Reflective Story

At first, I did not expect that I would regret not being emotionally and spiritually prepared. I was really overwhelmed with the different things I experienced. Not only did I get to experience dorm life with my fellow classmates, got to sleep at dawn and bond with other people, I got closer with God. How you ask? I finally felt someone's presence. Not like when there is someone with you or a so-called ghost appears, I felt a powerful presence. I felt accompanied. I never felt alone. That presence was masked by friends, great advice and strong faith.And to think I was very, very busy on what clothes to wear, toiletries to bring and everything else required. Also, I never thought that I would release all my negativity during session time. Somehow, It made me feel whole. I felt complete. I felt happy. I felt that God was beside me throughout everything. He blessed us all with trust for one another. I was mostly moved with Sir Regis's difficult encounters in life. It made me realize tha t the greatest happiness I was blessed with was people who would love and accept me for who I am.Just by Ewing surrounded by them is the only blessing that, I bet, would be the best thing you would ask for. I am not saying that you should take advantage of their presence but you should savoir and appreciate their love and care for you. This recollection gave me more on the Inside scoop of reality and the different hardships you will encounter as you face it twists and turns. This also made me realize that I should be thankful for my days to come. I was taught to fall silent and listen. Life is exciting and thanks to this experience, I came to appreciate life's meaning and hungry to unravel some of Its secrets.

En Route Essay

D. C Scott’s poem, En Route describes the moment of stillness a train passenger observes as his train is unexpected halted on a train journey. This essay analyses the poem, exploring details of how the journey the passenger intended to take is interrupted, offering him an altogether unexpected journey, one which affords him an opportunity to see his surroundings in a new light. Within this essay I will explore the meaning of the title â€Å"en route† and consider the various meanings that can be attributed to this title as a result of the track followed by the passenger within the poem. The poem starts with an attention grabbing line, â€Å"The train has stopped for no apparent reason in the wilds†. The image presented is that of isolation, a passenger stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a sense of solitude and forbiddance. All around the now still train is further stillness. Winter has frozen the landscape in the same way in which the train has been stopped, â€Å"A frozen lake is level and fretted over†, â€Å"all so still†. The reader is provided with an image of stillness and serenity, the purpose of the train journey, its origin and its destination all become irrelevant and the reader instead becomes heavily involved in the here and now and what is happening in the landscape outside in which the train now sits is so still. The stoppage of the train allows the passenger to look beyond his immediate surroundings within the train to what is actually happening outside his carriage. The delicate and detailed language employed within the poem describes the world outside, â€Å"it seems a tiny landscape in the moonlight†. The landscape that, moments ago would have been a blurred image as the train rushed through, becomes a fascinating scene with multiple levels of life, detail and delicacy. Descriptive lines such as â€Å"wisps of shadows from the naked birches† and â€Å"one almost hears it twinkle as it thaws† provide the reader with a vivid sense of how the passenger is able to scrutinize every minute part of the landscape which surrounds him. These are all things that people generally do not have the time or opportunity to observe as they journey on route from one place to another. Whilst these images are perhaps real and part of nature and life, the passenger seems to perceive them as transitory, â€Å"they’re going fast where all impressions go†. He is preoccupied with his journey, a journey that he values in contrast to the scene he can see. The train represents real direction to him, a solid steel structure which is without emotion and sensuality is, ironically, of more meaning to him that these delicate images. The purity and honesty of the nature that he is afforded the opportunity to view in great detail is something that he sorrowfully perceives as meaningless, â€Å"On a frail substance- images like these, vagaries the unconscious mind receives†. The passenger is unable to change. He intends to carry on with the journey he started and, sadly, dismisses the intimate relationship between himself and the environment in which he lives. The title of the poem En Route has numerous meanings within this poem. The train is clearly en route from one place to another when it is stopped. The stoppage itself is ironic as the train is no longer â€Å"en route†; it is going nowhere at all. However, through the stoppage the passenger is transported from one place to another almost instantaneously. Whereas previously he would have been concerned with the immediate surroundings of his carriage, with the landscape perhaps whirling by quickly outside his window, he is now offered an opportunity to look beyond this, to real life outside his window. These views offer him another route, a possibility to acquaint himself with the real meaning of life. Although he momentarily observes this and appears to emphasize with it in some way, he eventually rejects it as being something that isn’t of real meaning. He instead chooses to continue on his intended route, leaving the reader with the sense that he is on the wrong tracks, failing to be fully appreciative of the images he can see.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck Essay

