ground in which the company finds itself competing in the future and this allows us to apply all of the apparatus of competitive analysis within a given industry setting. The same tools can then be applied in a totally different future. For us to have the best out of scenario planning, a scrutiny of the company’s position must be known. The company may be one which can manipulate how the future evolves by virtue of actions and investments of its members. On the other hand, if it is too small or insufficiently influential, it becomes a scenario taker and in this case its must carefully examine its line of trade and customers so that it is prepared to react and adjust quickly to changes. Such scenario takers will find it wise to rapidly imitate and adopt to survive; they must do what good companies do. Bibliography: Olaisen J, A Johannessen, B Olsen, – International Journal of Information Management, 1999 – Elsevier Page 15 Fein Adam. â€Å"Scenario Planning Basics for Distributors† Accessed last on February 27, 2008 from URL: Accessed last on February 27, 2008 from URL: International Journal of Information Management, Volume 19, Issue 4, August 1999, Pages 263-275 Jon-arild Johannessen, Johan Olaisen and Bjà ¸rn Olsen Disruptive Technology May 3, 2007, Accessed on February 28, 2008 from URL:

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Jespersen vs. Harrahs Case Analysis Essay

Facts: Darlene Jespersen was a bartender at Harrah’s Casino in Reno in the sports bar. She was frequently praised by her supervisors and customers for being an outstanding employee. When Jespersen first started her job at Harrah’s the female bartenders were not required to wear makeup but were encouraged to. Jespersen tried to wear makeup to work a few times but decided that she did not like it due to the fact it made her feel sick, degraded, exposed and violated. She also believed that it interfered with her ability to deal with unruly customers because it â€Å"took away [her] credibility as an individual and as a person.† After 20 years of working for the company, Harrah’s implemented the â€Å"Personal Best† program contained certain appearance standards that applied equally to men and women. Women were now required to wear makeup and when Jespersen refused, she was fired. Jespersen sued Harrah’s under Title VII. Argument for Jespersen: Jespersen refused to wear makeup to work because the cost-in time, money and personal dignity. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 employers are free to adopt different appearance standards for each sex, but these standards may not impose a greater burden on one sex than the other. Women were required to wear makeup and men were not which allowed men to save hundreds of dollars and hours of time. Harrah’s had no right to fire Jespersen because the rule only applied to women. Argument for Harrah’s: Employers are allowed to impose different appearance rules on women than men as long as the overall burden upon the employees is the same. Harrah’s rules did not impose a heavier burden on women than on men. Outcome: Jespersen appealed the judgment of the United States District Court for District of Nevada granting defendant employer summary judgment in the employee’s sex discrimination action filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The final outcome was that the original judgment granting Harrah’s summary judgment was affirmed because Jespersen failed to present sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on her claim. My Opinion: I agree with the final outcome of this case. Jespersen did not have enough evidence to prove that by Harrah’s requiring her to wear makeup was indeed sexual stereotyping. The â€Å"Personal Best† program had plenty of restrictions and requirements for men as well as women.

Carol Sheriff’s The Artificial River Essay

APUS, Section 4 Mr. Gordinier January 8th, 2013 All situations and topics have multiple views and perspectives to them. A paradox exhibits contradictory aspects in which there is not either a single good or a bad, positive or negative. In The Artificial River The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862, written by Carol Sheriff, there are many different examples of paradoxes. Towns initially saw the Canal having a negative impact on them, but realized it could help. The Canal provided for faster transportation, but in the case of a crash would take a long time to recover from. Also businessmen benefitted from the Canal, but other lost a lot of money because of it. The Canal provided dramatic change to the upstate New York area. In some cases this change resulted in prosperity and in others it resulted in failure and loss. At the time prior to building the Canal many negative impacts were the only things being considered. In 1826, a Canal Board was set up to deal with many of these complaints and problems. Most of the agreements and compromises were expressed through contracts made between the Canal Board and the people of the towns. Individuals questioned the right to take land to build the canal, water resources being used, and also commercial structures being built along the Canal. The thought of how much these commercial structures could drastically benefit these towns were not contemplated. When the Canal was built towns all along the route from Buffalo to Albany prospered from the revenue and the attraction the Canal brought with it. Whether the Canal was being used for business people, immigrants, settlers of the region, or tourists, the border-towns all had some appeal to these persons. After some time the state was continually asked to expand the Canal from the original route to include connecting canal routes. However, the same towns along the route from Buffalo to Albany had already been established along the lines of the original canal. These towns would need to be relocated in order to obey these new requests. This presented a major problem because the people in these towns had formed a life around the Canal and many of them made their income based of the Canal. The inhabitants of the towns changed their mentality from not wanting the Canal to invade on their lives, to it being an essential part of their lives they depended upon. The Erie Canal provided an extremely fast source of transportation compared to other ones of that time. A lot of the land that the Canal went through was uninhabited and therefore people weren’t able to move through these areas. Once the Canal was built it served as that pathway through these areas. The Canal also was a much cheaper source of transportation that was used by residents, tourists, emigrants, and workers during this time. Evangelical preachers used the artificial river to seek salvation among these people. Also the Canal helped to serve as an underground railroad, transporting slaves from Syracuse to Buffalo, near the Canadian border (Sheriff 53). The Canal not only sped up transportation, but also cost much less for goods to be delivered. Before the Canal goods from Albany to Buffalo would increase to five or six times their actual value just because of transportation. This helped business prosper and served as a positive aspect for the Canal. Although transportation was faster if a boat along the Canal crashed it would hold things up for a long time. A boat crashing had a chain effect on other boats because they then would be slowed down as well. People would not get where they needed to be on time was well as goods. A lot of the times if a boat did crash the goods were not able to be salvaged and hurt the business that owned them. There was also the issue of passing under bridges and how low they were. In a play of William Dunlap the brother of Amelia describes the inconvenience this was saying â€Å"In constant dread of lifting your head above your knees for fear of having it knock’d off your shoulders by a bridge† (Sheriff 55). Inconveniences such as these eventually encouraged travelers to find a different source of transportation; the railroad. The railroad had advantage over the Canal in the fact that it could run all year round. Individuals took advantage of the Canal and used it to help themselves gain profit. Businessmen and entrepreneurs saw the Canal as an opportunity to make money. Some bought their own boats and turned them into their business place. Boats were transformed to stores and markets in which people would buy off of them. Business was not only done on the Canal, but other men would use all the people, especially tourists, and try to sell consumer goods to them. A lot of times these vendors would scam people buying from them. They would sell fake remedies with false claims. Many times they would also trade counterfeit bills for items of actual value. The Canal helped solo merchants in a way that had never been done before. On the other hand the Canal was also very detrimental to many people as well. The people it affected were those whose land and water supply it had taken. When the Canal was built it ruined early settlers property such as the Archbalds. Frequently properties were cut in half. Once water was let into the Canal it caused a number of problems. Majorly because of poor workmanship and laziness water would stream out of the Canal and into farmers’ land. Fields and basements would be flooded, livestock would be injured, and gardens would be damaged. Also the workers feet would trample over fields, showing no regard or carefulness of their surroundings. One farmer claimed that workers torn down his fence simply for their own amusement. Without a healthy stock of crops the farmers would not make as much money and financially were negatively affected by the Canal. The Erie Canal had widely varying results on the people it impacted. Businessmen and entrepreneurs received financial success through the Canal while farmers and people already established along the lines of the Canal seemed to be negatively affected by it. There is no question transportation was faster and cheaper than any other source around that time. Communities and towns both benefitted from the Canal being around them. Initially there was a great amount of hype surrounding the Canal and all this hype brought people. Businesses thrived off these tourists and newcomers. Positives and negatives came from the opening of the artificial river that would change history forever.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Should parents spank their children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Should parents spank their children - Essay Example I am of the latter view as this argument is based on certain theoretical perceptions found in relevant volumes of developmental psychology. To illustrate, a child goes through various stages of personality development from the very beginning of its early childhood. Every single behavior of the parent assists the child in molding its character. Since parent’s character and behavior can influence a child’s personality, an appropriate route has to be determined both for the parents and for the child. It would help children develop themselves into preeminent individuals of tomorrow. â€Å"Punishment teaches a child what not to do but doesn’t teach what to do†(Kazdin and Rotella 2008: 133). As a matter of fact, a child discovers the primary lessons of life from its parents. It can be recommended that parents must present themselves well conducted such that they can be the role models for their children. It is said, whatever a child gains and captures in the childhood will accompany it throughout the life. Therefore, children must be monitored and assessed for their activities. However, it does not necessarily require any sort of punishment from the part of parents or elders. Despite the innocence, children may be influenced by various socio-cultural and ethical factors which may pervert them to immoral activities. Hence parents need to examine their children’s activities frequently so that they are not misguided. Child’s activity should be well evaluated and understood prior to taking any decision against the child. Simultaneously parents must advise children and make them realize their mistake. A moderate view would suggest that punishment can be either a boon or a curse on children’s nature; it depends on parents whether their approach of guiding their children was apt to the situation. However, to be specific, punishment is not the effective tool for showing children their right path. It has taken several years of

