To What Extent Is Scientific Management an Appropriate Way to Manage Essay

To What Extent Is Scientific Management an Appropriate Way to Manage In the 21st Century - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the evolution of management has been termed as a continuous process that changes and adapts according to the need for the scenario. Schaltegger and Burritt observed that managerial theories and concepts have been developed by scholars mainly by observing the nature of work being conducted and managed at an operational level in the companies. However, Levin observed that most of the theories were developed with a single focus on improving employee management and resource utilization process of the firms. Cash et al. stated that Taylor’s theory of scientific management was among the first managerial concepts to widen the scope of management approach for the business houses and also develop a national focus on the aspect of efficiency. The theory of scientific management was praised and criticised for its principles and policies by the contemporary researchers of management. Considering the contemporary scenario of management practic es, it can be stated that with the changes in the market and customer response, organizations have also initiated numerous alterations in their operational practices. One of the most crucial aspects of the business management processes, as stated by Waddell, is the power enjoyed by the workforce of the firms which was almost ignorable during the time of scientific management. Carrying forward these arguments and statements, the essay will focus on evaluating the validity of the scientific management process in the contemporary scenario. According to Schaltegger and Burritt, scientific management primarily focuses on the aspect of discipline for developing better employee management processes. The features of the scientific management can be assessed by evaluating the principles and guidelines of the managerial processes. Although many changes have taken place in the aspect of business management processes, discipline has always remained one of the core variables. The first feature o f the scientific management system can be thus reflected as the systematic approach which allows managers to control their workforce and direct them in the desired manner. This systematic approach is designed by observing the behavioral pattern of the employees and the needs of the organization. Managing the employees in a controlled atmosphere helps the company to achieve employee loyalty.

The impact of social networking on our daily lives Research Paper

The impact of social networking on our daily lives - Research Paper Example The development of formal and informal contacts takes place in the social networks, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and Google plus. Statistics show that over 1.2 billion people use Facebook as a social network (Hunter 27). Despite the fact that it can be termed by many as the greatest development of the twenty-first century, it is still a high predator against social values, social structures and moral development. This paper aims at discussing the impacts of social networking (both positive and negatives) and arriving at a point of concluding whether social networking should acclaim praise or reprimands. Discussion Most people believe firmly that social networks breed better than evil in society. There are major positive impacts as a result of electronic information exchange. To start with is the promotion and facilitation of competition in trade. This can be achieved through harmonization of business practices, standardization of information, convenience in reaching out to sister comp anies and the market. Social networks have enabled consumers to maximize their freedom of choice. Organizations can, therefore, win consumers by producing only the best and also having an up to date integrated information system (Hunter 30). Such like competition enhance economic growth and development. To add further on the impact of social networking to the global economy, millions of people today get employed by social institutions. These employments can be appreciated for alleviating poverty, higher standards of living and the decrease of the dependency ratio. The management of huge organizations can enjoy reduced costs of managing this can mainly be through, ease in channeling of information between and/or among branches, eased supervision, and coordination of decision making in different branches (Peacock 42). The social network has also been a major tool used by investors who are willing to establish new companies. The major role played by the networking is the identification of new brand name. This can be achieved by the sharing of ideas in the networking. The companies can also use the network to advertise their products. This is easily achievable because many people use the social network therefore, the company can reach its market in a more convenient way. The network has also enabled organizations to spy on their competitors. This tool has led to the success of firms as they have defined level of competition and are able to perform within the standards of competitors (Hunter 32). Social networking has also developed a platform where businesses can do their research on. Organizations are able to view the comments of their customers towards the products they are producing. This is caused by the fact that people are able to express themselves and also share their own ideas (Gattike 14). The network gives the firms a platform where they can interact with its customers; they are able to ask their customers' questions. This gives them a chance to know th e quality of their products and respond accordingly. They are also able to understand the amount of utility a consumer derives from their products (Ryan 59). Social networking also enables people who may be seeking a job. Many sites in the social network contain many job opportunities which are advertised by different

Business Research Terms and Concepts Essay Example for Free

Business Research Terms and Concepts Essay Understanding Business Research Terms and Concepts: Part 3 A. Determine which level of measurement— nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio—is used in the following examples. 1. The Association of Accountants is conducting a survey to determine the ranking of the top 100 accounting firms in the world. Ordinal 2. How many years did it take you to earn your college degree? Ratio 3. On a questionnaire which asks for gender, males are coded as 1 and females are coded as 2. Nominal 4. Respondents are asked to rate a list of high-tech companies as excellent, good, fair, or poor in terms of their service delivery. Ordinal 5. Cereal brands are arranged in an ordered sequence in which an equal interval exists between each point. Interval 6. Jake Locker averages 350 yards per game passing. Interval 7. The length of time it takes the winner of a marathon to cross the finish line. Ratio 8. Students are asked to rank computer manufacturers. Ordinal 9. The brand of charge card used by a customer. Nominal B. Which sampling method—simple random, systematic, stratified, cluster, convenience, judgment, quota, or snowball—is most appropriate for the following examples? Explain why. 1. The unemployment rate is calculated each month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey consists of 50,000 households in about 2,000 counties and cities in all 50 states. Stratified. Because you are dividing into subgroups prior to sampling. 2. A researcher for Kraft Foods selects five states randomly, and then selects 10 supermarkets chains within each state to call for a phone survey as test markets for a new cookie. Cluster. You are dividing into groups or cluster then taking a random sample. 3. A new product researcher would like to investigate the use of virtual teams. After conducting an interview with a manager, she asks for the names of other managers that use virtual teams. Snowball. You are using a small pool of subjects and generating more from them. 4. A news reporter asks people on the street their opinion about the president’s new bill. Convenience. There are some members of the population that have no chance of being selected and you are using readily available subjects. 5. Jamie select Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; and San Diego, California as test markets for a potato chip line base on her experience with these markets. Judgment. Because Jamie has used his or her own judgment to select the appropriate sample. 6. A researcher instructs field interviewers to interview customers of different cell phone companies in a nearby shopping mall so that they each interview 10 ATT, 8 T Mobile, 6 Verizon, and 4 owners of other cell phone providers. Quota. Because there is a set requirement of the sampling pool. 7. The Consumer Price Index represents a sampling of 90,000 items from 364 categories, chosen from 20,000 retail stores in 85 geographically distributed areas that are chosen to be as similar as possible. Stratified. Because you are dividing into subgroups prior to sampling. 8. A finance professor wants to know how many MBA students would be willing to take a course in international finance this summer. She surveys students in the class she is currently teaching. Cluster because she is dividing all MBA students into a group and sampling her class. It could also be seen as Convenience because she is sampling a group that is on hand and there is a set that doesn’t have a chance to be selected (anyone not in her class).

Mathematics and Linguistics Essay Example for Free

Mathematics and Linguistics Essay How is Mathematics and Linguistics related with each other? Linguistics is the science of language. Linguists seek to understand the proper uses of natural human language. How languages are structured, how and why they vary and change, how they are acquired, and how people, in communicating use them. Mathematics on the other hand is the language of science. It is used to understand areas as diverse as the structure of DNA and the motions of planets. Mathematics abstracts the fundamental issue at the heart of an example, frequently  finding connections with other, initially contradictory problems. Language is a universal theory. Everyone uses language as a form of communication. This is the same in Mathematics. Math, like linguistics can be broken down into many different sub-categories such as geometry, trigonometry, algebra, etc. Algebra, being a great example of this because, instead of using words, it uses symbols to convey an idea. Forming sentences is like forming an equation. Once the pattern is understood, a person who speaks this type of language is able to understand. Once  one knows the pattern, it is easy to understand the overall meaning of a language without even knowing the vocabulary; therefore linguistics like mathematics is a universal concept. In my research and study of mathematics and linguistics I discovered how important and inter-related both subject areas are to each other. Mathematical linguistics is the study of statistical structure of texts and the construction of mathematical models of the phonological and grammatical structure of languages. Today, the fields of linguistics are used by computer scientists, engineers, and by  mathematicians who are interested in the nature of language processing. To summarize,math deals a lot with patterns, as does linguistics, so understanding patterns is very important. Noam Chomsky , a notable Linguist and Philosopher once stated â€Å" A linguist does not need to have deep understanding of the more complicated fields of mathematics; However a good linguist, is educated enough to see a pattern in language and from there, they are able to properly study and dissect the on going patterns and changes that occurs with languages everyday. †