Published in 1952, East of Eden is a novel written by John Steinbeck, a Nobel winner). It tells the story of the intertwined lives of two families- the Trasks and the Hamiltons amidst a backdrop of California’s Salinas Valley (Steinbeck, 2003). The novel follows the stories of these two American families from the Civil War to World War I (2003). It is said that the novel, which was published ten years before Steinbeck received a Novel, drew inspiration from the Bible and was dedicated to Steinbeck’s sons- Thom and John IV (Pearson, 1995). The title itself was culled from a Biblical verse, depicting Cain as he set out in the land of Nod, east of Eden (Genesis 4: 16 New International Version). Told in third-person point of view by a narrator who sometimes offers annotations, swings among characters’ vantage points and even suspends the story with snippets of human history, East of Eden tackles the universal theme of good vs. evil, the fall of Adam and Eve and the bitter enmity of Abel and Cain. Dramatizing the societal sins of Salinas Valley and the individual members of the Trask and Hamilton clans, the novel aims to resolve the dilemma on how evil may be overcome by choice. Spanning the period between the American Civil War and the end of the First World War, it dovetails the lives of two brothers- the gentle Adam and the rough Charles. Adam marries the scheming Cathy who deceives him and ran off with Charles on the night of their wedding (Steinbeck, 2003). After giving birth to twin boys, Aron and Cal, Cathy leaves her children to Adam and returns to a life of debauchery. The rivalry between the siblings reignites as they vie for their father’s attention and approval (2003). The story is beautiful and revolting as it unravels the universal problem man has to face: choose to be good or remain on the dark side. The tone is somber, philosophical and perhaps even propitious. Showing how illustrious as a writer should be, Steinbeck is able to create characters with various tempers, contrasting them realistically as possible, polar opposites as one may say. There is Adam, who may very well be the archetype of good intentions and Cathy, the scheming prostitute whom Adam fell in love with. It is also Adam who has been deceived the most, reminiscent of the betrayal of the serpent in the biblical Eden. The novel is peppered with shades of Cain and Abel. In the same vein, the agony of parental rejection, an issue touched with the story of the biblical brothers, is again explored in the novel, like the acceptance of Adam’s puppy gift and the rejection of Charles’ knife gift, reminiscent of Abel’s accepted gift and the rejection of Cain. Cyrus Trask favored Adam over Charles, for no distinct reason. Later on, Adam repeats the cycle with his own sons, favoring Aron over Cal. Throughout the novel, the tension is palpable, giving the reader the proper stimulus to continue reading. It also helps that the setting, Salinas Valley is actually a real place, giving a pragmatic voice to the novel. The words used by Steinbeck are easy to read and understand , and is not loaded with so many symbols that would make the reader spend 98% figuring out what the symbols stood for rather than letting the words flow and grasping its essence. There are no flowery words, either. This is a good sign on the part of Steinbeck, allowing the readers to comprehend the gist without resulting in a head ache. The flow of the story is also commendable, especially as it expands from 1860 to 1918. The incorporation of â€Å"timshel† is also appropriate, fortifying the theme of good winning over evil, of human making the power to decide. East of Eden is grounded in pragmatism and the handling of good and evil may be simple but it speaks one universal truth: that there is good and there is evil and that human beings are flawed, perhaps influenced by their genes or shaped by circumstances, but they have the choice whether to follow that footstep and repeat the mistake or make their own paths and break the cycle. References Pearson, P. (1995). East of Eden. Retrieved February 17, 2009, from National Steinbeck Center Website: http://www. steinbeck. org .html Steinbeck, J. (2003). East of Eden. New York: Penguin Books.