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The historical and literary significance of the relationship Essay

The historical and literary significance of the relationship concerning Emperor Xuanzong, An Lushan, and Yang Guifei - Essay Example Emperor Xuanzong, though, was held responsible for over-trusting An Lushan, Li Linfu andYang Guozhong during his late time in power, with Tang's golden era ending in the Anshi Rebellion. This was clear beginning of the Tang Dynasty's decline (Skaff 223). The An Shi Rebellion (755-763) was a whirling end in the Tang Dynasty’s recognition of foreigners. Subsequent to the Rebellion, it was narrow-minded that culture and rising persecution of foreign and religious communities. For this reason, cultural historians of the Tang allege that this attitudinal change was a reaction to the uprising. In current history, the Rebellion is at all times seen as a demonstration of the threat of the outsider (West 108). The attitudinal move of the Tang is thus seen, as a result, to this sudden manifested unfamiliar threat. This conventional explanation places the social and political as a reason, and assumes that the attitudinal shift was a natural outcome of the disastrous foreigner-led revolut ion. It has been found that the opposite is true. As is detailed above, the Rebellion was in no way strained along tribal lines, with both sides deeply associated with foreign control in China. The classification of the rebels as representative of the threat of the alien did not come up sensibly out of the actual situation. However, this clarity was produced by a cultural background that defined all the Tang Empire’s conflicts as a war stuck between the barbarians’ people and the Han. The attitudinal move away from cosmopolitanism and towards elimination of the foreigner pre-dated and defined the uprising (West 108). Through research, the development of this artistic shift in popular literature and politics was before the Rebellion. It is evident that the shift towards the elimination of the foreigner began at least three decades earlier to the Rebellion. In paragraph one sentence two the evidence of this shift, demonstrate how this cultural context affected the Tang e lites’ perceptive of the Rebellion as it occurred. Both in paragraph one and two support the thesis that the identification of the Rebellion as a foreign incursion was primarily caused by pre-Rebellion cultural shifts relatively to the actual events of the Rebellion. The An Shi Rebellion is named after the two rebel leaders (703-757). Turco-Sogdian frontier general named An Lushan, who revoked Tang and established his own rule in the central and northeastern regions of China (Ye 71). Guifei was born in 719 during the Dynasty of Tang, early in the sovereignty of Emperor Xuanzong. Almost immediately into his reign as rebel emperor, An Lushan was assassinated by his officers and own staff (West 108). The throne was passed to his son whose ruling was marked by military struggles that lead to rescue of west-central china by Tang. One of the generals seized the rebel state until his assassination in 762, where his son could not lead and was defeated by Tang forces and committed sui cide. This marked the end of the rebellion. Regardless of the overseas heritage of the two royal families of the radical state, the actual ethnic identity of equal sides was extremely complex. The rebel state had ties with Han Hebei separatists and engaged thousands of Han officials and generals, even as the Tang administration during the Rebellion functioned as a Uyghur vassal. The Tang surrender to foreigners would substantially outlive the Rebellion (Ye 323). The relationship of the three leader’

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Aristotle & Boethius Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Aristotle & Boethius - Term Paper Example In this particular area, fear is one of the variables that are considered to result during the time or circumstance when an agent acts or fails to act because of strong feelings. Broadie put this more clearly when she explained the Aristotelian principle about how â€Å"fear might prevent the craftsman from functioning properly as a craftsman,† and that â€Å"it might hinder his dexterity or warp his judgment in some way; but if we know the situation we shall not assess his skill on the basis of that response† (81). Aristotle’s position is clear – an action driven by fear is excusable - but he put forward a fundamental condition: the perpetrator must not know the consequence of his action or that the outcome of his actions or inactions is unforeseen. This balance is what makes me agree with the philosopher’s point of view. There are instances when fear makes us irrational, clouding our judgments. Mistakes that are made in the process, hence, cannot be considered as guilt-ridden acts as long as it is not deliberate, voluntary and made by choice. Fear In Aristotle’s theory of moral responsibility, there are two specific exceptions that supposedly dilute or diminish a person’s guilt resulting from his actions: ignorance and compulsion. It is this last variable that covered fear. For example, when a person kills another, his action cannot immediately be considered wrongful when a strong emotion has driven him to commit such an act. Since we are talking about the morality of such action, it is, hence, imperative to examine the reasons behind the action. Otherwise, we brand all killings as murders. Aristotle, through his arguments regarding fear, allowed us not only to explain wrongful acts but determine their blameworthiness according to degrees. Morality is not a black and white affair; it is shaped by norms of the time and specific belief systems. During the philosopher’s time, for instance, war was permitted , whereas Christianity made us think it as morally unacceptable. The point is that there are many variables that must be included in the moral evaluation of an act. Factors like fear figure prominently in this discourse because they are valid and legitimate contributors to the way humans act. It compels us to act, making the process involuntary. If fear drove one to jump off a roof, for instance, killing another in the process, would we condemn him for taking another’s life? Emotional compulsions form part of the inherent characteristic of man as a rational and emotional being, and having them rejected defeats the very purpose of moral evaluation. According to Spain, â€Å"a person acting under compulsion is unable to exercise physical control over his or her bodily movement, in other words, is not free to act,† and that it â€Å"provides the basis for claims of exculpation contesting authorship-responsibility and, hence, indirectly, moral responsibility† (30). This explains how I can say that if I am overcome by an overwhelming fear; I will be incapacitated because it reduces my agential power to choose. Here, it is clear that my freedom is diminished and, hence, my moral responsibility as well. Indirect responsibility or partial excuse for actions is a very important factor why I agree with Aristotle. I think it agrees with the utilitarian approach to punishment as against those obsess on the action and not

Friday, July 26, 2019

The Use of Databases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Use of Databases - Essay Example While selecting a database for a small organization like real estate business, Microsoft Access is the best. It gives an easy layout to design a database of our own, with wizard facility. In a small real estate business, tens of customers visit everyday and tell us about their requirements. Some needs to have house on rent and some wants to buy a house. Even few comes here to sell their house. So in order to keep a record of all these, we need to have a Database. So that whenever a customer comes here to seek a house on rent, we can show him/her a list that contains all the houses that we got. It can only be done with the help of a Database. A Database can not only store the information but it can give us the printable form of the data as well in Reports. The first thing while develop a Database is that we created tables, as they actually store the data in them. But the interface is provided with the help of forms. And we can access the data in our Database with the help of Queries that works simply as question been asked. This Database contains a table of permanent customers that includes their names, with a unique ID, contact number and address as well. The other table contains the list of houses that are available on rent. This table contains all the information about these houses, their size, location, number of rooms and the rent money as well. The other table contains the list of houses that are there to be sold. It also contains all information about them, like size, location, number of rooms and their prices. Another table contains the list of customers that are willing to rent a house. This table contains their demands as well, that what kind of house they need and the location, size and number of rooms in it. The other table contains the customer's details that want to buy a house. And also their demands. The above mentioned both tables contains the contact number of customers as well, so that they can be contacted when needed. Another table deals with the employees of the firm. The firm has 10 employees working at present. Two employees are for office work and eight are the salesmen. The table contains their details, like their names with a unique ID, their addresses, contact numbers, date of joining the firm, starting salary, current salary, and also their account numbers. The computer operator in the firm uses Forms to enter data in the database. Forms are the interface provided by the database so that data can be entered more conveniently. There is a main form, which gives the main menu, ask the operator whether he wants to enter employee information or customer information. In employee section he can enter the information for new employee or he can update the record of existing employee as well. In Customers section, he can enter the information about the customers who are looking for a house to rent and also those who are willing to give their houses on rent. And also the customers who want to buy a house and their demands as well and also the customer's information who are looking for the buyer. Queries are used, so that we can quickly have the information for our required house. Suppose a customer is looking for a house with three rooms in downtown, we can simply put the number of rooms a

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Condition monitoring - fault detection and diagnosis Literature review