Pagan and Christian Influences in Beowulf Essay examples -- Epic Poems,

The author of the epic poem Beowulf is unknown, and similarly to the Illiad by Plato its origins remain a mystery. Throughout the poem there are many clues that Beowulf has become a tradition and was passed down orally for centuries, and finally have been translated from the â€Å"old English† that it possibly could have been originally recited as, to the English we know today. In the poem Beowulf a bard recites poetry orally, or in a song, usually telling stories about historical triumphs and adventures. These poets were referred to in this epic poem as "carriers of tales..., traditional singer[s] deeply schooled in the lore[s] of the past" (Beowulf 50). This was common in Germanic culture. Scops would keep folkloric heroes alive in the "oral" tradition. They passed down stories orally from one generation to the next. "The Beowulf poet himself imagines such oral performances by having King Hrothgar's court poet recite a heroic lay at a feast celebrating Beowulf's defeat of Grendel" (Beowulf 29). "[A] thane of the king's household...linked a new theme to a strict meter. The man started to recite with skill, rehearsing Beowulf's triumphs and feats in well-fashioned lines, entwining his words" (Beowulf 50). This poet of Hrothgar's goes on to tell of Sigemund and of Waels' son. This section of the oral poetry is actually in the text, giving an example of the Germanic "oral" tradition. In the same celebration at the mead hall the author illustrates again the "oral" tradition. This time the king's poet performs "with the saga of Finn and his sons, unfolding the tale of the fierce attack in Friesland where Hnaef, king of the Danes, met death" (Beowulf 54). These eighty-nine lines tell a detailed historical story, which is also engrossed i... ... fiend. Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgment by God" (Beowulf 41). Here Beowulf gives the outcome to God. As mentioned earlier, Grendel met his fate the night Beowulf was waiting for him. This clearly is contradicting since both dogmas are used to describe the same occurrence. In the fight against Grendel's mother "Almighty God would ... turn the tide of his misfortunes" (Beowulf 61). He also says that God decided the victory in the same fight. "It was easy for the Lord, the Ruler of Heaven, to redress the balance once Beowulf got back up on his feet" (Beowulf 66). Beowulf also claims in this fight that God helped him. After the fight with the dragon the poet says "[w]hat God judged right would rule what happened to every man, as it does to this day" (Beowulf 93). How could there be so many discrepancies in this poem if only one poet wrote it?

Falling Asleep on the Job: The Story of Narcolepsy Essay example -- Bi

Falling Asleep on the Job: The Story of Narcolepsy Have you ever pulled two all nighters in a row? If you have then you know that afterwards, during the day, you drift off to sleep very easily. You feel physically and mentally exhausted and your body tells you that you need to rest. This is a normal reaction by the body to the lack of sleep. This however is something that people suffering from narcolepsy must deal with on a daily basis even when they have had a full nights sleep. One of the major symptoms they suffer from is overwhelming daytime sleepiness. Imagine you are in a boring lecture and you start to drift to sleep, usually you can manage to force yourself to wake up. This may be common occurrence but try to imagine falling asleep while driving or walking. These situations seem more rare. A narcoleptic’s body doesn’t care what it is doing when it goes into these paralyzed sleeping episodes. The sudden overwhelming feeling drives the narcoleptic person to fall asleep. One type of episode that they experience is called cataplexy, which is usually caused by some stressful situation or other common activities such as laughing or running (6). During these periods the person suffers from muscle weakness and paralysis. Although the person appears to be sleeping, they are still conscious, but unable to move. They can hear and feel but cannot react to stimulation. For this reason narcolepsy is a very dangerous condition to have without receiving treatment because serious vehicle accidents can result as well as an general i nability to succeed in school (6). Another major symptom that affects narcoleptics is called hypnagogic hallucinations, which they experience when they are falling asleep. These hallucinations can in... ... narcolepsy as well. 6) Narcolepsy: Althogh people with the disorder do not fall face-first into their soup as in the movies, narcolepsy is still a mysterious disease. But science has new leads., Siegel really knows what he is talking about. http://www.sciam.com/missing.cfm 7)Mystery of Human Narcolepsy Solved, He is the master of these studies http://websciences.org/narnet/current_news/01_winter1.html 8)University of Pennsylvania Narcolepsy Research Project, A nice summary http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/Narcolepsy/narcolepsy.htm 9)Organization of amygdaloid projections to brainstem dopaminergic, noradrenergic and adrenergic cell groups in the rat, Brain Res Bull, 1992, volume 28, pp 447-454, Very detailed info 10)Living with Narcolepsy, Go info about the lives of Narcoleptics http://www.sleepfoundation.org/publications/livingnarcolepsy.html

The Meaning Of An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley :: Papers

The Meaning Of An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley J.B.Priestley's "An Inspector Calls" is a good play that attacks the social problems of its time; it contains all the ingredients of a well-made play. This is because it is very dramatic, and it has the attention of the audience. It gets this by the use of climaxes, the slow plot of a detective with persevering style. Despite this the author is concerned with the darker side of the world. The play is Priestley's attempt to try to say this. Priestley sees the country as not very truthful and neglecting its responsibilities. The members of the Birling family are only concerned with them selves over others. They are responsible for the young woman's' death by treating her different; and show what Priestley is trying to say, and is fighting against. " An Inspector Calls" is a well-made play because it contains many factors that sustain attention of the audience. One of the factors that makes the play captivating is the use of climax, the way it keeps the audience on the edge of their seats all the way through; it is quite slow to gather the plot and then finally has a powerful climax, for example the way the Inspector extracts small pieces of information from the family and slowly puts the picture together and narrows it down to the guilty person as the climax. He misleads the family until they are all contradicting one another. He keeps the audience guessing all the way through the play, and as clues are solved the culprit becomes clearer, but as soon as one thinks he or she knows who it is Priestley cleverly switches to another character. This makes the audience very interested in the action that is happening. The strange appearance of the Inspector when the Birlings are having a celebration party, and Mr Birling is giving a speech on how the modern man should be. The Inspector steps in almost as he was prepared to challenge Mr Birling; this seems to bring up facts about the

Was Ho Chi Minh More of a Nationalist Than a Communist?

Was Ho Chi Minh more of a nationalist than a communist? Most people in America firmly believe that Ho Chi Minh was a communist first and foremost. The public was inundated with stories of his visits to Russia and China. We heard repeatedly how his support from communist countries was being used to take over and create a communist stronghold in South East Asia. What we didn’t hear was the rest of the story. The Vietminh under Minh’s leadership had an alliance of sorts with the U. S. during WWII. The common enemy, the Japanese provided a sort of strange bedfellows situation where the communists supported the ouster of another foreign invader. After the war, the Vietminh set up governmental structures in the country assuming Vietnam would return to a sovereign state. Minh himself made repeated overtures to the U. S. and other countries for support in his quest of independence (Young, 1991. p 14). Even the Vietnam declaration of independence signaled Minh’s nationalistic view (Gettleman, et al, p 26). As a pragmatist, Minh realized that the U. S. as not going to support his independence so he turned towards Russia and China for support. Minh walked a fine line with these countries to keep his supply line open without losing his independence. Some say that ability showed his true skills as a diplomat (Obituary, 1969). On the flip side of the equation, Minh was a true and through communist. He lived and breathed the communist ideals and was ruthless in achieving them. It h as been said that he was a great contradiction. Ho Chi Minh was known as the great communist leader while at the same time ultimate nationalist (Ho Chi Minh, 2006). References Gettleman, M, Franklin, J, Young, M. & Franklin, B. (1995). Vietnam and America. Grove Press, New York, N. Y. Ho Chi Minh: North Vietnamese Leader (2006). Retrieved from http://www. historynet. com/ho-chi-minh-north-vietnam-leader. htm Ho Chi Minh Was Noted for Success in Blending Nationalism and Communism (Obituary) (1969. Retrieved from www. nytimes. com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0519. html Young, M. (1991). The Vietnam Wars: 1945=1990. Harper Collins Publishers, New York N. Y.

Her First Ball Essay

My first impression of Leila simply from the first page of â€Å"Her First Ball,† was that she was an innocent girl that wasn’t completely satisfied with her current situation in life. Leila was portrayed as having a weak/inexperienced heart. For example, â€Å"†¦she couldn’t have helped crying because she was an only child, and no brother had ever said ‘Twig? ’ to her† (265), and for the fact that being different from the others bothered her. Despite her innocence and immaturity, she attempts to compose herself and act mature than she is capable of by â€Å"trying not to smile too much; she tried not to care† (265). Her life up to now wasn’t eventful or memorable in any way and she has a desire to cling onto the present/momentary excitement and not let go. â€Å"She would remember forever. It even gave her a pang to see her cousin Laurie throw away the wisps of tissue†¦as a keepsake, as a remembrance† (265), shows her emotions on how she wants to keep hold of every little detail of this first ball. I made the connection of this ball being her first in relation to not only the actual ball, but numerous ‘first times’ down her path of becoming mature. First time interacting with the opposite gender, feeling the lack of maturity amongst the other girls in the ladies’ room and first time in being hit in the head with reality, a frightening image from the fat man that Leila had never considered before, resulting in a somewhat loss of her previous innocence. I was able to relate to Leila’s situation of having missed out on the experiences of the ‘real world,’ such as the comparison between Leila and the Sheridan girls. Having lived in Abbotsford for my entire middle school life, I believe I missed out on experiences that I would have had if I lived out in the city (Surrey), seeing that Abbotsford is relatively an isolated/country city. Although I wasn’t as isolated as having the â€Å"nearest neighbor for fifteen miles† (265), I felt I could relate to Leila’s uncontrollable excitement that she felt while she was taking in her new surroundings. The impactful last sentence of the story, â€Å"She didn’t even recognize him again† (270), I found it almost eerie regarding the fact that it seemed like her memory was wiped blank. I questioned that even though her innocence was already long gone, whether that meant she would have to go through the same horrible process of being hit on the head by reality, as the first time she met the fat man and how she will be able to cope with the shock and sadness she feels every time. Throughout the reading, her style of writing, her word choices portrayed Leila’s perspective of her first ball in a magical/fantasy way. The presentation of a perfectly set up ball, â€Å"she clutched her fan, and gazing at the gleaming, golden floor, the azaleas, the lanterns, the stage at one end with its red carpet†¦how heavenly; how simply heavenly (267)! Every little detail was attractive and well suited to her fantastical desires. Leila was not yet revealed to the somewhat frightening reality that comes along with her magical world that is inevitable.