Happiness can be achieved by anyone through improvement of character, Essay

Happiness can be achieved by anyone through improvement of character, meditation, and increasing generosity and kindness - Essay Example True happiness is beyond meaning and description. In his article â€Å"Happy Like God,† Critchley emphasizes the idea of happiness as something that even the French philosopher Rousseau could hardly define. This is because the beauty of the moment of happiness is something that is only likened to â€Å"a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and concentrate its entire being there† (Critchley 449). This is actually a time where â€Å"the present runs on indefinitely† and where the past and the future do not matter yet it is something that no one can define as just the present (449). It is therefore true that â€Å"happiness is not quantitative or measurable and it is not the object of any science, old or new† (450). This means that, for Critchley, happiness is something that can never be gauged for not only does happiness depend on the person who is feeling it but also it depends on the value of the present moment a nd how each person defines that moment for him. The experience and the feeling one has naturally cannot be quantified and cannot even be expressed in words. Nevertheless, it is closest to the term â€Å"feeling of existence,† or the time when someone feels the moment that he exists and he experiences such happiness (450). Moreover, although unquantifiable, this moment of happiness is very much sufficient. In fact, Rousseau defines such a state of happiness as a God-like state: â€Å"as long as this state lasts we are self sufficient like God† (450). This is therefore the highest state of things, or the state where one does not want anything else but to be in such a feeling or such a state. Nevertheless, happiness in any form defies measurement. Happiness is also an experience of appreciation and reflection of things and people in one’s life. While Critchley and Rousseau would equate this appreciation and reflection with being alone in the experience of stillness , there were once people like the Greek philosopher Epictetus, who thought that happiness is also one’s experience of stillness but this stillness is wisdom, and such wisdom is not about being alone but being aware of how to deal with others. For Epictetus, the lack of wisdom and reason makes one either a sheep or a wild beast, which is what most people are. A sheep will naturally simply â€Å"act gluttonously†¦lewdly†¦rashly, filthily [and] inconsiderately,† while a wild beast would normally act â€Å"harmfully, passionately [and] violently† (Epictetus). The wisdom that Epictetus means must be similar to the wisdom that Rousseau realized when he thought of a God-like state of existence, only that Epictetus’ wisdom is directed towards one’s fellowman. Moreover, according to Epictetus, if people lack wisdom, they tend to worry about and change things that are beyond their control, such as â€Å"What would others think?† or â€Å"Wh at would others say if I did this?† and they then cease being happy. They do not anymore experience that blissful God-like state that Rousseau described earlier. The point of Epictetus is that no matter how intelligent or good someone is, if he does not possess wisdom, he will always be swayed by other people’s influence as well as by his opinions of the things over which he has no control. Therefore, if one lacks wisdom, one lacks contentment and happiness, and

Recent Articles analysis, macroecomonics Term Paper

Recent Articles analysis, macroecomonics - Term Paper Example This is a requirement by the constitution of the United States of America to ensure efficiency in all the government operations while being concerned about the economy of the state. As per the Anti-deficiency Act and the constitution, the federal government is permitted to start shutdown of activities related to appropriations that are not yet enacted into legislation. This process of a government shutdown has led to some operations that are usually funded by the annual appropriations being aborted causing loss of casual jobs by some citizens (Cornwell and Lawder). Some operations which receive their funds from the government by law and not annual appropriations may also be disrupted by the funding gap. These are programs that have activities which rely on annually appropriated funds for operations. A good example is the social security which may need funds from time to time to run upcoming operations in this field. When the government shuts down many federal employees lose their jobs as some have their payments delayed. The furlough has an adverse impact on the economy as the government is a major employer in the state, and this would mean increased unemployment rates (Cornwell and Lawder). Since the government shutdowns started in the United States, there have been 18 such funding gaps with President Obama’s government having only one in 2013. This was when the Congress declined to pass crucial funding bills for the ObamaCare program due to disagreement on the funding by the Senate and the White House. A recent threat of the government shutdown has been experienced in late November 2014. Part of the Senate and senior Republican officials are at loggerheads on funding of the Department of Homeland Security. Some of them are asking for a long-term funding of the Homeland Security programs while others are seeking to offer a short-term funding. This follows as President Obama has an immigration order to lift the deportation of illegal immigrants in the United

Synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Synthesis - Essay Example ates, taverns and coffeehouses often characterized the earlier signs, here, tradesmen and other entrepreneurs would paint their shops and business infrastructure creatively with pictorials that symbolized the products they made or the services they offered5. There were names of certain entrepreneurs painted on boards and posts, however, most of these signs would only be found on the entrepreneur’s premises. There were cases where certain events were to take place in certain places, in this case, the means of advertising and inviting people to the function was often facilitated by creatively designed and printed handbills that would announce the events5. In addition, they also came in handy when announcing business auctions, stagecoach timetables as well as travelling theater groups that moved from one place to another. Later on, the growth of the business systems as well as economic infrastructure welcomed a new century that came along with new ways of signing and business advertising. In this new business approaches, the outdoor advertising industry achieved major milestones, it moved from the colorful and neat pictures of Phineas Taylor, who was the first to have used them while advertising his circus events, this was in the 1980s. Later, there were huge improvements that were witnessed in the U.S highways and transport industry, the signage industry developed significantly, moving away from the old approaches of shop and business premise signage to roadside signage. This was done with new objectives of targeting the needs of travelers as well as promoting upcoming events, goods and services among other things3. Following improvements in technology, the signs on the highways and other strategic locations were lighted, giving way for the first major segmentations to be ushered into the signage industry. The main segments in this industry became two, there was the electrified system versus the other different form of print signage, in this case, it was upon