Condition monitoring - fault detection and diagnosis - Literature review Example Hybrids of SVM methods such as combined SVM (CSVM) have been used extensively for process control such as in the Eastman process. Results indicate the superiority of SVM based methods over other methods of control (Tafazzoli & Saif, 2009). SVM methods have been employed extensively in order to classify reciprocating compressor faults. SVM methods were employed in order to classify faults of reciprocating refrigeration compressors through the application of wavelet transform and statistical methods. Significant features were extracted from both raw noise signals and vibration signals. The selection of relevant RBF kernel parameters was carried out through iteration (Yang et al., 2005). In a similar application, SVM methods were applied to reciprocating compressors butterfly valves to classify cavitation faults (Yang et al., 2005). A comparable research was performed on reciprocating compressor valves to classify faults through vibration signals alone. Data for this purpose was gathered from the surface of the valve and the resulting vibration signals were decomposed by applying local wave methods (Ren et al., 2005). One of the larger problems posed by reciprocating compressor valves is the non stationary and non linear characteristics of the extracted vibration signals. In order to deal with the non stationary and non linear nature of such data, information entropy with good fault tolerance potential was utilised as the feature parameter fed to a SVM. This was utilised as being a comprehensive characteristic of the raw vibration signal. The resulting decision function was used to solve the limits of traditional fault classifications. The added strength of the SVM was its ability to be trained with only a few input samples to deal with multiple new faults (Chen & Lian, 2010). The small linear pattern recognition performance and relatively small data sets extracted from reciprocating

Managing Change in Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Change in Healthcare - Essay Example Some of the most favored approaches that have been preferred are cycle-time reduction, process engineering, and total quality management (TQM), with which companies have tried to flatten the organizational structure [3]. However, structural change programs on its own are likely to fail as they do not account for the human element, which actually forms the structure. Change management must work towards removing fear, cynicism, and defensiveness from the minds of the people. In the healthcare sector of US, the practice of midwifery was almost eliminated by concerted effort of university educated physicians [11]. The changes in perceptions about the profession of midwifery and its reinstatement into the healthcare industry, started in 1939, with the Frontier Nursing Service and has since then passed through various changes and reconstruction [11]. To enhance the performance of an organization it is important to improve the performance of the individuals and groups that comprise that organization. When organizations set new goals, they must also take care to see that the employees are made aware of these new goals well in advance or better still the company can set the new goals after consulting the employees. The employees must be backed by timely and adequate infrastructure to attain the goals; proper feedbacks and timely interventions must be integrated into the system. The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) was formed in 1982 and the struggle and persistent effort of the initial women of the midwifery profession has enabled it to get a legitimate status in 33 states of the country [11]. Managing Change - The Impact of Relevant Theory on the Change Process Aims Technological development has ushered in changes across organizations and our personal world. In the midst of these changes to better and sophisticated machines, it is important to remember that people form the basis of organizations. Technology makes structured and repetitive work easy while people use their intelligence to think, create, and solve. The major change today is the transformation of the work force from an information worker to an information user or what can be better described as a knowledge worker. Peter Drucker in his 'The New Society of Organization' has said, that the world economy is transforming to a knowledge society, where knowledge is the primary resource for the economy and for the individuals. In such an economy, according to Drucker, the competitive advantage comes not from the research and development of technology but from the skill and expertise of the knowledge workers, who form the organization [2]. The legitimacy of midwifery as a practice was established by the vision and persistence of the traditional midwifery experts, who encouraged self regulation in the next generation. Their efforts paid off and by the 1980's the standards of practice and certification began to be established in one state after another. The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) was formed in 1982, to help the movement gain support and legitimacy [11]. Issues Affecting Change and Personal Behavior Healthcare organizations are different from other organizations, as they involve something beyond business. According to

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Bonnville Power Administration Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bonnville Power Administration - Coursework Example These are paid positions with full benefits. Here is a chance to get firsthand experience in stationary engineering and get your skills tested. This also lays a concrete path for long term career growth and development in the field of stationary engineering. In the field of stationary engineering at BPA, jobs are available in Mechanical, Electrical, Civil Engineering, IT at varied levels. Entering as a trainee engineer, newcomer is eligible for consecutive promotions for two or three levels, once they complete six months intensive training successfully. Student Trainee (Electrical Engineering), GS-05: Work is regarding testing transmission lines and high-voltage phasing or working with a variety of equipment like transformers, power circuit breakers, and static capacitors. Besides above jobs in the key fields, BPA also offer jobs in the field of Information and Technology, Program Analyst, Contractor Specialist and many allied and related fields, which are important for effective execution of the various work

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

American Law Enforcement - Ethical Dillemma Essay

American Law Enforcement - Ethical Dillemma - Essay Example Police ranks often pull together to support their own and when that does not work, the community will justify their actions by not holding them responsible for the outcomes of bad decision making. The ethics within the police rank appears to be teleological, supporting the concept of the means justifying the ends, despite all Constitutional efforts to dissuade this type of thinking. In a world that is becoming ever increasingly violent the service that is entered into by the police should reflect a higher standard of responsibility instead of a shield that protects them from the outcomes of their poor decision making processes. Incidents Death and Justification In the year 2000 Shannon Smith, a mentally disabled man of 27 who often forgot to pay for the gas he would pump into his Cadillac. The $15 dollars in gas was not the first that he had forgotten to pay, but he would remember and go back, or his father would take care of the bill for him when called. On this particular occasion, however, the clerk called the police and a slow pace pursuit began chasing the mentally disabled man across jurisdictions. ... Gabor was later charged with his murder (Reynolds, 2001). Despite evidence that Gabor had used his nightstick to pound on the car window and to kick at the car, he was acquitted of the charges. Smith’s family received $675,000 in a wrongful death settlement against Gabor from the police department who settled on Gabor’s behalf (Reynolds, 2002). On August 31st of this year Michael Vincent Allen was shot 41 times after a high speed chase that included a bashed in front end to a police vehicle. Police contend that at the end of a cul de sac Allen tried to make a u-turn which ended in the damage to the front of the police car, but witnesses contradicted that version and stated that it was the police car that rammed into Allen’s vehicle. The officer’s name, that has yet to be released, stood with his fellow officers and fired 41 times at the suspect while the other officers did not fire off a single shot (Peterson, 2012). The initial police reports supported th e officer through police accounts, but a wider investigation showed that he was aggressive and that he was the only one shooting is suspicious. Officer Mathew Jacob Marin, who has been a police officer for five years, shot and killed a man with only one arm and one leg in a wheelchair when he was cornered by the man who was waving around a metal object which turned out to be a pen. Marin was involved in a previous shooting death during his career when in 2009 he shot a suspect who was stabbing his neighbor and refused to drop the knife when confronted. In the same year, a poll taken by the Chicago Tribune found that 59% of police officers never fire their gun during their career. While the first incident seems justifiable for Marin,