Weddings Events and More E-Business Plan

Weddings, Events, & Beyond E-Business Plan Mary Weathersby Capella University May 15, 2011 I. Company Description Weddings Events & Beyond opened our doors in May of 2002 as a partnership. We have been continually expanding and now are a large firm with six full time planners, six assistants, four full time Accounting and Finance employees, two full time Human Resources employees, my partner, and myself. At this time we have a website that gives examples of our event planning capabilities with some pictures of events we have planned.We have decided to take the next step and implement a more advanced site where our customers can see the stages of their event as it is planned. It is our goal to allow the customer to log into our site at anytime and see what the plans for their event are and request changes if it is their wish. We would also like to implement a Secure Socket Layer so that our customers can pay their account on-line. Making our company more accessible through use of the Internet will help us to expand to the outlying areas that before now were more difficult to reach.The business model that Weddings Events & Beyond is striving to become with the Internet site is that of a â€Å"multi-channel merchant† or â€Å"bricks and clicks† merchant. This is the type of firm that has both a physical store, as the primary channel of income, and is introducing an online service. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 595) II. Marketing Plan Internet marketing is a little bit more complex than regular marketing in that we as a firm will have to show that we have the capability to develop a more positive and long term relationship with our customers. Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 362) We must develop a marketing plan which brings in all ranges on new customers from the bride and groom and their guests all the way to the business whose events we will be planning. We will be planning to show the consumer our unique qualities and capabilities such as the fact that every st ep of the planning of their event will be available for them to view on our site. This will require opening an account for each customer where they can log on to receive the most up to date work done on their event planning.This will also allow them to request changes until the closing date of their event. The following categories will be included in our marketing plan: A. Target Audience 1. Customer characteristics: We as a firm will be targeting the bride, the groom, and their families for the weddings and for the events we will be targeting the business community and upper to middle class families who normally do not have the time to plan and organize their special events. 2. Age demographic: Will be adults from the 20-50 year range. 3. Customer geographic: At this time we service only the state of Arizona.We travel all over the state as needed by where the event is being held. After implementation of e-business we will be targeting the states of California and Nevada as well. Ev entually with expansion we plan to cover major cities across the US. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 345 – p. 367) B. SWOT analysis (strengths weakness opportunities threats) 1. Strengths: One of the main strengths we possess is that we are one of only four companies in our area that plans Weddings and Events. We will be the first among the four that will be making a more immediate Internet presence.Making use of our services through the Internet will make us more accessible and give us a wider reach for customer than any other firm. We are the most established firm having been in the business making a name for ourselves for the longest period of time. Our planners have at least an associate’s degree in planning. They have been planners for a minimum of three years and have strong customer service skills. 2. Weakness: At this time we have no planners trained in e-business as will be take approximately four weeks to accomplish.We are right now in only the state of Arizona, but with the implementation of our e-business we plan to expand to cover California and Nevada. In order to do this we will need more planners and assistants. Hiring new people means we need to start training in all areas of our business including e-business models. This training will take time and resources to accomplish. We will also begin competing with other firms located in California and Nevada. These competitors will be listed in the competitive analysis portion of this plan. 3.Opportunities: We are convinced that the opportunity for the firm with the implementation of an e-business presence is great. Being the first firm to make ourselves more accessible to people on the go gives us a greater advantage over our competitors. The implementation of our e-business will allow us to reach outside of Arizona. This will eventually help in leading to country wide expansion. We will be able to advertise our business on affiliate sites such as Invitation sites, bridal dress sites, caterin g sites, and bridal registry sites.With the implementation of Internet marketing through ads, social networking, and search engine optimization we will be able to open up a market that was before now closed to us. 4. Threats: In becoming an e-business we will be implementing both a CRM plan and an ERP plan. We will now be competing with other Event Planners through Internet channels. Occasions, is just one of the other firms that we will be competing with. This firm is introducing a software program that helps the customer plan their own special event.We will need to convince these customers that using our firm will give them better results and free up their valuable time. We will be incurring larger travel expenses as well as payroll increase. If our e-business plan does not show a profit in the next 24-36 months we could lose both the e-business and our â€Å"bricks and mortar† store. We would have a harder time compensating for the losses. The price of implementing these n ew e-business models will be substantial and if our new Internet site does not bring in the expected increase in business it would be very hard to pay off these expenses.We will need to make sure that we are optimizing our Implementation of the Website through, search engine keywords and other Internet sites that would bring the consumer back to our site with as few clicks as possible. To decrease the threat of our competitors we will need to stay on our toes and keep our website updated as well as making sure that we are ready for anything. C. Competitive analysis: The leading competitors in our field are: TLC Wedding Consultants, which is at this time a two man operation which deals exclusively with weddings and holy communions. Occasions, this is a newly formed Event planner whose main ervice is a software program that helps the customer to plan their own events. Specialty Events, this is a three party team that organizes business events exclusively. This company plans seminars a nd company parties. They have not at this time branched out to work any other events. Competitors brought in to play by our expansion into an e-business will include new business in Nevada and California. Weddings by Nancy, is a firm out of Nevada who have been around approximately three years. They have a site that shows pictures of weddings they have planned and gives contact information for their store.At this time they are strictly a â€Å"bricks and mortar† firm. Their information website is ranked fourth in the search engine ranking. Events for Every Occasion is out of Nevada. They have three trained planners. Their website gives information about the types of events they plan as well as pictures and has reviews from previous customers. This site is currently ranked second in search engine results. Anywhere Anytime Events is a full service firm of three planners working in California. This firm has no website at this time. They do have newspaper and television ads and a client base of about six regular firms that they plan events for.California Event Planners is full service firm with a website that has customer reviews, photos, and contact information. They ask for permission to e-mail visitors to their site, they are at this time ranked number one in search engine results. This is the site we need to bump and take over in search engine results. Our firm, Weddings Events & Beyond, is the only full service planner in a 100 mile area. We are the largest firm and will be the first to become a major presence on the Internet offering to allow customers access to their planning results 24 hours a day. D.Marketing Strategy 1. Promotion: We will be promoting our firm through Social Networking on both Facebook. com and MySpace. com. It is our intention to put our name and services on the websites that reach the largest population possible through as many internet sites as possible. Social networks are one of the most used ways of communication with others . Facebook. com logged over 300 million members worldwide in September of 2009 and had 92 million unique visitors while MySpace. com logged 130 million members worldwide with over 64 million unique visitors. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 21) Promoting our name and services on these two social networks would help us reach a significantly larger audience that any of our competitors. We will also be using the services of Search Engine Optimization to help us use the right key words to make sure we are accessible to the customers looking for wedding and event planners. In order for the customer to find us using a search on the Internet we need to be able to be located by search engines. Through the use of Search Engine Optimization we will know the appropriate terms for use in order to be more easily found.Using this service will also help to ensure that we are linked to other sites that will put us closer to the top of search results. (SEOmoz) 2. Advertising: We will be adding a new form of advertising to help us with moving into the new e-business market. In addition to our usual advertising of yellow page and newspaper ads we will also begin Internet marketing. We will be using two forms of Internet marketing: â€Å"Viral Marketing† which is the â€Å"process of getting customers to pass along a company’s marketing message to friends, family, and colleagues, which is the online version of word of mouth. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 390) This type will help get our name out there faster than in the real world. The second form of Internet advertising we will be using is that of â€Å"direct e-mail marketing†. This type of marketing is highly effective. We will be sending e-mails to a group of Internet users who have shown interest in our services at one time or another. With this kind of advertising we would send out regular e-mails to people who have pulled up our website and asked to receive e-mails from us. The customer would then have to â€Å"o pt-out† to stop receiving the e-mails. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 43) This form of advertising is a mix of both on-line and off-line marketing since we will be using both the printed off-line version as well as having Internet advertising. 3. Public relations: Both through word of mouth and viral marketing we will be working on our public image helping to increase our public relations. As long as we stay true to our word and keep our customers happy this should not be a problem. III. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Customer relationship management (CRM) is the repository of customer information it will record and save all contacts a customer or prospective customer makes with our firm.This plan will also generate the customers profile from what they initially gave us upon entering our site through what categories they view concerning interest in types of events. There will also b e features that are possible for the event. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p356) This is how we will k now what our customer is interested in and give a general idea of their price limitations so that an initial plan can begin being implemented. The touch points that we will be using are: telephone network, Internet, mail & fax, staff contact, and our sales force.As part of our Internet touch point we will be asking visitors to our site for personal information and permission to e-mail them. We will be collecting data through sites that deal with all aspects of weddings and other events as well as sites that deal with bridal registry sites, incitation engraving sites, and visits to our facebook and MySpace sites. 1. Map of customers relationship with the firm. This will let us know how we got this customer as well as this customer’s preferences and if they refer any new customers. We will also be keeping a log of emails and phone conversations with customers throughout the planning of their event. . Product and usage summary. This will let us know which of our services each cu stomer is looking for and how often they return to us to help plan other events. 3. Profitability measures. This will let us know how well our Internet advertising is doing and if it is bringing in new customers. 4. Contact history. This will be summarizing the customers contact with the firm across delivery channels such as Internet and hard copy advertising. 5. E-mail company responses. This will help us to know how our email advertising is doing and how many people have come to our site and signed up for email from us.IV. Architecture plan Weddings Events & Beyond will require a multi-tier architecture plan. Since we already have a web page which lists our services and how to contact us we will need to build on this site to include, customer contact information, plans for events, security for customer payment of services, email integration which will allow customers to correspond with their planner, and a section that will allow employees to communicate with each other concerning finance, human resources, and management communication within the firm.This will require us to outsource to another company to produce the necessary hardware components. We will be implementing the following components: 1. An e-commerce website that will be hosted by NetSuite. com allowing us to scale our business with an application that ties the business together across E-commerce, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relations Management, Financials, and Human Resources. This website will expanded to help track customer contact, customer event plans, customer e-mail capabilities, a Secure Socket Layer for customer payments, and employee communication capabilities. . New staff that will be in charge of maintaining this system as well as training staff on the new system. At this time we estimate that we will need two to three new employees that will do this. 3. New equipment and software to facilitate e-business. The new equipment will be computer systems that will be netw orked and implemented with the modules for our e-business expansion. The software will also be for working with all NetSuite models including ERP, CRM, and SCM, Competitive Vision, our competitive tracking firm, and BPIR our new benchmarking partners.V. Enterprise Resource Plan (ERP) The ERP plan that we will be implementing will make access to financial data and all aspects of the Human Resources Department easier for our staff. This will allow the staff to run credit information on prospective clients as well as work up account information so our finance department can accurately prepare invoices, spreadsheets, and all other accounting data. This will also allow planners to input their own expense reports for quicker calculations.The Human Resources applications of the new system will make it easier for staff to check their time sheets, medical coverage, 401k, vacation and sick day’s status, and commission status. This should cut down on the amount of time needed by that de partment to do this for each staff member. The implementation of these two systems will also make it easier for management to review all of this data without the need of printing multiple reports freeing up the time needed for this from all departments. VI. Supply Chain Management (SCM) The scope of our SCM needs at this time is limited to information and inancials. We will be working with NetSuite in this area as well, to maintain integrity with our other systems. We are a service organization that helps our customers decide and plan the aspects of their special event. We work closely with caterers, floral designers, Churches and reception halls. We do not make deposits or pay for any of these things. However, we do keep tabs on what stage of planning these services are at, in order to keep the customer up to date but at the same time not bogged down by all these companies calling them. (Laudon & Traver 2010 p. 77 1. Information chain: We will need to maintain customer information so that we can keep up to date information on our site for each customer. The information we will need concerning the customer is: A. Name B. Billing address C. Telephone number D. E-mail address E. Vender Preferences (so we know who we will be working with) 2. Vender information chain: We will also need to maintain information on all the vendors that we work with as well as full descriptions of what each vendor offers. The information we need from each vendor is: A.Name B. Address C. E-mail or website D. Telephone number We need to have this vendor information so that the customer knows what each one offers and can save the time it takes to call around looking for the right vendor. This will help to narrow the choices thus making it easier on the customer. The knowledge of what each vendor offers is crucial in helping to save time for our customers. We would also like to add links for the different vendors to our site so that the customer can shop around from our site in as few cli cks as possible.In return the venders would also have a link to our site posted on theirs. 3. Financial flow: For this area we will need to make it possible to maintain the customer’s credit card number and verification code. This will also make it possible to help our customer even further by allowing us to keep records of what the customer wants from each vendor and verify payments have been made. VII. Competitive Tracking (Knowledge Management) We have found that there is a need to implement a program for competitive tracking in order to better understand our business environment.The information that will be gained from a competitive tracking system will help us in making key business decisions for the entire firm. In order for us to remain competitive with other planning firms we need to understand what they are doing, (Competitive Vision 2011) We have decided that it would serve our interests best at this time to get a software program through Competitive Vision. This pr ogram is a web based competitive intelligence solution offering as easy way to collect, organize, and evaluate competitive information.Some of the benefits of implementing this software would be: * Better understanding of our competitive landscape * Enhancing our strategic planning process * Facilitating more effective information sharing among our shareholders * Lowering costs related to the competitive intelligence effort. Through this software we will be able to view competitive information in an SWOT business model. We will be able to create industry and competitor profiles. The competitive tracking information will be consolidated for easier understanding and be managed in real time. The cost of this software program will be $ 500. 0 per month for the first five users. As we continue to expand into other cities across the United States we will be able to expand our user base at which time our monthly fee would go up to compensate for those additions. Implementing this competiti ve Intelligence software will take the guesswork out of finding out what our competitors are doing. VIII> Benchmarking. Benchmarking will be in partnership with BPIR (Business Performance Improvement Resource) which is a firm that helps in the process of finding how to improve our company’s performance standards and researches the performance standards of our competition.We want to keep a customer service rating of 100% satisfaction and a performance rating of 95% and higher. This is our current level as we make the plans for implementing our e-business. The changes that are going to be happening over the next 8-12 months should no cost us the satisfaction of our customers. Through BPIR we will be conducting a quarterly review in the following areas: 1. Best Practices which are the practices that are known to produce the highest results. 2. Performance Measures which is a periodic review to see whether our staff is performing at their peak. 3.Self Assessment which is an asses sment each employee takes showing how well they think they are doing 4. Competitor Analysis which is a system that helps to show how our competitors are doing and what level their benchmarking is at. 5. Website reviews which is how we will determine how effective our website is and where we rank in search results. This will help us to make sure that we are able to continue being the first choice of our prospective customers. IX. Conclusion. As you can see there are quite a few things that will be changing once we break into the world of e-business.We are looking forward to the time when this implementation and training process are completed. As it is we have a long hard road ahead of us. But, taking our â€Å"bricks and mortar† firm to a â€Å"bricks and clicks† firm will be step in the direction of progress which every firm must go through eventually. This is a large step but one we must take if we are to stay ahead of our competitors. This type of business model fall under the description of an e-tailer, meaning we have a regular firm with an Internet website that handles the Internet side of our business. Our website will be based on a sales revenue model. (Laudon &Traver 2010 p. 8 & 70) The implementation plan we have outlined will have an economic impact on the business because the initial cost of implementing the ERP, SCM, and CRM will be expensive. We estimate total cost of core services to be in the price range of $ 100,000 dollars. This includes the website development and hosting. The cost of competitive tracking and benchmarking will be separate as well as the man hours that it will take our people to become trained. The cost of competitive tracking will be $500 dollars per month through Competitive Vision. The benchmarking will be approximately $500 dollars through BPIR ever quarter.The risks we take in this are that we would be putting all this money out to become an e-business and there are never any guarantees that we will be succe ssful. By implementing our e-business we will be mortgaging our current business model but, this would be the case with any kind of expansion process. The benefits of this plan are that we would be able to reach a larger customer base and begin servicing California and Nevada before moving into those areas full scale with a new store and new employees. Future forces that would affect us would be if any of our competitors also implement this same idea.We are looking at this happening in the next five years but we plan to be well ahead of the game by that time. This plan at the onset will mean more work for our management staff but once it is fully implemented and our people are fully trained they will be able to do twice as much work in half the time. This will free up more time to give our staff the necessary evaluations to verify they are doing their jobs right. As you have seen every member of the firm will need to be trained in the new systems and we will need to hire new employe es who have the necessary e-business knowledge to help us succeed.The final thing we need to include here are the timelines for implementation and training. The implementation is estimated to take between six and eight months. Executive training will begin around two months before completion and be accomplished in three hour increments, three times a week for four weeks. This is so that we will be ready when full implementation is accomplished. Staff training will begin one month prior to completion and will be done in three hour increments twice a week for four weeks ending on or around the completion date.X. References Laudon, K. C. , & Traver, C. G. (2010). E-commerce: business, technology, society. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall. SeOmoz. (n. d. ) The beginners guide to SEO. Retrieved April 15, 2011 from http://www. guides. seomoz. org . Competitive Vision. (n. d. ) Retrieved June 1, 2011 from http://www. competitivevision. com BPIR (n. d. ) Business Performance Improvemen t Resource. Retrieved June 3, 2011 from http://bpir. com NetSuite (n. d. ) Retrieved on May 24, 2011 from http://www. netsuite. com