Independent evaluation of agile methods Literature review

Independent evaluation of agile methods - Literature review Example Teams looking for an appropriate way of monitoring scope and at the same time enhance project implementation timelines look to agile project management. This method assists firms attain a healthy balance between waste reduction, cost cutting and quality preservation (Patel, Seyfi, Taghavi, Wills, Liu, Latih, & Misra, 2012). While conveying value to the buyer in a cost efficient way, agile project administration sustains the intricacies of the projects in a way that the conventional systems would not have in any way. Agile methods can help teams dispense products more swiftly while making them acclimatize to vicissitudes more easily than when they would have used the traditional methods (Maarit, Outi, & Pekka, 2010). The other benefits of agile methods of project management are that it cuts the time spent on information gathering while also enhancing implementation timelines. Agile project management simplifies teamwork and group effort enhancing overhead costs involved in project implementation. Agile project management is an adaptive approach that stresses on collaborative work or in other words revolutionary driven work done which demands team work in its execution and a continuing involvement of interested parties in the project cycles. The response of the interested parties is crucial during the execution process of the project when the end consequence is indefinite in some extent. In such an environment, the collaborations are inducted in every stage. This is important because it permits to reexamine the project on the basis of the interested parties’ feedback and reallocate work in the project accordingly. Working progressively gives room for the teams to stay on track and also for the consumers to attain what they need without the risk of profligacy (Qureshi, 2012). The Agile method of project management encompasses a number of factors making it conceivable for agile management teams to

Final exam praperation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final exam praperation - Essay Example These were ranked to have higher survival rate compared to the other media that was available such as fresco wall paintings and other textiles. Despite the materiality being mixed with a culture that was full of barbaric artists, it led to the growth of artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and the iconographic traditions of the early Christian church. It also resulted in the production of the remarkable legacy of artists (Low, 2012). Monastic influence contributed more in the production of this early medieval art and architecture in many ways. Monk and nuns had a duty of performing occasional practical services during the early days. They nursed the sick, assisted those that were poor gave advice to the leaders that do not believe in God and provided shelter. For the culture as a whole, monasticism offered the society a spiritual outlet and dealt with important consequences for the medieval art. Encouragement of legacy, learning and kept the principals of the ancient journalism was the work that entitled to monks and nuns (Low, 2012). A community that comprised of men and women was to be governed by the set of regulations that were formed by monks. During this period, Christianity was described as being the late antique art. The changing phase was undergone in the new Roman art during this time, and it later abandoned classical style and Greek realism. The leaving gave an impact, and it was done in favor of mystical and hieratic style. Monasticism was then regarded as the primary on the impartial art that came because of the eastern parts of the empire (Low, 2012). I agree. Gregory was more educated, and he was known for his prolific writings when compared to his predecessors as pope. He was the founder of the present day’s revision of the Roman worship, and he was the author of developments and contributions of the divine

1995 to the present Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1995 to the present - Research Paper Example Violin is not an easy musical instrument to play; much more, artists arguing that they need to find the right violin before they can play are simply acting as prima donnas. Here’s why, according to Flesch (2000), the instrument is a much as influenced by the characteristics of the artist, â€Å"by space, weather, or interested impressions of listeners judging the artists† ( p.5385). Indeed, any of such factors can influence the quality of the music produced by the instrument which disproves the caprice of some artists. So artists who use their instrument as an excuse would surely not earn much respect from real musicians. Another good study that supports my argument that artists must not rely on their instruments is the study made by Inta , Smith and Wolfe in 2005 titled Measurement Of the Effect On Violins Of Ageing and Playing. The study was pursued to test the hypothesis if aging violins do make it sound better. In fact, the study cited that there is even a commercial enterprise that sells aged violins ( Inta, et.al, 2005). This is definitely a hint that much commercialism has penetrated the music industry and clouds the judgment of many music students. The conclusion of the study was revealing stating that there are no statistically significant differences in using violins regardless if they are hundred years old ( p.29). This just shows that violinists are the main factors in producing quality music. One of the basic styles in playing violin includes vibrato. Vibrato means that a high sounding pitch produces different sound which was written about by Samuel Applebaum in his book StringBuilder in 1952. Nevertheless, reading more about techniques used by violinists shows that no style can simply mask a bad note. If violinists are good musicians, then they would hit all their notes well. Moreover, they can make produce different versions