Monday, July 22, 2019

Assignments essay Essay Example for Free

Assignments essay Essay |Assessors comments | |Qualification |QCF Level 7 : Extended Diploma in Strategic |Assessor name |Atif Kauser | | |Management Leadership | | | |Unit number and title |4- Developing corporate culture |Learner name | | |Assignment title |Culture, Objectives and improving corporate climate | | | |Assessment Criteria |Achieved? | |AC 1.1: explain how models of organisation culture can be used to achieve organizational objectives | | |AC 1.2: explain the difference between organisational and national culture | | |AC 1.3: analyse the corporate cultural profile in an organisation | | |AC 1.4: discuss the impact of an organisation’s corporate culture in achieving its objectives | | |AC 2. 1: evaluate the existing climate of an organisation | | |AC 2.2: recommend ways to improve corporate climate in an organisation | | |AC 2.3: propose a framework of organisational values that meet the specific strategic and operational needs of an | | |organisation | | |AC 3.1: identify internal and external stakeholders of an organization | | |AC 3.2: evaluate the effectiveness of an organisation’s existing communication strategies | | |AC 3.3: develop new communication strategies for stakeholders of an organisation that address differences in belief, | | |values, customs and  language | | |Assessor Feedback Action Plan | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Learner’s Feedback | | | |Assessor signature | |Date | | |Learner signature | |Date | | |Assessment Criteria |To achieve the criteria the evidence must show that the student is able to: | |Task no. | |Evidence | |reference | | | | | | |AC 1.1, 1.3, 1.4 |Culture: culture as shared values; culture at ascending levels; sub-cultures; professional | |1 | | | | |cultures | | | | | | |Models: Charles Handy – power, role, person and task cultures; Johnson and Scholes cultural | | | | | | |web; links to organizational objectives | | | | | |AC 1.2 |Organizational culture: industry culture; national and supranational culture; | |1 | | | | |models of culture eg Trompenaars’s implicit-explicit factors,  Schein’s three levels | | | | | | |National cultures: methods of classifying national culture eg the work of Laurent, Hofstede | | | | | | |and Trompenaars | | | | | |AC 2.1, 2.2 |Climate profile: how climate is defined; difference between climate and culture; | |1,2 | | | | |key aspects of organisational climate eg flexibility; responsibility; standards; rewards; | | | | | | |clarity; team commitment; impact of management practices on climate; impact of climate on | | | | | | |efficiency and effectiveness | | | | | |AC 2.3 |Values: values or core values as a part of organisational culture; crisis of ethics | |2 | | | | |in business and the new emphasis on value leadership – framework for developing and supporting| | | | | | |strong corporate core values | | | | | |AC 3.1, 3.3 |Stakeholders: customers, consumers, employees; shareholders; governments; | |1, 2 | | | | |communities, business partnerships and alliances – the increasing need to cooperate with | | | | | | |people from different cultural groupings (including beliefs, values, customs and language) | | | | | |AC 3.2, 3.3 |Communicating effectively: strategies; identifying potential barriers and ensuring strategies | |1, 2 | | | | |overcome them; developing self-awareness of own and organisational culture; benefits of a | | | | | | |diverse workforce; acculturation programmes; intercultural communication skills | | | | | Assignment Cover Sheet |Assignment Title |Culture, Objectives and improving corporate climate | |In this assessment you will have opportunities to provide evidence against the following criteria. Indicate the page numbers where the evidence can be found.| |Attach work where needed. | |Learner’s Name: |Assessor: Atif Kauser | |Date Issue: |Completion Date: |Submitted On: | |Qualification: QCF Level 7: Extended Diploma in Strategic Management |Unit No Title: Unit 4: Developing Corporate Culture | |Leadership | | |Learner declaration | |I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully acknowledged. | | | |Learner signature: Date: | |Unit title |4- Developing corporate culture | |Qualification |QCF Level 7 – strategic management leadership | |start date |01-04-2013 | |deadline |05-05-2013 | |Assessor |Atif kauser | |Assignment title: |Culture, Objectives and improving corporate climate | |Scenario: Suppose you work for a business magazine called ‘The Biz Talk’. The editor has assigned you with the task of producing the Cover Story for the next| |edition. He wants you  to write a detailed article with the title ‘CULTURE, Objectives and Improving Corporate Climate’. | |For this you will have to choose one organization of your interest, conduct a primary and secondary investigation to gather facts and figures which will | |support you in writing the article. The article should cover and address the given tasks and outcomes. | |Task 1 | | | |Having done with the primary and secondary research, conduct a critical evaluation to study the current practices of your chosen organization as a case | |study, and Elaborate and explain the profile of your chosen organization by addressing the following tasks: | | | |Analyse the corporate cultural profile of your organisation | |Discuss the impact of your organisation’s corporate culture in achieving its objectives | |Explain how models of organisation culture taught to you in the tutorials can be used to achieve organisational objectives for your chosen organization | |Explain the difference between organisational and national culture by critically observing the presence of your organization in a particular country/region | |Evaluate the existing corporate climate of your organisation | |Identify the internal and external stakeholders of your organisation | |evaluate the effectiveness of your organisation’s existing communication strategies | | | |Provides evidence for: outcome 1, AC: 2.1, 3.1, 3.2 | | | |Task 2 | | | |Based on your analysis, propose recommendations and strategies for further improvement in the areas defined below: | | | |Recommend ways to improve the corporate climate in your organisation | |Propose a framework of organisational values that meets the specific strategic and operational needs of your organization | |Develop new communication strategies for stakeholders of your organisation that address differences in belief, values, customs and language | | | |Provides evidence for: AC 2.2, 2.3, 3.3 | |This brief has been verified as being fit for purpose | |Assessor |Atif Kauser | |Signature | |Date | | |Internal verifier |Wajiha Daud | | Signature | |Date | |

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Boutique Hotel And Tourism In Mexico Tourism Essay