A Report on Cloning A Little Biased essays

A Report on Cloning A Little Biased essays Cloning is a new technology that humans have just acquired. Before, cloning was something that you could read about in a science-fiction book for a buck. Now, we have seen proof of cloning with the sheeps called Dolly. The big question is if we should clone humans. There are only two ways this could be possible. The first way involves splitting an embryo into several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to that particular person. With this technology almost at our fingertips, another huge question is: Would it be ethically right to clone a human or human parts? My answer to this question is maybe. It all depends on what we use this technology for. I would say yes to this scenario: An elderly man develops macular degeneration, a disease that destroys vision. To bolster his failing eyesight, he receives a transplant of healthy retinal tissuecloned from his own cells and cultivated in a lab dish. Some guy uses clone technology to create the perfect solider. With this technology, he destroys the world. Another huge question on peoples mind is: Would it be morally right? My answer is again maybe. If it is being used to benefit someones health, I say yes. If you are creating a whole human, I say no. It is not our job to play God and create humans. God gave us the gift of reproducing to be used between a man and a woman. Not by scientists in a lab. A third question people are wondering about is: What emotional effects would be put on the clone? My answer would be that no emotional stress would be put on the clone. It would survive like a regular person. It would act like a regular human. cwrl.utexas.edu/~mchorost/e306/been/clonin ...