Environmental Audit (Data Response) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Environmental Audit (Data Response) - Essay Example There may many country specific factors, which could impact the functioning of the organization in the Host country, including its Human Resource (HR) functions. When an organization starts off its foreign operations, the role of HR department and optimum HR practices is crucial because it can only facilitate and encourage coordination and cooperation between employees from both the host country as well as home country (company’s home country). In this report, Russia is the host country, and so this report will discuss how a multinational company in IT sector, while entering Russia particularly in the form of Joint Venture (JV) need to analyse its HR functions to optimally manage its operations there. Economic Indicators Russia's geographic position as neighbour and a key influencer of the expanding European Union and the dynamic countries of Asia including China and India has given it new options to optimize its globalization drive. So, it is encouraging many multinational co mpanies (MNC) to enter and start their operations. Actually, Russia’s incorporation of globally dominant norms, rules, etc as part of economic globalization, took some time to actualize. That is, when Russia endorsed and embraced globalization, it was not a smooth transition, as certain tough decisions were taken. When globalization made its entry into Russia, there was sceptical feeling that globalization and the entry of foreign firms particularly from Western countries is actually a form of US-led hegemony increasing Russia’s marginality in world affairs. â€Å"Their fear of globalization is heightened by the perception that the process is not driven by the impersonal forces of the information revolution and the market, but controlled by the United States as part of a hegemonic project† (Federov 2000). Russia voluntarily took certain steps to welcome globalization and thereby open its market to foreign firms. That is, by introducing convertibility of the nati onal currency and liberalizing both current and capital accounts of her balance of payments, Russia fully exposed herself to globalization. (Vorobyov and Zhukov 2001). From that time, Russia is encouraging entry of foreign firms and also Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the Russian IT sector. Although, Russia’s IT industry and market is considered small, when compared with other regions and countries, MNCs like SAP, TietoEnator, T-System, etc are expanding their operations, along with the domestic players. Importantly, the potential of Russia’s IT market is going to optimize, with its quick recovery from the economic recession. â€Å"Russia has experienced a surprisingly quick rebound after being heavily affected by the economic crisis in 2009†¦The Russian ICT market is being driven by information technology spending, which is expected to increase by 12 percent to 15 billion euros in 2011.† (eito.com 2011) Comparative analysis of HR systems in both Europ e and the US Each nation is different from one another based on their culture, people, language, climate, etc, etc†¦and based on these differences; there will be different styles of HRM. Thus, different management styles and importantly HRM policies seen in the functioning of MNCs are dependent on the culture and other regional factors of a country. That is, when one focuses on the HRM policies in USA, it

Designing Qualitative Research for Social Science & Health Essay

Designing Qualitative Research for Social Science & Health - Essay Example deteriorating health, the sudden transition to a life of lesser financial control appears to be the underlying factor for both changing health status and limited access to the initial lifestyle. Retirement is the transition from being a working individual into not working. There are many reasons why people retire. Some of these include voluntary, sickness, incapacitation and age. Age is the most common factor for retirement. Most retirees are considerably aged by the time they make the transition (Smith and Moen, 2004). The transition is sometimes made at a point in life when the input of the individual is fading and their youthfulness has been lost. These factors, combined with the sudden transition to being non-salaried, have been known to negatively impact the inevitable transition into retirement. Psychologists postulate that retirement has adverse effects both on the psychosocial and physical wellbeing of the individual. For instance, some researchers have attributed the transition to accelerated ageing (Osborne, 2012). Many retirees have alluded to the fact that they did not make substantive decisions regarding their retirement days since they could not figure out how the transition would affect them. This implies that many retirees do not have an aforethought strategy to manage their new-found status. For this reason, they are usually met with constant challenges, both psychological and organisational. Yet retirement planning is considered an essential part of the transformation that follows ceasing employment. Planning should ideally be done before the individual crosses over to the world of retirement. The most important part of the planning is to necessitate a smooth transition into the new phase in life. However, many people attempt to develop a retirement plan after experiencing what the transition is like, and sometimes after realising that they could have made misinformed choices as they settle down. Some of these misinformed choices are likely to