Boutique Hotel And Tourism In Mexico Tourism Essay Introduction This report conducts the feasibility study to invest a boutique hotel in Mexico. It illustrates the structure of Mexico economic system, tourism industry, and the situation analysis. In order to evaluate the potential business, marketing mix is carefully analysis. Since the product is already chosen as boutique hotel, we must define boutique hotel and where is the location to be investing in. A boutique hotel is a small to medium size usually with no more than 150 rooms; provide personalized service and distinction design to attract the niche market. Boutique hotel is attracting the niche of customers looking for individual and special needs different than other property can offer. The investing boutique hotel will be located in Cancun Island, which is well known by its sea resort, and wide variety of activities can be done; it is voted one of the best tourism destinations. Mexico United Mexican States, which is commonly known as Mexico; it is located in the central of Americas. Mexico is the 14th largest nation in the world with estimated population 112 millions. Before Mexico declared independence in 1821, it was Spain colony for three hundred years. The most spoken language in Mexico is Spanish. The GDP by country in 2009 is 1.017 trillion. Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa is the current president in Mexico. Cancun Cancun is located in the east part of Mexico, in the state of Quintana Roo alone with the Caribbean Sea. Cancun is famous by the beautiful nature, beach, and the ancient Mayan archaeological sites. There are about 140 hotels in Cancun with 24000 rooms (Cancun Tourism Center); the occupancy focus in 2010 is 80% during the high season in July to the end of August. The weather of the city is sunny 70% the time during the year, and the temperatures are between 26C to 36C all year around. There are plenty of activities to enjoy in Cancun city with the water activities in the beach, nightlife in the downtown, and also the well famous heritage, the Mayan ruins. Yucatan General Information State name: Yacatan Capital: Merida White City (955,000 population) Population: 1,945,840 Area: 39,612 square kilometers Currency: Peso (1 Peso = 100 Centavos) Language: Spanish Religion: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6%, other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% Cancun population is 542,043 people. Tourism industry in Mexico Tourism is a very large industry in Mexico; it is rank as 2nd foreign destination within Latin America, 1st in Spanish speaking country, and 10th place in term of international tourists arrival (World Tourist Organization), figure 1 shows the international tourist travel around the world. Tourism sector 8% of the total GDP in Mexico. Mexico has one of the largest tourism industries in the world; in 2008, it had total 22.6 million tourists, with 13 billion generated by tourism industry. However, due to the economic crisis and swine flu H1N1 in 2009, new visa regulation and drug dealer violence act; Mexicans tourism industry had a large drawback, which causes the tourism visit Mexico drop by 16% in the 2nd quarter of 2009. The year 2009 was rather difficult for Mexicos travel and tourism industry. The situation expects to change in 2010 with 5% annual growth for the next decade. Experts of the AMHM are looking forward to 2010 are forecast this year will become an eventful year for Mexico with the upcoming bicentennial and action plans for extensive program of events. The tourism and hospitality industries are counting down on these events as a lot of tourists are expected to come to Mexico, which will become the first step to recover from the recession. The tourists will be able to learn more about Mexican culture, history, and the people. International tourist arrival Tourist (Stop-over) Arrivals in by Year Destination 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Bahamas 1450043 1514532 1491663 1527726 1462404 1326722 Cancun 2331362 2134180 1586942 2022302 2165320 1434416 Jamaica 1414786 1478663 1678905 1700785 1767271 1837091 Tourist Attraction An amazing fusion of European and especially Spanish and Meso-American cultures, which make up a unique culture, plus the coastal climate make Mexico even more attractive. The peak seasons in the country are during the month of December and the months of July and August. Cultural event in Mexico are mainly focused on: An amazing fusion of European and especially Spanish and Meso-American cultures, which make up a unique culture, plus the coastal climate make Mexico even more attractive. The peak seasons in the country are during the month of December and the months of July and August. Cultural event in Mexico are mainly focused on: Religion Art Literature National holidays Music Dancing Cuisine Cinema Sport There are three categories of event in Mexico: Catholic religious events, national events cultural events. El Dà ­a de Los Reyes which is the Three Kings Day is the traditional gift giving day. Carnaval (Mardi Gras) festivities take place from February to March with parades, dancing, fireworks and music. From 10-13 May, the Cancà ºn Jazz Festival takes place, featuring top musicians. The nation celebrates Independence Day on 15 and 16 September with fireworks and parties. The International Caribbean Festival is celebrated in November which is followed by the Fiesta of Isla Majors that honours the patron saint and the Cancun Fair in early December. Potential Problem in Mexico tourism industry Passport Visa requirement Start from June 2009, all the U.S. travelers returning/entering to the United States from Mexico must present a valid passport or other WHTI documentation, such as passport card, birth certificate or enhanced drivers license. Hurricane impact the coast Since our hotel is located in at the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Cancun, the area can be affect by the hurricane season. Hurricane season in Mexico last from June to November, in 2009, the hurricane season was relatively mild in comparison with the few previous years, but the heavy storms had affected the tourists come to visit the country. Economic in Mexico The economy of Mexico is rank at the 14th largest in the world, and place 11th by the purchasing power parity. Since the year 1994, when the most severe crisis in the whole history of Mexico, Mexican peso suddenly suffered devaluation due to the high inflation rate, nearly 50% of the population suffered due to the no value in the currency. However, the country has made an impressive recovery, building a modern and diversified economy, and financial support from the U.S. government; even the 2002 South America economy crisis, it didnt influence much of the countrys economy as the government did everything possible in order to improve countrys economic fundament. Mexico is characterized by macroeconomic stability, by reducing inflation and interest rates to increase per capita income; however, enormous gap remain between the urban and the rural area, which only the rich and poor people remain, the middle class is almost disappearing. The Mexican government is facing the challenges include the upgrade of infrastructure, the modernization of tax system and labor laws, and the reduction of income inequality. Mexico has a strong business relation with the U.S., it suffered from the economic slowdown and economic recession by -6.8% in GDP in 2009. In 2010, Mexico is expecting a 3% growth and 2-3% growth for the next decade. Economic system Free Trade ActMexico is a free-market based economy, by signing up free trade agreements (FTAs) with more than 40 countries, which including the European Union, Japan, Israel, and much of Central and America. More than a quarter of the countrys GDP are generated from the export goods to the U.S. Mexican government are welcome for business to enter. Mexican economy is depending on the following: agriculture and food production, industry natural resource and services. Figure 2.2 shows the GDP sector. Taxation In order to open and develop a business in Mexico, there are some factors that should be taking into consideration before planning the correct strategy of investments. The political situation of the country, economical situation and demand that will help to build a marketing plan directed to making high revenue. Federal tax in Mexico may vary from 10% to 28% despite to the income. Corporations are been charge for 30% tax rate; however, for foreign private investors, the tax rate is set at 25%, which is slightly lower than the residents. This has a positive effect on the development of business in Mexico and attracts entrepreneurs to invest their money. The value-added tax (VAT) on the sale of goods, rendering of services, granting the use or enjoyment of goods and importation of goods or services is normally set at 16% in Mexico. In the border areas (international land border areas) is at 10%. (www.taxrates.cc) The concept of capital gains in Mexico does not exist. The earning that one gains from the sale of a product is treated as normal income. S.W.O.T. analysis of Mexico Strengths: Location is good because it is the major connection between North and South America. Tropical climate two main seasons (rainy and dry) Beautiful nature and rich culture with a lot of history Weaknesses: Economy is closely related with export to USA around 70% is export. Swine flu that hit very badly the whole country and they need to close it to stop the spread of the flu Big problem is drugs (selling and transport to USA) Natural disasters tsunami, earthquakes and hurricanes Split oil in the Gulf of Mexico related with tourism Treats: Economy depends too much on USA economy High violence because of drug traffic and cartels related with it Opportunities: Reducing dependence of USA economy and increase independency of the economy Development of the economy S.W.O.T. analysis of Cancun Strengths: Good location Very good known like tourist destination world wide Popular with Mesoamericans history and Maya`s ancient buildings Big variety if worldwide well known hotels A lot of options to explorer Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico also regions around Cancun (scuba diving, fishing, jeep trips, Mayan ruins, parks, museums) also there are 475 bird species, over hundreds different mammals and twelve hundred plants. Accessible (airport 10 km) Weaknesses: Too crowded because of the many tourists Hurricane ( Dean 2009) Treats: Depend too much on the tourism and hospitality industry Opportunities: Encourage people to invest and extend the agriculture (support and subsidize the sector) Develop green sites of the city Foreign investors in infrastructure Conclusion Investment Three quarter of the hotels in Cancun city are rated as 5 star luxury hotels. The average room rate is $80-200 according to dealbase.com, which is relevantly cheaper than Miami resort, start from $119 and go up. Cancun city became a favorite tourists destination by the U.S. and European. The occupancy rate is consistently stayed above 70% in the regular bases (Latin American Berald Tribune), which provide large clienteles to make profit. Cancun city has 140 hotels with very few boutique hotels in the area, by the research on escapio unique hotels web site, there are only 2 unique hotels can be fit into the boutique hotels categories. They are Hotel Villas HM Paraiso Del Mar and Las Nubes de Holbox. These hotels have standalone building for each room and only 20 rooms and 26 rooms each. This creates a huge demand of boutique hotels once the concept and advertising are spread in the area. Since there are only few unique style hotels in Cancun, the sustainability is low, it create inela stic of demand. This is why we think it is a good idea to invest boutique hotel in Cancun. From the customers side of view, the VAT is Cancun is at 10% rate, which is 6% lower than other inner states, because it is on the border of Mexico, this will attract more potential customers to Cancun. As we mention earlier, the taxation is set at 30% to corporation in Mexico, 33.3% in Jamaica, 20% in Belize. From an entrepreneur point of view, the taxation is quite high compare to the neighbor country Belize. To start the business, we must look at the factor of production: capital, labor, entrepreneurs, and land. The capital will be the most important factor to invest due to the high startup capital. However, our aim is to open a boutique hotel with 40 rooms, this can be an advantage to enter the business with lower initial investment. The labor cost is cheap in Mexico; the average minimum wage is at $4.5-6 per day. To maximize the profit, the operational expense will be the key to success, which the salary will be limit to the bottom to maximize the profit.