A Summers Reading Essays - Anti-social Behaviour, Human Behavior

A Summers Reading Essays - Anti-social Behaviour, Human Behavior English A Summers Reading Respect is a very dominant and important factor in the story of Bernard Malamud, A Summers Reading. The reach for respect from the people around him causes a lot of dilemma within the main character, George Stoyonovic. And those dilemmas led to consequences that George hated. George, a high school drop out, can not get any job during one summer. He decides to read the magazines found at home. But when he met Mr. Cattanzara, he immediately lies about the hundred books he is reading, in order for Mr. Cattanzara to respect him as well as to be proud of him. Respect is a form of acknowledgement of ones existence. Respect is very important to everybody. Respect also gives a person a sense of confidence that he is not a failure and contradicts the idea that he is not good enough. People want respect because they want others to know how good they are. Though everybody wants it, most people often take it for granted. The irony of it all is that people wants it so much that they would do anything just to get it. In the story, the theme Respect is very important for everybody was shown a couple of times. An example of these scenes is when George was contemplating whether or not he should attend the night classes. He has considered registering in a night high school, only he did not like the idea of teachers always telling him what to do. He felt that they had not respected him. He decides that since he has nothing to do at home, attending night-class would be great and it would help him catch up on the lessons he has missed. But that the idea of teachers telling him what to do causes George to think twice. He thinks that when his teachers tell him what to do or should not do it shows a lack of respect on the teachers part. He then feels that he is not good enough and loses confidence in himself. But in reality, when people tell you what to do, it means that they are concerned about you and that they know that you can do better but it does not really mean that you are not good enough as a person. They are actually acknowledging your abilities and your capabilities which also acknowledge your existence. George searches for respect because it is where he gets the confidence that will enable him to move on forward with his life. Another instance in the story where it shows respect is very important is when George tells Mr. Cattanzara that he is reading a hundred books for the summer. He wants Mr. Cattanzara to respect him that he is willing to lie in order to achieve that respect. He wants Mr. Cattanzara that to know that he is more than just a boy who dropped out of school and who can not get a decent job. And that he can also do things which people around him can be proud of. When he found out that his neighbors knew what he was doing for the summer, George instantly became confident that he is not a nobody anymore in the community. People in his community respect him now. But what did George do with the respect shown to him? He did not fulfill his end of the bargain. He thinks that being respected is enough already but he must learn that he should walk the talk. He must do what he says he will do because if the people finds out that he is just pure talk and no concrete actions are being done, people will start to doubt him and eventually George will lose the respect that his neighbors gave him. Ultimately, Mr. Cattanzara senses that George was not telling him the whole truth. He knew that George really did not finish reading all those books as what he has said he has done. Maybe the reason why Mr. Cattanzara did not told the others about Georges lie is because he knows that George did not want to lose the admiration that the people has for him. And he thought that

Sulas break up with Nel, Inevitable essays

Sulas break up with Nel, Inevitable essays Sulas break up with Nel, Inevitable The main character of Toni Morrisons novel Sula, grew up in a household with no real family structure. Although it is suggested in the novel that Sula never intentionally wants to hurt anyone, her lack of love as a child restricts her from forming true relationships with anyone except for her best friend Nel, whom she later betrays as well. Sulas future actions are consequences of her unconventional childhood. Hannah, Sulas mother was very unconventional and she would sleep around with men including married ones. Hannahs attitude toward Sula was indeed motherless, Sula and Hannah never any had emotional exchanges between each other, and she even commented that although she loved Sula, she did not like her. On the day of Hannahs death, Sula merely observed her mother bursting into flames, but did not help her. She watched because she was merely interested. Perhaps it is this estranged tie with her mother that foreshadows future problems in relationships. Sula also turns out to be like her mother, sleeping around with various men, but sees nothing wrong with it. Sula and Nel meet as young girls and instantly became good friends; ten years later after Sulas return to Medallion they become confidents again. Until one day Nel walks in on her husband and Sula having an affair. Nel is hurt and wounded by her husband unfaithfulness and unbelievably shocked by Sulas betrayal. Sula at the same time is shocked by Nels reaction and later remarks that Nel must have no loved her enough because she didnt forgive her. Although Nel was Sulas best friend, she still slept with her husband because she grew up in an unstable home without much guidance from any parents; therefore she did not realized what consequence her actions would bring, she only cared to please her self and lived life to surpass boredom. Yet really, i...

Online Learning Essay essays

Online Learning Essay essays Current statistics in the education marketplace show that a number of shifts are occurring. The president's "No Child will be Left Behind" act has demanded that schools raise their academic success rates, and lower the measured illiteracy and drop out rates in schools by the year 2005. Concurrently the thrust in the classroom is to integrate technology, including networked computers, scanners, digital cameras in order to teach student additional skills, over and above the traditional three "R's." This is creating a demand on the educational system to recover from poor performance, and increase the subject matter which is being taught at the As a result, the teachers are being called upon to: Change their teaching style, to integrate technology Change their teaching materials, to include new subject matter Radically alter their perception of the educational culture from that of a dissemination of information to a learning community. Teachers are already under-paid for their efforts, and often spend personal evening time doing school related work. In order to facilitate these changes, the teachers are facing an additional demand on their time for Professional Teacher Development (PTD) which is typically held after school, in on off-site location. Many teachers do not desire to attend PTD sessions, because the needs of the seminar group are so varied. Some teachers need remediation on computer and digital technology. Some understand these subjects, and need help addressing the learning culture in their classroom, and school. Administrators, who have included new materials in the PTD sessions, have not changed their delivery methods and thus the sessions can often be dull, slow moving expenditures of the teachers' time for which they receive little positive take away value. ...

The Parts of a Flowering Plant

The Parts of a Flowering Plant Plants are eukaryotic organisms that are characterized by their ability to produce their own food. They are vital to all life on earth as they provide oxygen, shelter, clothing, food, and medicine for other living organisms. Plants are very diverse and include organisms such as mosses, vines, trees, bushes, grasses, and ferns. Plants can be vascular or nonvascular, flowering or nonflowering, and seed-bearing or non-seed bearing. Angiosperms Flowering plants, also called angiosperms, are the most numerous of all the divisions in the Plant Kingdom. The parts of a flowering plant are characterized by two basic systems: a root system and a shoot system. These two systems are connected by vascular tissue that runs from the root through the shoot. The root system enables flowering plants to obtain water and nutrients from the soil. The shoot system allows plants to reproduce and to obtain food through photosynthesis. Root System The roots of a flowering plant are very important. They keep the plant anchored in the ground and obtain nutrients and water from the soil. Roots are also useful for food storage. Nutrients and water are absorbed through tiny root hairs that extend from the root system. Some plants have a primary root, or taproot, with smaller secondary roots extending from the main root. Others have fibrous roots with thin branches extending in various directions. All roots do not originate underground. Some plants have roots that originate above ground from stems or leaves. These roots, called adventitious roots, provide support for the plant and may even give rise to a new plant. Shoot System Flowering plant stems, leaves, and flowers make up the plant shoot system. Plant stems provide support for the plant and allow nutrients and water to travel throughout the plant. Within the stem and throughout the plant are tube-like tissues called xylem and phloem. These tissues carry water, food, and nutrients to all parts of the plant.Leaves are the sites of food production for the flowering plant. It is here that the plant acquires light energy and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and releases oxygen into the air. Leaves can have various shapes and forms, but they all consist of a blade, veins, and a petiole. The blade is the flat extended part of the leaf. The veins run throughout the blade and provide a transport system for water and nutrients. The petiole is a short stalk that attaches the leaf to the stem.Flowers are responsible for seed development and reproduction. There are four main flower parts in angiosperms: sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. The stamen is considered the male portion of a plant and the carpel is considered the female port ion. Pollen is produced in the stamen, and the female ovary is contained within the plant carpel. Pollen is transferred from stamen to carpel by plant pollinators such as bugs, birds, and mammals. When the ovule (egg cell) within the ovary becomes fertilized, it develops into a seed. The ovary, which surrounds the seed, becomes the fruit. Flowers that contain both stamens and carpels are called perfect flowers. Flowers that are missing either stamens or carpels are called imperfect flowers. If a flower contains all four main parts (sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels), it is called a complete flower. Sexual Reproduction and Flower Parts Flowers are the sites of sexual reproduction in flowering plants. The stamen is considered the male portion of a plant because it is where sperm is produced and housed within pollen grains. The carpel contains the female reproductive organs. Sepal: This typically green, leaf-like structure protects the budding flower. Collectively, sepals are known as the calyx.Petal: This plant structure is a modified leaf that surrounds the reproductive parts of a flower. Petals are typically colorful and often scented to attract insect pollinators.Stamen: The stamen is the male reproductive part of a flower. It produces pollen and consists of a filament and an anther.Anther: This sac-like structure is located at the tip of the filament and is the site of pollen production.Filament: A filament is a long stalk that connects to and holds up the anther.Carpel: The female reproductive part of a flower is the carpel. It consists of the stigma, style, and ovary.Stigma: The tip of the carpel is the stigma. It is sticky so it can collect pollen.Style: This slender, neck-like portion of the carpel provides a pathway for sperm to the ovary.Ovary: The ovary is located at the base of the carpel and houses the ovules. While flowers are necessary for sexual reproduction, flowering plants can sometimes reproduce asexually without them. Asexual Reproduction Flowering plants can self-propagate through asexual reproduction. This is accomplished through the process of vegetative propagation. Unlike in sexual reproduction, gamete production and fertilization do not occur in vegetative propagation. Instead, a new plant develops from parts of a single mature plant. Reproduction occurs through vegetative plant structures derived from roots, stems, and leaves. Vegetative structures include rhizomes, runners, bulbs, tubers, corms, and buds. Vegetative propagation produces genetically identical plants from a single parent plant. These plants mature faster than and are sturdier than plants that develop from seeds. Summary In summary, angiosperms are differentiated from other plants by their flowers and fruit. Flowering plants are characterized by a root system and a shoot system. The root system absorbs water and nutrients from the soil. The shoot system is composed of the stem, leaves, and flowers. This system allows the plant to obtain food and to reproduce. Both the root system and shoot system work together to enable flowering plants to survive on land. If you would like to test your knowledge of flowering plants, take the Parts of a Flowering Plant Quiz!