Legal Process Essay Example for Free

Legal Process Essay The scenario for this paper states that John is an employee in a private sector organization and he wants to file a discrimination complaint against his employer. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and explain in detail what the legal process is for filing such complaint. The paper will also explain the part that the courts play in these types of complaints. Every case is different so the paper will explain how these laws potentially apply to John. John has decided to file a discrimination complaint against his employer. However, John is not sure how or what needs to be done in order to do this so he must first do some research. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was created to protect employees like John from discrimination violations. The laws against discrimination at work include race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability (Bennett Anderson, 2007). All these laws are enforced by the EEOC. The law states that if a person believes that they are a victim of discrimination they must first file a complaint through the EEOC before filing a lawsuit against the employer (EEOC, 2013). John has several ways that he can initiate the process of filing his complaint he can choose to file in person at a nearest location or he can file through mail. He will need to disclose some information in writing like his name, phone number, employer’s name, address, and a brief but detailed summary of the violation/s with dates and locations. All these things are very important because the EEOC can determine whether or not an investigation is needed. According to the EEOC John has 180 days to file a complaint but if in his state there are any laws against discrimination it can extended to 300 days to file a complaint. Also it is important to know that in some cases there are state and local laws that prohibit discrimination in the work place so the EEOC will automatically file the charge with the Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPA) which protect the victim under both federal and state law (EEOC, 2013). Now that John is ready to file his complaint with the EEOC he know just needs to wait for them to handle the charge. The EEOC must notify the employer within 10 days of receiving the complaint. Depending on the case that John may have the EEOC may offer that both parties participate in mediation as a way to resolve the issue. However if the case is more severe and or if this doesn’t resolve the issue the case will be given to an investigator for the case to be looked into with more detailed (EEOC, 2013). The EEOC will establish the priority level of the claim and if any laws have been broken. Of course at any point during the process a settlement may be pursued; however if it is not workable, the investigation will carry on and once the investigation is complete the EEOC will make a decision on the case. If the investigation determines that there was no breach of the law the discrimination charges will be dismissed. Notification is then provided to John as a right to sue and he may then file a lawsuit against his employer. In some cases there may not be an investigation because the EEOC finds that John has very little evidence and that there really was no discrimination violation they may choose to close the complaint. If that is the case John would also be notified by mail and he has the option of filing a civil lawsuit against his employer. Once John decides to proceed with the civil lawsuit the courts would now get involve. At this point it would be a good idea for John to hire an attorney who specializes in employment law. In this type of lawsuit the employer can request to have a jury present, if that is the case the jury would listen to both sides of the story, their evidence and their witnesses. A judge will make the final decision in instances such as this. If however, the losing side feels the verdict is unjust they are still able to request an appeal of the verdict. The Appeals Court renders the final judgment except in cases in which a petition is filed with the US Supreme Court. Discrimination has become difficult to distinguish in the global workplace, for the protection of the employee and the employer; businesses must be mindful of relevant state and federal employment laws and the procedure for tackling discrimination. Companies must communicate the â€Å"no tolerance policy† for discrimination to all employees because employee rights are esteemed. Discriminatory acts can be found in varied workplace environments, the employment hiring process, the office setting, and even during the termination of an employee. When a discrimination suit is filed against an employer, the process can be long and extensive. These discrimination laws have been made available to employees to use when individuals believe that a violation of employee rights has occurred in the workplace.