Brain in a Vat Critique

Brain in a Vat Critique Donald Davidsons philosophical writings include a variety of essays that plays an important role in the realm of Philosophy of Action, Mind, and Language. His profound essay Action, Reason, and Causes (1963) set about a standard for the action theory wherein he begins by claiming that reason rationalizes the action and that this rationalization of an agent (characterized as having a pro-attitude and a belief) is a species of causal explanation. In addition to this, Davidsons significant contribution to the Philosophy of Mind is his concept of Anomalous Monism which serves as a foundation of his philosophical work. Now, let us consider a sceptic argument of Brain in a vat, a fiction so created via scientific technique, as discussed by Renà © Descartes1 and Hilary Putnam. Just to assume, what if we are all brains in a vat, being fed electrical impulses by computers [as operated by scientist] impulses that alter our brain states and thereby create pseudo-experiences, and beliefs.2 If we regard this assumption to be true, then the hypothesis of Brain in a Vat in prospect brings with it the illusion of experience of performing an action and having some beliefs (that are actually being imposed by the scientist). Here, two positions are considered- one, Davidsons theory of Belief and Action and, other, the sceptical hypothesis of being a Brain in a Vat. So, considering Davidsons philosophical approach towards human actions, beliefs, and thoughts; in this paper, I intend to figure out his response to this given- assumed- situation of Brain in a Vat and the extent to which he can dissipate such sceptical argument, in order to justify his theory. I have divided my paper in three main sections wherein section I is an overview of Davidsons philosophy followed up by section II which takes into account the exposition of Brain in a vat argument. And finally, section III which shows Davidsons dissipation of such a sceptical hypothesis. I. An Overview of Davidsons Philosophy Davidson is accredited of presenting a suave philosophical account of interpreting human actions that depicts the very existence of human beings and so can be expressed as a means of self- expression.3 He maintained that every action that an agent perform (under a description) has a primary reason involved, inclusive of a pro-attitude (, i.e., desires, wants, urges) and a belief (, i.e., knowing, perceiving). This constitutes the rationalization of an agent (as governed by reason) which Davidson argues is a species of causal explanation. This can be formulated as: R is a primary reason why an agent performed the action A under the description d only if R consists of a pro attitude of the agent towards actions with a certain property, and a belief of the agent that A, under the description d, has that property.4 So it can be said that the essential point in Davidsons approach towards action is that an action so performed by the agent is voluntary in nature; it is an intentional act performed with reason, under a particular description. But, here, Davidson pointed out that to know the primary reason of an action so performed by the agent is to know the intention of an agent in performing the action, but the converse is not necessarily true.5 Moreover, he emphasized on the role of causal concepts in the description and explanation of human action6 which brings with it the foremost concern that even primary reason for an action is its cause.7 There is a proper pattern of cause and effect that is involved in explanation of an action that connects the physical event being performed with the mental event (or intention) of an agent. Now, a question can be asked as to what is this Mental that Davidson is talking about? What does he mean by Mental? Simon Evnine has clearly explained this notion by characterizing mental states into sensations (that an agent may feel) and the intentionality which includes beliefs, desires (that are also referred as propositional attitudes). Davidson is primarily concerned with the propositional attitudes that have propositional content and so has confined himself to the content-bearing, propositional states8. As he said: The distinguishing feature of the mental is not that it is private, subjective, or immaterial, but that it exhibits what Brentano called Intentionality.9 Moreover, mental states can be analysed from two perspectives: the first-person point of view and the third-person point of view. The former is according to agents sensations and the latter is in accord with propositional attitudes that is pertinent to Davidsons view. This is because, as Evnine mentioned, understanding in terms of rationality is a distinctive human activity (or is a communal activity) which is in principle public and observable to all. And the states like belief, desire play an important role in this way.10 Also, two kinds of laws are generally considered in relation to the Mental the psychophysical laws that connect mental states to physical states; and the psychological laws that connect mental states to mental states itself. Davidson denies the value or presence of both these laws and this is what he has in his mind when he talks about The Anomalism of the Mental. As he writes, . . . The causal dependence, and the anomalousness, of mental events are undeniable facts.11 Thereby, Davidson advocated his theory of Anomalous Monism which exhibits the fact that mental states or events cannot be given purely physical explanations; such that not all events are mental, while . . . all events are physical.12 This may mean that, since there is a categorical difference between the mental and the physical state, it is regarded that there cannot be any strict psychophysical law. As he stated in his essay Mental Events (1970): It is a feature of physical reality that physical change can be explained by the laws that connect it with other changes and conditions physically described. It is a feature of the mental that the attribution of mental phenomenon must be responsible to the background of reasons, beliefs, and intention of the individual. There cannot be tight connections between the realms if each is to retain allegiance to its proper source of evidence.13 Davidson pointed out that, although the two states of mental and physical cannot be connected with any particular law, in spite of having some causal interaction between them, yet it can be said that the characterisations of mental events somehow depend on the characterisation of physical events. This may be termed as Supervenience, i.e., an object cannot alter in some mental respect without altering in some physical respect.14 But this does not imply any sort of reducibility whatsoever. Further, as it has been observed that Davidson is primarily concerned with the interpretation of human actions, wherein both mental and the physical state or event has a distinctive role to pay, the next consideration demands the specific attribute of interpretation itself. The question may be asked: what makes interpretation possible? What is the role of understanding in interpretation? Given a situation, what if you land up in a place you are completely unaware of. You cannot understand the language or utterance of the people (of that unknown place) and so you are unable to interpret their happenings or the behaviour of the people of the unknown environment. This implies that without understanding, no interpretation is ever possible. In order to interpret the actions of the people (of the unknown place), to attribute beliefs, desires and other mental states to them, to assign meaning to their utterances and say what they are doing, we have to begin from scratch.15 Thereby, Davidson posits the problem of interpretation and maintained that All understanding of the speech of another involves radical interpretation.16 So, having a great influence of Quines Radical Translation, Davidson advocated (a little different) doctrine of Radical Interpretation wherein the interpreter tries to understand the actions of the people, allocating meaning to their sayings, according to the environment they are living in. In a way, Radical Interpretation, as Evnine explained, is a theoretical exercise designed to reveal the interrelations between the various intentional, or propositional states and events like beliefs, desires, linguistic utterances and actions, and the relation between these states and events and non-intentional states, and events such as brain states, noises; marks on paper and bodily movements.17 Now, Radical Interpretation has been credited of having two features- Normativity and Holism. Normative principles are general principles that is applicable to every other person in concern which deals with the question, how things should or ought to be? Davidson claims that radical interpretation should be guided by normative principles for mental states can justify other mental states, having an assumption that the person concerned is rational. So rationalization has an essential role in terms of attribution of mental states. However, rationality, here, is restricted in the sense of its relation to the world and actions being performed.18 Secondly, regarding the holistic feature of radical interpretation, it is claimed that mental states are adhered only in relation to other mental states. The attribution of the mental states is based on the behaviour of the agent performing actions, but such attribution is not fixed and so must be made according to the attributes of other mental states. So in the light of other attributions, the reason for an action can be considered.19 Thereby, it can be said that in Davidsons view actions and mental states mesh together in a holistic network . . . a web in which everything is connected, either directly or indirectly, to everything else.20 Thus, Davidsons account of interpretation as normative and holistic is about rational interpretation and attribution of mental states only. But this does not mean that no error in terms of interpretation is ever possible for there can be a gap between interpretation of belief of someone and his actual belief. This brings us to take into account the indeterminacy of interpretation which allows the possibility of having more than one set of interpretation. Moving on, can we say, in Davidsonian context- Is there any connection between Interpretation and Anomalous Monism? Quite obviously, there is a strong connection between Interpretation and Anomalous Monism that yields a correct analysis of utterance of the speaker. To explain this- utterance is an action, and so an event, and to interpret a certain event, we ought to describe it. And this description gives the meaning of the uttered sentence. So, in context of Interpretation and Anomalous Monism, we are concerned with events and descriptions. Events, in themselves, are opaque and meaningless. But they can be seen as intentional actions or mental events only when they are described in a certain way.21 As Davidson writes: we interpret a bit of linguistic behaviour when we say what a speakers words mean on an occasion of use. The task may be seen as one of redescription.22 Now, Radical Interpretation occurs only when the interpreter is able to understand the unknown language for which meaning of language is very important as the essence of language lies in understanding and its usage. But how can we account for the truthfulness of the sentences being uttered by the speaker? Or, how can we account for the validity of the interpretation itself? In order to answer this, Davidson accommodated The Principle of Charity, i.e., an assumption that the speakers utterances will be counted as true, in terms of his belief as well as his meaning. For the belief of the speaker and the meaning of the sentence incorporates the truthfulness of the sentences being uttered by the speaker. The underlying thought of this principle is the fact that given this Principle of Charity, it is generally assumed that the speakers utterances will be regarded as true and rational. Although even this assumption is guided by rationality (in broader context), however, the Principle of Ch arity also include the possibility of mistaken beliefs for its base is assumption only. The point is that The Principle of Charity cannot be sidelined if we are to adhere to Radical Interpretation, in Davidsonian context. This is so because the concept of belief, desire, meaning and intentional action are defined by what the theory, the principle of charity, says about them.23 But, even The Principle of Charity, which has been adopted as an across-the-board basis24, can be sorted out into two main principles The Principle of Correspondence and The Principle of Coherence. The former principle takes into account the assumption of the truthfulness of the speakers utterances per se whereas, the latter principle takes into account the principles governing attribution of attitudes to an agent and description of the agents behaviour so as to make the agent out to be by and large rational.25 Also, Davidson in concern with epistemology upholds the position that coherence yields correspondence; wherein coherence allows a set of true beliefs of an agent (as guided by his rationality and understanding). Again assumption plays a central role here as well, as he said: There is a presumption in favour of the truth of a belief that coheres with a significant mass of belief. Every belief in a coherent total set of beliefs is justified in the light of this presumption, much as every intentional action taken by a rational agent . . . is justified.26 However, it should be noted that Truth is not to be defined specifically in terms of coherence and belief, for truth is primitive, according to Davidson, and is always in relation of correspondence with the existing world. More so, in spite of adhering to his coherence theory as assuming the truthfulness of beliefs of an agent, Davidson accepts the possibility of even coherent set of false beliefs that an agent may have because of the gap between what is held to be true and what is true.27 II. Being a Brain in a vat The sophisticated form of the sceptical hypothesis of being a Brain in a vat in prospect has been addressed by Hilary Putnam in Reason, Truth and History (1981). This possibility urges us to assume, what if we are really brains in a vat? , i.e., what if the experiences (or sensations) I am currently having is as per the scientists wish? In other words, the argument of Brain in a Vat as stated by Putnam, says: A human being . . . has been subjected to an operation by an evil scientist. The persons brain . . . has been removed from the body and placed in a vat of nutrients which keeps the brain alive. The nerve endings have been connected to a super- scientific computer which causes the person whose