Pronoun Agreement on ACT English Tips and Practice

Pronoun Agreement on ACT English Tips and Practice SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Pronoun agreement errors are an especiallyconfusing type of ACT English question because peopleoften misuse pronouns, especially when youspeak. In fact, I just made a pronoun mistake: can you spot it? Take a closer look at the second half of my first sentence: "people often misuse pronouns, especially when youspeak." Who is "you" referring to here: "people." However, the correct pronoun for the third person plural is "they." The correct version of the sentence is "people often misuse pronouns, especially when they speak." On the ACT English section, you'll be expected to spot these kind of errors in a variety of different contexts. I'll go overboth the basic rules forpronounsand the common mistakes you'll see on the test, so that you can approach the test with confidence. This post covers the following topics: Pronouns and Antecedents Disagreement in Number Disagreement in Person Unclear Antecedents Spotting Pronoun Agreement Errors on theACT Feature image credit:Chiltepinster (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons A Pronoun Must Always Match Its Antecedent That titlemight seem confusing. What's an antecedent? And what does it mean to "match"? You can probably spot when a pronoun doesn't seem quite right, but let's break down why. What's a Pronoun? A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun- that's it! Usually we think of pronouns as words like I, him, they, or its, all of which are definitely pronouns. But so are words like everyone, which, and each. Any word that replacesa noun is a pronoun. For more detailed information on pronouns, take a look at our guide to parts of speech. What's an Antecedent? An antecedent is the noun a pronoun replaces. (You may also have heard these called referents.) Let's look at an example- the pronoun is in boldand the antecedent is underlined: Anton wanted his own piece of cake. Simple enough, right? "His" is standing in for "Anton's." Let's try a more complicated one: Even though he knew Jenny lovessweets, Anton ate boththeirpieces of cake and didn't apologize to her. There's a lot more going onin this sentence, so I've color coded the pronouns and their nouns. "Their" is purple because it's standing in for "Anton's and Jenny's." No matter how many different pronouns there are in a sentence, each one must have a clear antecedent. What Does It Mean for a Pronoun and Antecedent to Match? Again, though this concept may sound confusing, it's actually pretty intuitive. Let's revisit our example from above, with a slight tweak: Anton wanted theirown piece of cake. This sentence clearly isn't correct. That's because the pronoun "their" and the antecedent "Anton" don't agree.Antonis singular and their is plural, so the words disagree in number. It's also possiblefor a pronoun and antecedent to disagree in person: Anton wanted myown piece of cake. Antonis a proper noun and should take a 3rd person pronoun, not a 1st person pronoun like "my." As a review, the most common pronounsand their correct uses are listed below: I/me/my - first person singular, i.e. the person speaking We/us/ours - first person plural, i.e. the person speaking and others You/your - second person (singular and plural), i.e. the person (or people) being spoken to He/him/his - third person masculine, i.e. a male person or animal who isn't present She/her - third person feminine, i.e. a femaleperson or animal who isn't present It/its - third person neuter, i.e. inanimate objects They/them/their - third person plural, i.e. multiple people or things The key idea here is that pronouns must alwayshave a clear antecedent and agree with the noun that they replace. Now that we've established what that means, let's look at how these errors appear on the ACT English. Anton was a jerk foreating both pieces of cake. (Â ©jshj) Pronoun Disagreement in Number I mentioned above that plural nouns require plural pronouns and singular nouns requiresingular pronouns. Usually, that rule feels pretty obvious: it doesn't make much sense to refer to Jimas "them" or the Avengersas "it." However, we're talking about theACT, so the errors are going to be a little harder to spot. Let's go over some of the trickiest cases and how you can catch them. Distance Between Pronoun and Antecedent In a simple sentence, it's easy to spot number agreement errors: Incorrect: Clarais very protective of theirnovels. Correct:Clarais very protective of hernovels. But in the context of a more complex sentence, or an entire paragraph, these errors get much harder to spot: When Clara ran out of fantasy novels to read, she went to the library to replenish her supply. Unfortunately, they were completely out of them. At first glance, this may seem fine, but it gets a little wonky towards the end there. Let's take it apart and match each pronoun withits antecedent: she=Clara her=Clara's they = the library them = the novels Do you see the problem? The library is singular and can't be referred to as "they." As such, the sentence should read: When Clara ran out of fantasy novels to read, she went to the library to replenish her supply. Unfortunately, itwas completely out of them. When you're dealing with pronouns on the ACT, the first step is always to determinewhat itsantecedent is. This will make it much easier to figure out the correct pronoun to use. The Case of the Non-Gendered Singular Pronoun Even once you determine a pronoun'santecedent, there's still room for confusion- especially when it comes tosingular non-gendered nouns. Let's look at an example of this: Please have your child bring their crayons to school with them. Sounds fine, right? But take acloser look. "Their" is taking the place of "your child's" in this sentence, but "their" is a plural pronounand"your friend" is only one person. Using "their" seems right because we the childcould be a girl or boy and there is no singular non-gendered pronoun for people in English. However, you can't use 3rd person plural pronouns (they, their, theirs, or them) to refer to singular people of unclear gender. Instead, you need to use singular pronouns, as in the versionbelow: Please have your child bring his or hercrayons to school with him or her. Although "he," "she," and "he or she" are all equally correct, on the ACT you will always see "he or she"/"him or her"/"his or her" used to refer to non-gendered singular people. ACT English Practice Example Let's work through an official ACT question, so you can see how these concepts work in context. Let's start by finding the antecedent. So what's covered? "Most kayaks," which is plural, so we immediately know A can't be correct. The next step iseliminating distractors. Pronoun questions on the ACT can be tricky because the test writers tend to include answer choices that seem reasonable but couldn't possible work, confusing what the question is actually about. Here those choices are B and D: when used as a pronoun "one" refers to a person and "which" should come after a comma, not a period (it creates a dependent clause). This leaves onlyC, "They are," which is the rightanswer since "they" is the correct pronoun to stand in for "kayaks." Use "he or she" to replace nouns like "guitarist" that aren't gender specific. Pronoun Disagreement in Person Pronoun agreement in person is a slightly weirder concept than agreement in number, but it's usually pretty easy to spot. The basic concept is that a pronoun must reflect the typeof thing it's replacing.This factmeansthat you must use "it" to replace "the sour candy" but"she" to replace "Jennifer Lawrence." Aswith agreement in number, the first stepis always to makesure that you know what a pronoun's antecedent is and that the pronoun and antecedent agree. Beyond that basic principle, avoiding issues with agreement in person is mostly a question of consistency- if you start a sentence in the first person, you shouldn't suddenly switch to the third person without a clear reason. I was halfway home when I realized that he'd forgotten his science project. This series of events might be possible, but it doesn't make much sense. Another incorrect sentence: The plant grew so large that she no longer fit in the pot. "She" is clearly standing in for "the plant," but you can't use "she" to refer to an inanimate object. The correct pronoun would be "it." On the ACT, pronoun errors with agreement in person are usuallyrelated to consistency- if a passage is in the third person you can't inexplicably introduce the first person halfway through and vice versa. The most common such issue is with "one" and "you."Both are equally correct to refer to a non-specific individual- "you" is simplyless formal than "one"- buta passage should stick to one or the other. (Like this article does!) Let's look at how this conceptworks in a sentence: Incorrect: If one wants to be a professional sushi chef, you must train for many years to master the art of slicing the fish. Correct:If one wants to be a professional sushi chef, onemust train for many years to master the art of slicing the fish. Correct:If youwant to be a professional sushi chef, you must train for many years to master the art of slicing the fish. The incorrect sentence uses two different pronouns, while the corrected versions stick to one or the other. One of the most common mistakes students make on the ACT English is assuming that the more formal choice, in this case "one," is necessarily better. However, it's far more important to be consistent with the passage as written and to make sure pronouns match their antecedents. Let's go through an example question that deals with agreement in person: First, we find the antecedent. Who or what is hearing the songs? Elsewhere in the paragraph, it's "I." Our primary goal with agreement in person is to remain consistent, so it should be the same here- F is the correct choice. G and H might be tempting, but you shouldn't pick an answer that introduces a new pronoun without a clear antecedent.J can't be correct because it creates a sentence fragment. A disagreement between people, not a disagreement in person. (Â ©o5com) Unclear Antecedents We've covered the basic rules for ensuring that pronouns agree with their antecedents, but what do you do when a pronoun doesn'thaveanantecedent? It's important to remember that a pronoun's antecedent must be a noun and you must be able to circle it in the text. In other words, it's not enough for you to know what the pronoun is referring to, the antecedent alsohas to be obvious in the text. On the ACT English, pronouns without clear antecedents appear fairly frequently. You'll need to pick the answer that makes explicit what the pronoun is meant to refer to. Let's look at an example: In order to get the concert ticketsfrom the box office, I need to know whenthey'llbe there. Who does"they" refer to? Presumably, the people who work in the boxoffice, but the noun "employees" doesn't appear, so there's no clear antecedent. A correct version might read: In order to get the concert ticketsfrom the box office, I need to know whenthe employees willbe there. Now it's clear who I'm talking about. The pronouns this, that, these, and those, often appear in questions like this and can be especially confusing, since in casual English we often use the themwithout clear antecedents: Mario: Bowser kidnapped Peach again. Luigi: That's annoying. This construction may be fine in spoken English, but it would beabsolutely incorrect on the ACT. Thought it's clear what Luigi is reacting to, there's no actual noun in the text that is serving as an antecedent for that. This, that, and these and thosemust have clear noun antecedents, just like any other pronoun. However, it's fine for the noun to come immediately after the pronoun. A correct version of the above would be: Mario: Bowser kidnapped Peach again. Luigi: That moveis so annoying. Now its explicit what's annoying: Bowser's move of kidnapping Peach. If this, these or those are underlined, then the question is likely about this type of error. (That being underlined can mean there's an antecedent issue as well, but it's more commonly a relative pronoun question- for more on that type of error, see our post on the topic, coming soon.) Let's look at an official ACT example: As with any pronoun question, the first step here is to determine the antecedent. Since an antecedent must be a noun thatappears in the text, our options are "Banneker," "his studies," and "the paths of the Sun, Moon, and other celestial bodies." However, none of these nouns are things that can be used to predict a solar eclipse- the sentence is trying to say that he used his calculations of the paths to make the prediction. The only answer that makes that fact clear is G. Applying the Pronoun Agreement Grammar Rules on the ACT We've covered the basic rules for pronoun agreement and the types of errorsyou're likely to see on the ACT English. I've rounded up a summary of those rules and the key strategies you should practice for the test. What to watchfor: Underlined pronouns and pronoun/verb combos This, these, those underlined Rules to keep in mind: Every pronoun must have a clear noun antecedent. Pronouns and their antecedents have to match in number, gender, and person. For this, those, that, and these, the antecedent can come immediately after the pronoun. Helpful ACT English tips: Anytime a pronoun is underlined, the first step is to determine the antecedent- be sure to check the surroundingsentences as well. "He or she" is the correct pronoun for non-gendered singularnouns. Pronoun person generally stays consistent throughout a passage. Replace antecedent-less pronouns with nouns. Test Your Skills with ACT English Practice Questions! You can study the rules all you want, but doing sowon't help you on the ACT unless you practice using them ito answer ACT-style questions. I've created some ACT English practice so that you can try out your new skills! 1. Lana didn't enjoy spying on Tim, but he had the information they needed. A. NO CHANGE B. he C. the people D. she 2. You may not want to go looking for the cookbook, but to ensure there are pancakes at breakfast, one must find the recipe. F. NO CHANGE G.you must H. they must J.must 3.One of the books was full of fairy tales, but Jenna couldn't find them on the shelf. A. NO CHANGE B.those C. it D.her own 2. Troy walked all the way down the mountain. After that, he was too tired to stay awake through the movie. F. NO CHANGE G.After this, H. After walking so far, J. So that Answers: 1. D, 2. G, 3. C, 4. H What's Next? If you're struggling with pronoun questions, make sure you also understand pronoun case errors. You may also want to check outsome of our other ACT grammar guides on frequentlytestedtopics like subject-verb agreementand comma usage. For more big-picture strategies, take a look at our posts on the best way to read the ACT English passage and the 5 key concepts you need to ace the ACT English. Looking to build a study plan? Read our complete plan to studying for the ACT, review what the ACT English actually covers, and take a practice test (or five!). Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT Essay