Literature Review on Pricing Strategies and Theories

Literature Review on Pricing Strategies and Theories Abstract: This purpose of this research is to study how the organization decides the price for the products. As price is considered has a very high sensitive factor of an organisation. In this study we are going to see the role of Pricing, different methods of pricing and effects of pricing on organisation and consumer behaviour. The pricing is explained with literature review followed by critical evaluation and ends with solution with valid recommendation. Introduction: Customers and determination of price is necessary for every organization. As this both customers and price have a high relation to the demand for products. Even there is a small increase in price levels it will highly affect the demand for the product and the organization profit. The price determines what products/services could be produced and in what quantities. Secondly it determines how to produce and finally whom to produce. There organization should be cautious while altering the price for the goods and services by changing the quantity, quality and by providing premiums or discounts, acceptable form. When there is raise in demand for service will led to increase in prices, which in terms led to concern of public or governmental activity. There are different ways in which the price of the products is determined. These are the foremost strategies that business use like Competition based pricing, Cost-plus pricing, Creaming or skimming, limit pricing, Loss leader, Market-oriented pricing, Penetration pricing, Price discrimination, Premium pricing, Predatory pricing, Contribution margin-based pricing, Psychological pricing, Dynamic pricing, Price leadership, Target pricing, Absorption pricing and Marginal-cost pricing. As their name it explains the method of pricing. Methods: Pricing was considered has a process towards achievement and to face the competitors of business. So that organisation thinks effects of pricing should be the targeted on returns. What method of pricing to be adopted. Whether adopted pricing would attract the customer and maximize the profit of business. Determination of price requires the organisation fully focused on the markets. These strategies should be considered while determining the price for the product. Aims Objectives: The aim of this research is to investigate; whether CRM supports the Marketing Strategies of an Organization. To conduct the literature review on Pricing Strategies To evaluate the methods of pricing theories To analyse the effects of pricing on returns. Literature Review: Customers are important for every organization. Numerous researches had been conducted for determining the method of pricing, which is explained in Literature review, has normally segregated in two divisions. First division will explain about a pervasive context about the, pricing and methods of pricing. The second part of this assessment deals with the previous related studies. Price is a highly sensitive factor of an organization. The standard economic analysis of pricing is based on the customers desire for the product its usually depends up on the income of the customer and other factors like ethnic origin. There are some consumers may pay high prices, while others willing to pay only lower prices. Instead of charging same price to all, the organization decided to charge different price for different customers as it will increase the business profit. This method of pricing is known as price differentiation. In earlier days sellers of perishable goods would sell the old products at low price instead of dumping or taking back home. If the price of competitor product was reduced it is necessary to reduce the price of the product, as it could create loss of customer and market. The pricing based on the competitors is competitive based pricing. The simplest method of pricing is cost-plus pricing. It just calculates cost of producing the product and adds on a percentage of profit to that price. Sacrificing high sales for gaining higher profit. Low volumes at high price. This is suitable for products that have short life cycles. It skims the profit from the market. It is known as market skimming. A monopolist set limit price to discourage others entry in to the market. Limit pricing is illegal in many countries. Loss Leader pricing strategy was illegal under EU and US. They sell the product below the cost, so the loss appears as public interest. It is similar to predatory pricing. Some business set their prices based on the analysis and compiled from the target ed market. This is known as Market-Oriented pricing. The organization set different price for the same product In the different segments to the market. This method is called Price discrimination Psychological pricing strategy the price is designed on the positive psychological impact on customers. For example, price of the product at  £3.95 or  £3.99, rather than  £4. Price leadership is an observation that usually one company would be the dominant competitor among several other companies. They will follow that soon. Target pricing strategy is calculated to produce a particular rate of return on investment for a specific volume of production. It is often used by public utilities and companies with high capital investment. These methods of pricing all the cost incurred are recovered. This is a form of cost-plus pricing. The practice of setting the price of a product to equal the extra cost of producing and an extra unit of output is marginal-cost pricing. The impact of price e lasticity should be considered while deciding the price. The degree of price elasticity focuses on the proportionate changes. The percent of change in price would be something less than the fall in sales is inelastic price. In case of price elastic the percent of change in quantity demanded greater than change in price. Slow inflation rates from other countries economies have led to the need for new approaches of pricing strategies. Five factors to be considered on determining the price are Demand, cost, competitive factors, corporate profit and market objectives and regulatory constraints. Previous Related Study:- Combivir and Trizivir case study â€Å"Some of the more dominant groups with observe to pricing in the HIV market are patient advocacy groups. Distinct patients on other condition, save probably cancer, HIV/AIDS patients are predominantly mobilized and oral when it arrives to treatment. This had guided to the growth of a widespread expanded admittance programs for products in development, and then patient assistance programs for new, costly products. Companies are well aware of the benefits of maintaining a positive relationship with the patient base. Combivir was launched essentially the same price as the some of the components. This not only replicates GSKs desire to make new treatments accessible to patients at a reasonable price, but also that mixture therapy was flattering more widespread and that physicians did not need a discounted price to justify recommendation. However, clearly single-agent therapy is still commonly used, as lamivudine unit sales (not including combinations) continue to be greater than Combivir unit sales. Only around the end of 2002 do lamivudine unit sales begin to decrease. Trizivir was also priced similarly at the some of its components prices, indicating the companys aspiration to keep it available to treatment for immature patients. GSK held Combivirs price the same in most markets when Trizivir was launched. The intension was not to have Trizivir cannibalize Combivir patients. Combivir still had a low price relative to Trizivir which would continue to make it attractive to many physicians. Sales of Trizivir quickly slowed as a result of clinical results showing that the three drugs used in the fixed-dose combination were not as effective as other three product combinations. Combivir has not had similar clinical setbacks and has continued to enjoy strong, but flat, sales.