brain is to have the illusion that everything is perfectly normal.28 This implies that a being can never know that he is not a brain in a vat because it might be the case that the experience he is having is being fed to him by the scientist, and that his experience is ex-hypothesi identical with that of something which is not a brain in a vat.29 Although Putnam considered such a fictional argument that has its space in some physically possible world, however, he denies the practical possibility of the sceptical argument by regarding it to be self-refuting in nature.30 I shall take up this view of Putnam later, for as of now my main focus is to assume the situation of being a Brain in a Vat to be true wherein all that the person is experiencing is the result of electronic impulses travelling from the computer to the nerve endings . . . that if the person tries to raise his hand, the feedback from the computer will cause him to see and feel the hand being raised.31 This may mean that the person is, as though, performing an action (of raising his hand) or having a sensation or feeling; in spite of being a brain as merely placed in a vat. In addition, another case of such a scientific fiction that can be put forward is that of Turings Test a test that can judge whether a computer (or machine) is conscious or not? Turing advocated the following test: let someone carry on a conversation with the computer and a conversation with a person whom he does not know. If he cannot tell which is the computer and which is the human being, then . . . the computer is conscious . . . the conversations are all carried on via electric type-writer.32 The point that Turing maintained is that even a machine can be qualified as being conscious, having thoughts, if it passes the test. But even the test that Turing advocated is criticized for the very fact that there is a gap between the concept of being conscious and the computers technical language. Now, as having considered the point that even a Brain in a Vat (in some sense) is performing some action or is having some belief that may have (in his perspective) some rationalization of his performing an action; although in actuality, those experiences are all being induced by the scientist. Here, let us consider that given this assumed-situation of being a Brain in a Vat to Davidson; let us figure out his response towards such a sceptical position. Quite obviously, Davidson dissipates such a position, but let us see how. III. Against Brain in a vat A Davidsonian version The very assumption of being a Brain in a Vat brings with itself the practical difficulties that can never be accounted for. The reason being that it is a mere scientific technique, a fiction that induces the illusion of having experiences, beliefs or performing actions, to the brain as kept in a created- scientific- environment, a vat. Putnam, himself, attributed such a hypothesis to be self-refuting in nature, and explicitly denies any junction between the brain in a vat world and the actual world.33 But, since my concern is with Davidsons version, let us consider his objection against this sceptical hypothesis with special reference to his Coherence Theory.34 Davidson assumed (and so asserted) that there are coherent set of true beliefs, however, he never rejected the fact that there can also be coherent set of false beliefs. He maintained that beliefs can be false as well but the very concept of false beliefs introduces a potential gap between what is regarded as being true and what is actually true.35 Although the possibility of having false beliefs is minimum in Davidsons context, yet this can be viewed directly against the Brain in a Vat hypothesis as the brain that has been placed in a vat- a created scientific environment, have illusory beliefs merely based on some sensory stimulations*  [1]  that are surely false, and the very fact that the brain in a vat have false beliefs itself shows that there is a practical- potential- gap between the created world of brain in a vat and the actual rational world of human beings. Even Putnam explained this by saying that there is no qualitative similarity between the thought of the brain in a vat and the thought of someone in the actual world.36 Secondly, to consider Quines view, he said that the meaning . . . [of] sentence is determined by the patterns of sensory stimulations that would cause a speaker to assent to or dissent from the sentence.37 Davidson argues that such an account will invite scepticism leading to the falsity of every sentence whatsoever. As he said, when meaning goes epistemological in this way, truth and meaning are necessarily divorced.38 He asserts that sensory stimulations can never be regarded as an evidence or justification for the belief (which is veridical in nature). In his words: Quine . . . ties the meanings of some sentences directly to patterns of stimulations . . . but the meanings of further sentences are determined by how they are conditioned to the original, or observation sentences. The facts of such conditioning do not permit a sharp division between sentences held true by virtue of meaning and sentences held true on the basis of observation . . . I now suggest [to give up] the distinction between observation sentences and the rest. For the distinction between sentences belief in whose truth is justified by sensations and sentences belief in whose truth is justified only by appeal to other sentences held true is as anathema to the conherentist as the distinction between beliefs justified by sensations and beliefs justified only by appeal to further beliefs. Accordingly, I suggest we give up the idea that meaning or knowledge is grounded on something that counts as an ultimate source of evidence. No doubt meaning and knowledge depend on experience and experience ultimately on sensation. But this is the depend of causality, not of evidence or justification.39 This, again, can be posited against Brain in a Vat hypothesis for the hypothesis, in itself, invokes vague- sensory stimulations which go against the possibility of having any valid stimulated belief. As a result, the stimulated belief of a brain which is placed in a created scientific environment of a vat is false. Moreover, to determine the content of a belief, Davidson endorsed the view that in radical interpretation, we should identify the object of a belief with the cause of that belief. This view can also be directed against Brain in a Vat hypothesis. The reason being that according to the sceptic, the content of brains belief is not dependent on their causes.40 But this is not acceptable to Davidson as, for him, causality plays an indispensable role in determining the content of what we say and believe.41 And as interpreters, we must consider the belief of a brain in a vat in accordance with its actual environment, the environment that causes those beliefs, with special reference to The Principle of Charity. So in the case of a brain in a vat, Davidson claims that one must have knowledge of computers technical environment. He argues that though the brain is functioning and is having a sensation of performing some action with an illusory belief, but the brain is only reacting to the featur es of its environment which is, in actuality, a computers technical data storehouse. So, therefore, the only way to interpret those actions is to correlate it with the bits of data that the computer is feeding in.42 And such an action cannot have any logical- valid- interpretation in a rational behaviouristic sense of being human. Further, just to consider Turings Test (as explained earlier in section II), Davidson argues against the Turings test of machines claiming them to be conscious. He gave an example of John, a rational human being and Robo-John, artificially created John proxy. Davidson explains that John is causally connected to the actual things outside in the actual world. But Robo-John is not causally connected with the things outside in the actual world. And so, unlike John, Robo-John does not think. Thus, Turing is wrong as John does think whereas his proxy Robo-John does not.43 If this is the case, then it is applicable to the Brain in a Vat argument as well (in terms of actions), for in such a created- scientific- situation there is no causal connection between the brain (as placed in a created environment) and the actual world. Lastly, Davidsons objection to this sceptical hypothesis can also be posited with the help of the notion of understanding. As Davidson maintained that the coherence theory is about beliefs or sentences held true by someone who understands them.44 But it can be questioned that does Brain in a Vat have any understanding as it involves rationalization pertaining to the normal human behaviour? There is a strong doubt that the functional brain which is placed in a vat is able to understand any activity, in spite of being induced the sensations, the beliefs by the scientist. So even though the hypothesis is accredited of performing some action which is a mere illusion, it will not have any capacity to understand things accordingly. Conclusion Thus it can be said that Davidsons position of an action being performed by an agent, that has a proper belief and pro attitude, is about a rational human agent living in this actual real world of human beings who are guided by reasons. It is certainly not about a brain being placed in a scientific- created- environment, a vat and, then, having an illusion of performing an action and having some illusory beliefs and sensations that are actually being induced by the scientist. Whatever actions or beliefs that a Brain in a Vat is experiencing is not grounded on any primary reason, for the brain in concern is merely having false beliefs of experiencing the reality, the false belief of performing some action, it is a case of mere illusion, hallucination that does not have place in Davidsons project. More so, since there cannot be any connection between the brain in a vat world and the actual world of beings, Davidson dissipates the position of being a Brain in a Vat whose scientific, co mputer- created- environment is completely opposed to that of being human and so can never be interpreted in accord with our behavioural patterns and the actions of human agents, as even to interpret the actions of someone, we need to attribute some beliefs in a holistic network according to our rationality. But this seems infirm in the case of brain in a vat. Though the brain placed in a vat is having a belief of performing some false action, still is restricted in his small created domain and so interpreting his actions will be determined in terms of his computer oriented environment which again is being created by a scientist and is contrary to the world of being human per se and hence, is not at par with the rationality of humans as well. And so to understand and interpret the actions or language of a brain placed in a vat in a holistic way would be like interpreting the actions of a swimmer (while swimming) without even knowing what basic technique is required to swim. Hence, t he actions of a Brain in a Vat is merely envision without having any substantial ground. For Davidson claims: If we cannot find a way to interpret the utterances and other behaviour of a creature as revealing a set of beliefs largely consistent and true by our own standards, we have no reason to count that creature as rational, as having beliefs, or as saying anything.45 Reference Notes 1 See Concept of Evil Demon by Renà © Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, Trans. John Veitch, (Watchmaker Publishing, USA, 2010), 97-103 2 Richard Rorty, Davidson versus Descartes; in Dialogues with Davidson: Acting, Interpreting, Understanding, ed. by Jeff Malpas, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, London, 2011), 3 3 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 39 4 See Davidsons essay Action, Reason and Causes in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 3-5 5 Ibid. , 7 6 Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), xv 7 See Davidsons essay Action, Reason and Causes in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 4 8 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 7-8 9 See Davidsons essay Mental Events in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 211 10 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 9 11 See Davidsons essay Mental Events in Donald Davidson, Essays on Action and Events, second edition (Oxford: Larendon Press, 2001), 207 12 Ibid. , 214 13 Ibid. , 222 14 Ibid. , 214 15 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 10 16 See Davidsons essay Radical Interpretation in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 125 17 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 10-11 18 Ibid. , 11-12 19 Ibid. , 14-16 20 Ibid. , 39 21 Ibid. , 99 22 See Davidsons essay Belief and the basis of Meaning in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 141 23 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 113 24 See Davidsons essay Belief and the basis of Meaning in Donald Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), 153 25 Kirk Ludwig, ed., Donald Davidson, (Cambridge University Press, 2003), 17 26 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 27 Ibid. , 308 28 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 527 29 Jonathan Dancy, An Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology, (Blackwell Publications, 1985), 10 30 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 528 31 Ibid. , 527 32 Ibid. , 529 33 Ibid. , 532 34 Davidson never directly attacked or objected Brain in a vat argument in any of his work. I have tried to postulate the objections that Davidson might have against such a fictional possibility and the so called illusory actions being performed. 35 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 36 Hilary Putnam, Brain in a vat, in Epistemology: Contemporary Readings, ed., Michael Huemer, (Routledge, 2002), 532 37 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 313 38 Ibid. , 313 39 Ibid. , 313-314 40 Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991), 142-143 41 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 317 42 Richard Rorty, Davidson versus Descartes; in Dialogues with Davidson: Acting, Interpreting, Understanding, ed. by Jeff Malpas, (Cambridge: The MIT Press, London, 2011), 4 43 John-Michael Kuczynski, Davidson on Turing: Rationality Misunderstood?, (Principia 9, 1-2, 2005), accessed October 07, 2012; http://www.periodicos.ufsc.br , 114-115 44 See Davidsons essay A Coherence theory of Truth and Knowledge in Truth and Interpretations: perspectives on the Philosophy of Donald Davidson, ed., Ernest LePore, (Basil Blackwell Ltd., 1986), 308 45 See Davidsons essay Radical Interpretation i