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example ......................... 5.0 Distribution/channel strategy................................................................................ 6.0 Promotional strategy............................................................................................. 7.0 Pricing strategy...................................................................................................... References EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marks and Spencer is not doing an appropriate job of gaining target market interest in the brand and continues to cater to the older demographic. The company has built a rather old-fashioned and stuffy brand that caters to wealthy High Street consumers in the over-55 age bracket. This prevents the business from building a more contemporary brand personality that would attract younger and trendier fashion consumers. To better position the company, the business needs to utilise psychographics rather than demographic segmentation and focus less on quality and more on price and fashion -forwardness. Improvements to fashion procurement, utilisation of the Internet for online purchases, social media for promotion, and lifestyle-related advertisement will improve the brand competitiveness in this highly saturated and dynamic competitive environment. Marketing analysis: Marks and Spencer 1.0 Current market segments Marks and Spencer continues to attempt to attract younger consumer segments through the introduction of more contemporary fashion merchandise with edgy and trendy designs. The business, in an effort to appeal to the twenty something markets, recruited models Lily Cole and Lizzie Jagger to serve as celebrity endorsers that would be aspirational to the youth, female markets (Wood and Finch 2009). However, this strategy failed to rouse interest in the M&S brand and clothing sales to the over-55 female segment rose by 10 percent (Wood and Finch 2009). The problem at Marks and Spencer is that the business continues to segment based on demographics. As a high str eet fashion business, the business maintains a premium pricing model on the majority of its fashion merchandise, thus making clothing more affordable to the older demographic. Premium fashion products are segmented just below luxury brands and therefore usually carry a higher price tag (Hameide 2011). The average age of the business’ customers are between 35 and 54 who maintain the high level of financial resources necessary to afford a high price (Ayub 2010). The brand has been defined according to the demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviours of existing consumers, affluent middle-aged women living in wealthy regions who are the major revenue producers for the company. The business, in an effort to attract desirable target markets, recruited the 1970s model Twiggy to promote a new clothing line launch. This strategy did not appeal to the younger consumer market segments and seemed to reinforce a lifestyle connection with the aging consumer target market. Joanna Lumley, from the Absolutely Fabulous craze, was also recruited to appear in and perform voiceovers for advertisements, yet another older celebrity figure which continued to appeal to the existing, greying market (Chislett 2009). Hence, by focusing on demographic segmentation in order to identify target consumers, Marks and Spencer is limiting its ability to boost revenue production by not utilising other segmentation strategies. The company continues to utilise strategic marketing strategies that are more relevant to the lifestyles and income demographics of older

Making Movies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Making Movies - Essay Example His critical analysis and great knowledge makes his book a must read for all amateurs who are learning the art of filmmaking. His book almost covers all aspects required to make a creditable film. He gives detailed knowledge about music, production, direction, props, cameras, editing, cinematography, scripts, actors etc. Â  This book provides a vision and a guiding pathway for all those who are entering this field and all those young filmmakers intending to make this vast field as their ongoing profession. In the movie The Verdict director Sidney Lumet according to me does not come up to my level of expectation as a lot more could have been done. After reading the novel I personally think direction was not as strong as it should have been for a person with so much in depth knowledge of the field. The level and the bar raised by Sidney are quite high which he didn’t sustain in this book. This clearly explains that despite the great effort and techniques involved far more could be done to make the movie a success. Apparently this movie for me was a very entertaining and a top notch courtroom based drama which had elements of tragedy, suspense, fraud, emotions and romance making it a complete story. Sidney holds this view that the script should disturb the conventional balance. Astonish the reader, entertains, intrigues and then when it is about to conclude the reader must develop a feeling that this was meant to happen. This precisely means that the script is the skeleton for any film and a good script keeps the audience awe struck. Likewise in the movie the script is one of the most complex elements, when Frank goes to meet his mom he is immensely affected by her present state which brilliantly unveiled another side of Frank. Â  Sidney believes that usually he is not thinking about the viewer might react; there are basically two perspectives when it comes to life that have a great impact, that is precisely life and death. These aspects are so intense

Current Events in Public Health Leadership - Servant Leadership Assignment

Current Events in Public Health Leadership - Servant Leadership - Assignment Example A lady suffering from lung cancer attended hospital for three weeks to receive her chemotherapy. During her time in the hospital, she received attendance from a chief nurse and junior nurses who worked under her. In the course of treatment, the chief nurse would come and assist the junior nurses to perform their duties. The head nurse was kind and did not mind showing her subjects what to do, and she consistently engaged in offering her assistance to the junior nurses. She also provided them with advice and offered each of the opportunity to consult and get the right instructions. A nurse servant leader often looks at the needs of the staff members and makes inquires of them on the best ways to promote and solve their personal problems. The instance described above depicts the true qualities of a servant leader who continuously engaged in assisting the junior nurses at the hospital. The leadership techniques used in the case above were effective since it enabled the junior nurses to develop the character of servant leader (Anonson et al. 2009). Through the actions of the manager nurse, the junior nurses developed important skills that were effective in their career. Some of the leadership characteristics portrayed by the nurse manager include the ability to listen, in which case she kept listening to the needs of the junior nurses. After listening and understanding their needs, she empathizes with them and offers them their support (Ayman, Chemers, & Fiedler, 1995). They also promote awareness and healing among the junior servants by attempting to resolve their problems and use a high degree of emotional intelligence to help them find a solution to their problems. In the above instance, the servant leadership enabled the junior nurses to observe and understand what was needed to be done to enable attainment of perfect results.

The impact of our race and ethnicity on our identity Essay

The impact of our race and ethnicity on our identity - Essay Example As Peter Schuck and Rogers Smith argue, American citizenship has never been exclusively "consensual." There has always been an interpretive imbalance between John Locke's "individualistic liberalism," which has been the attributed conceptual cornerstone of the American Revolution, and the less-acknowledged influence of "Atlantic republicanism" that underlies that of an American empire. Zora Neale Hurston developed into an avid reader and an attentive listener, a fan of myth, legend, and local lore. In Eatonville, where everyone is some shade of black, Zora is no different from anyone else. The white people she meets in Eatonville differ from her only insofar as they do not live there. As Barbara Johnson points out, the Zora of Eatonville disappears in Jacksonville and becomes a colored girl. "The acquisition of color is a loss of identity," Johnson writes. Moreover, color seems not to be "fixed" but a "function of motion" from Eatonville to Jacksonville. Although Johnson is writing primarily about How It Feels to Be Colored Me, published in 1928, her comments are equally valid for Dust Tracks, since Hurston reuses, revising only slightly, many of the same passages from her earlier work. Hurston's sense of separation from her warm and safe familial life and her subsequent departure from Eatonville to Jacksonville begin a lifetime of wandering from and returning to her roots. Although Zora returns to Eatonville after her father's second marriage, she is never able to return to her mother's home; it has become simply a house. Zora's knock-down, drag-out fight with her stepmother, whom she never forgives for usurping her mother's place, emphasizes Hurston's displacement from her home and family. In one sense, however, her alienation precipitates her journey from Eatonville to Washington, D.C., and later to New York City to gain education and a better life. This journey echoes that of many Negroes who moved from the black belt of the South to the North. Hurston's journey repeats in a way the migration by slaves to gain life and freedom, followed by subsequent migrations made by Blacks to find work in northern factories and to improve life for themselves and their children. The plot development of Hurston's autobiography, then, owes much to a black tradition, going back to slave narratives and to early black autobiographies. The toll of substance use and abuse among black males, noted by social scientists since the earliest decades of this century, continues to waylay many men's struggle to effectively parent. Over a decade ago, Robert Staples explained that among black people, abuse of both drugs and alcohol are a product of an exploitative economy that offers minimum wages, little employment, and a lack of educational opportunities. Since then, the economy has become more distressing for working-class and poor black Americans, and these men's accounts seem to confirm Staples' analysis. For many black men, he argued, substance use and

English - Literary Criticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

English - Literary Criticism - Essay Example To Eagleton, mass culture has a role in society, and that role is to connect the social experience in a discourse. To this end, Eagleton sees literary criticism in this light as being traditional, for this was the traditional mode of literary criticism through the ages. All the while, literary criticism should draw upon diverse fields, such as gender studies, psychoanalytic studies, film studies, cultural theory and the writings of the past (Eagleton, 1984, p. 123). Thus, for Eagleton, as for most critics, a simple story of talking pigs who take over a farm and soon become despotic is seen not in terms of its literary merit, but, rather, as an allegory for something else – the Russian Revolution. The criticism must take this into account, and, thus, the criticism must have a basis in historical thought and politics. Mass culture, such as literature and poetry, thus have a function beyond that of merely entertaining the masses – the literature and the poetry must say som ething about our society, and the criticism of such should be able to interpret these works in this manner. In this case, the work in question would need to be interpreted for the symbolism that it conveys, and the meaning that speaks to society as a whole. The passage should be reflective of societal values that are common to all, or universal, and this meaning must be teased from the passage. In this case, Alice has found another world that is parallel to this one, except that it is considerably different. It is through the looking glass, which is an expression that is commonly used for events that are bizarre to human understanding. Just the fact that through the looking glass has entered societal vernacular is proof of what Eagleton is saying – the work of Lewis Carroll has a unifying social message, one that everybody can understand. When events seem to be too bizarre to comprehend, or, in other words, become events where somebody might say â€Å"you can't make this stu ff up,† then one may say that the events are through the looking glass. At the same time, the passage speaks to the universal desire to be somewhere else, become somebody else, and inhabit another world. Perhaps the other world might be one that is free from war, hunger, poverty, and suffering. That, too, would be through the looking glass, as a world that is free from the scourges of this world would be one that would be truly bizarre to comprehend. Yet, that is the utopia about which most, if not all, of us dream. Since this desire is universal, then it would be considered by Eagleton to be unifying and a way to speak to society, and draw all factions of society together. At the same time, the passage might be considered to be social commentary, which is another element of criticism, according to Eagleton. The social commentary in this case would be the commentary that we should all strive for another world, better than the world that we have now. It seems that the looking g lass world of Alice is a world that is better than the current world, for the pictures are alive and there is a man in the clock who is grinning at her. While these are fantastic elements, they are also elements which might make up a better world. Pictures which come alive would be one element of a better world, for the people in the pictures are no longer two dimensional beings, but become living and breathing. Loved ones who have passed, yet are

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Report - Essay Example In particular, report discusses the result of the experiment and includes their meaning within the context of chemistry. The first experiment dealt with the observations when a candle is lit. On lighting the candle, only its wick burnt. However, after about 5 seconds, the heat from the burning weak melted some candle. This had the effect of increasingly brightening the flame from the candle. It seemed like the molten candle was acting as the flame’s source of fuel. The experiment aimed at establishing if oxygen was necessary for the sustenance of a burning process. When the burning candle was covered with a 400ml beaker, it burned for about 10 seconds before going off. A repeat of the procedure produced a similar result. The candle went off after 10 seconds. The third experiment involved testing for carbon dioxide. This entailed collecting the contents of the overturned beaker then testing its content with limewater. When limewater was immediately swirled inside the 400ml beaker, the contents immediately turned cloudy. The fourth experiment entailed the examination if water was a by-product in the burning candle. When the 400ml beaker was held upside down over the candle. The bottom of the beaker became immediately moist. However, when the beaker was held longer over the candle, the moisture like substance dried leaving behind a round patch. According to O’Hare (2007), when a candle burns, combustion takes place and both carbon dioxide and water are the resulting products. Reportedly, the candle is a type of fuel called a hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbons are rich in carbon and hydrogen molecules. Additionally, its weak structure means that it has a lower melting point. That is why in the first experiment, it was observed that the candle immediately began to melt when the wick was lit. The brightening of the candle was due to an exposure to a substantial amount of fuel. O’Hare (2007) denotes that when a hydrocarbon like a candle burns, it follows

The Turn of the Screw Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Turn of the Screw - Essay Example Hence, the prologue introduces the story as a long-kept secret that is about to be revealed. The secret as narrative strategy consists in the omission of information by the narrator, in order to maintain the narrative suspense among the readers, which can be compared to Douglas’s attitudes towards his audience. An atmosphere of mystery surrounds Douglas’s introduction of the story: his agitation, his reluctance to tell too many details (â€Å"You’ll easily judge†¦ you will† [24], â€Å"That will come out. I don’t anticipate† [28]) and his hiding of the governess’s manuscript before he decided to read it. From the prologue, it becomes obvious that the narrator is not only a subject who tells, but also a subject who allows herself/himself to remain silent. As soon as the narrator chooses â€Å"not to tell† everything, we notice that the great secret of the ghostly experience is made of a chain of â€Å"little† secrets, some of which are partially revealed (the cause of the former governess’s death, the reason of Miles’s expulsion from boarding school), whereas others remain untold, and the very ending of the story becomes a secret to the readers, that is, Miles’s death, a question that has generated a lot of interpretations among the scholars. Priscilla Walton assumes Miles’s death as a Pyrrhic victory of the governess’s over the ghost of Peter Quint, who possessed little Miles (315). She states that he died due to his conflict on sexualities. On the contrary, Teahan claims that Miles was strangled by the governess. The climax of the story coincides with the governess’s fatal â€Å"reading† of Miles: unable to tolerate the ambiguity of his failure to conform to her polarized stereotypes of the sexually innocent â€Å"angel† and corrupt â€Å"fiend†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦, she fixes his meaning by strangling him in a deadly literalization of the recurring metaphors of â€Å"seizing† and â€Å"grasping† that track her struggle