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Assessment of Students Special Needs Essay -- Education

The first school I was worked in Saudi Arabia was a small village far from the city more than an hour and a half. I was general classroom teacher for only four students in the first grade . One of my students did not respond for any oral or written tests. After the first week, I decide to tell the school principal about her poor performance in the classroom comparing to her peers. The principal asked the supervisor at the city education department who suggested that parents should take their girl to the education health center in the city because no specialist available to visit remote school. The principal told her mother that she should take her to diagnose her problem in city. Her mother came to school after few days and she asked for her daughter file because she has learning disability and she will study in special school. Students require precise tests to be classified as students with disabilities or learning difficulties which is called assessment. Assessment is defined as â€Å" the process of gathering information about a student’s abilities or behaviour for the purpose of making decisions about the student† (Elliott, Braden, & White, 2001,p.12). it is used to decide if students with special needs are eligible for special education services and, if eligible, to decide what are these services (Reschly, 1996; Browder, 1991). This essay will briefly discuss the key aspects of assessment, the purposes of assessment for students with disabilities, and the assessment adaptation. Miller, Linn, and Gronlund (2009) pointed out the general principles of the assessment process. The first principle is the specification of what is to be assessed and of what are the intended goals to be achieved, before the selection of assessment pro... ...ation for Students with Disabilities , 6 (1), 40-53. Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J. E., & Bolt, S. (2007). Assessment in Special and Inclusive Education (10th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Spinelli, C. G. (2002). Classroom Assessment for Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Education. New Jersey Colombus, Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall. Taylor, C. S., & Nolen, S. B. (2005). Classrom Assessment supporting Teaching and Learning in Real Classrooms. NewJersey: Pearson. Venn, J. J. (2006). Assessing Students with Special Needs (4th ed.). New Jersy: Pearson. Westwood, P. (1995). Effective Teaching: Paper Presented at the North West Region Inaugural Special Education Conference Prioritries, Partnerships (and Pulm Puddings). Armidle. Ysseldyke, J. E., & Salvia, J. (1988). Assessment in Special and Remedial Education (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Friday, July 19, 2019

The Scarlet Letter :: Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

When someone makes a mistake, they usually try to hide the truth to avoid the consequences. The Puritans had a very stringent society in which all sins were met with harsh punishment. In The Scarlet letter, by Nathanial Hawthorn, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery, but the public only knows about Hester’s sin; Dimmesdale’s remains hidden. However, by hiding his sin, Dimmesdale suffers much more than Hester does. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorn shows that the repercussions of a â€Å"secret sin† are much worse than those of a revealed sin. Hester’s punishment comes from society, so it is not nearly as painful as it could be. One part of Hester’s punishment is to stand on the scaffold – in shame – for three hours. The scaffold is a place where â€Å"iniquity is dragged out into the sunlight† (57) and the truth is revealed, so everyone in the Puritan town knows that Hester is guilty of the sin. While her punishment is denigrating, it is not as bad as the punishments usually are, for she does not have to undergo â€Å"that gripe around the neck† (58). The other part of her punishment is to wear, for the rest of her life, a scarlet â€Å"A† on her dress. The A, for adulterer, is meant to be a stigma for everyone to see and mock. However, Hester beautifully embroiders the mark with gold-thread and wears it with pride. The mark stays with her after she leaves the scaffold and finds a home on the edge of town. She is originally scorned and avoided, but she is needed: S he sews for the governor and soldiers for public ceremonies. Due to the passage of time, her usefulness, and her acceptable behavior (she never battles with the public nor complains), Hester is forgiven and her sin is forgotten. Seven years after receiving the â€Å"A,† people change the meaning of the letter from â€Å"adulterer† to â€Å"able,† and instead of referring to her as a sinner, the townspeople refer to her as one who is â€Å"so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted† (169). Society feels that Hester had already served enough punishment, and she eventually becomes a respected woman in the town. Since the truth about her sin is known, Hester is able to overcome society’s punishment; eventually she regains the acceptance, and even the admiration, of the Puritan townspeople.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

WAL-MART Essay -- essays research papers

Wal-Mart Is Wal-Mart good for communities, or is Wal-Mart a wolf in sheep's clothing? With a gross annual sales of over $67 billion and more than 2,000 stores, Wal-Mart is one of the biggest corporations in the United States. Wal-Mart opens a new store once every two days in small communities and cities across the United States, however, are these stores good for these communities, or are they wrecking havok? When you look down at the fine print Wal-Mart doesn't earn it's money it steals it money from other businesses. Choking other smaller businesses by offering wider varity of products at a more competitive price. This is actually a very simple business tactic if you want to sell a lot of something cut your profit margin to beat the other competitors and you will sell more. Wal-Mart stole an average of over $10 million in an average sized Iowan Town. You want to beat Wal-Mart keep by keeping it from invading you town and making it a ghost land? Here are some steps that have been victorious in the past as how to keep Wal-Mart out. Quote Wal-Marts officers, they have been known to say very contradictory things for instance: Wal-Mart's founder Sam Walton once said "If some community, for whatever reason, doesn't want us in there, we aren't interested in going in and creating a fuss." or is the VP of Wal-Mart once stated, "'We have so many opportunities for building in communities that want Wal-Marts, it would be foolish of us to pursue construction ...

Importance of Education Essay

Education is the word which has the origin of latin. The original word is Educare (In Latin) which means to bring up. Education helps one to shape his/her future and It moulds the personality of an individual. Now a day’s people think that education would help them in their money making purposes. Definitely it is false view. Each one of us have different medium and of different cultural norms. However everybody is united through EDUCATION. It is quite very clear that, it mould a personal to put his knowledge in more useful things. There are many reasons Why Education is More Important? But the main basic reasons where education is more important is, It train up human minds which is incomplete without education. It shows the right path, think right and to make decisions in right time. Only throught the attainment of education, man is able to received information from his society, they are able to acquaint themself with past history. Education helps the human being in every aspects of their life. With good education of this generation government takes care in the progress in developing the country. The central and State government have announced many schemes for the children’s education, every child should receive their primary education. Now education is viewed as a vital key to success in life, and knowledge has become every individual’s aim or concern. The Eminent Scholars think that only through education one can make the country flourished. Even now many poor people believe that they can earn more by sending their wards to work. On the other hand it is a great blender. They couldn’t give basic education to their wards. Even though we have improved our literacy rate, there is a existence of uneducated persons. Every learned citizens of the country should ensure the education of the fellow citizen. We can say that a person will not be in proper sense when he is uneducated. Education is the need of an hour. It the one of the important things which differentiates the human being from the other creatures. It makes the uncivilized as civilized in their society. It brings more precisely, the perceived goal to make the individual better in the society.