†( Combivir and Trizivir case studies) In this case study Combivirz has adopted the market oriented pricing method and penetration pricing hence it can be able to survive in the market after the tough competition with Trirzivir. Determination of price is considered as important to survive in the market and to gain consumer interest. Borden Company vs. Federal Trade Commission In 1958 the FTC issued a complaint against Borden Company for selling the same products to different customers at a different price and ceased price discrimination on goods. Tom Nagle, Reed Holden, Kent Monroe, Eric Mitchell had trail the price leadership and companies following these ideas but when it is tested with the scientific methods invented like hypothesis does not fetch the expected results. Michael V.Marn, Eric V. Roegner and Craig C.Zawada has analyzed about price wars in the book The Price Advantage explains how to react for the change in price of competitors. They said that make the customers focused on the benefits, do not over spend on advertising, gaining the market share rapidly from one or two competitors. Rapid changes in the market almost set the price war. Do not react until you understand the reason for price cut of competitor. If you dont understand the well delay your response until you understands the facts. Do not react with lower price as it affects the organization. They suggest when there is need in change of price it is necessary to analyze the consequences as it could affect the market and over all organization. â€Å"Thomas Nagle and Reed Holden outline 9 laws or factors that affect buyers price compassion with respect to a given purchase in the book The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing. o Reference Price Effect Buyers price sensitivity for a given product rises the elevated products price relative to apparent alternatives. Perceived alternatives can vary by buyer segment, by occasion, and other factors. o Difficult Comparison Effect Customers are less sensitive to the price of a known / more reliable product so they would have complexity of comparing it to possible alternatives. o Switching Costs Effect The higher product-specific on investment a buyer must make to switch suppliers, the less price responsive that buyer is when decide between substitutes. o Price-Quality Effect customers are less sensitive to price they think higher prices seems higher quality. Products for which this result is particularly relevant. o Expenditure Effect Buyers are more prices sensitive as soon as the expense accounts for a large percentage of buyers obtainable income or budget. o End-Benefit Effect The effect refers to the relationship a given purchase has to a larger overall benefit, and is separated into two parts: Derived demand: The more responsive buyers are to the price of the end benefit, the more responsive they could be to the prices of those products that contribute to that benefit. Price proportion cost: The price amount of cost refers to the percent of the total cost of the end benefit accounted for by a given element that helps to produce the end benefit (e.g., think CPU and PCs). The lesser the given components portion of the total cost of the end benefit, the less sensitive buyers will be to the components price. o Shared-cost Effect The smaller the portion of the purchase price buyers must pay for themselves, the less price sensitive they will be. o Fairness Effect Buyers are more sensitive to the price of a product when the price is outside the range they perceive as â€Å"fair† or â€Å"reasonable† given the purchase context. o The Framing Effect Buyers are more price sensitive when they perceive the price as a loss rather than a forgone gain, and they have greater price sensitivity when the price is paid separately rather than as part of a bundle. Critical Evaluation: The research conducted on the supermarkets the Cost effects all the other coefficients are important and reliable with well-mannered approximate reproduction, representative to contributing extra services produce extra costs bear by the supermarket chains. The approximate limitation for the long-run charge components designate that 0.15% and 0.21% (respectively) of the extra long-run cost for effective food and non-food services is owed to milk sales, while the amount of the additional cost of operating a store that is 1,000 square feet /larger owed to milk sales is 0.13%. Also, although the additional long-run cost module does not collision the short-run marginal cost, at the model averages, for each gallon of milk sold the long-run marginal cost of services is approximate equal to $0.0216 for the in-store services model and $0.0158 for the store-size model. Overall, the results confirm Ellicksons (2006) finding that retailers provide Quality with an augment in fixed costs, followin g Shaked and Suttons (1987) endogenous cost model.( Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management) The estimated marginal collision of retail services on milk prices (at the sample averages). Affects milk prices positively, in constancy with preceding answer (Cotterill 1999; Bonanno and Lopez 2004). spotlight on the in-store services model results first, food services show a marginal price-increasing effect roughly one-third that of non-food services. While the consequence of non-food services on milk prices is mainly due to marginal cost changes, the effect of food services is mainly due to market power. It should be noted that there are considerable economies of scope produce by increases in food services.( Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management) A limitation of the analysis offered in this article includes dependence on strong supposition based on the nature of supermarket competition. Prospect research might expand the analysis by comforting the short-run monopoly postulation to unscramble the communications between strategic pricing and service provision. Another noticeable limitation is the use of burly functional forms used for the demand and cost functions. The use of more elastic functional forms, although hard to apply with the available data. ( Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management) First, the study was limited to one service setting and one customer segment. Additionally study transversely other services that apply revenue management and other customer segments is needed to institute the simplify aptitude of our conclusion. Secondly, the data used in the revise were obtained from an existing survey database. Research using review instruments specially intended for a field study should also be carry out to determine the robustness of the results. Finally, the study did not, nor was it planned to; detain all of the qualifications of revisit meaning. In particular, there may be extra factors power the relationship between price and customers return intentions. An attractive research area to believe is role of customer discernment of value in the price-return intentions relationship. The effect of affective commitment on the price-return intentions relationship also merits examination. (Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management Vol. 7, 4 357-369) the steps needed to appropriately implement the strategies: breaking down pricing decisions by region or by customer segment; constructing result on rigid data filter during complex software; basing optimal prices on inventory positions, offering manufacture capacity, demand predictions and aggressive market conditions; and creating â€Å"sense and respond† mechanisms that allow them to test often and react fast. Conclusion: The pricing strategy is considered as the success factors for the organization. Now we know the consequences of pricing decision are likely to have on customers purchasing behaviours—and on financial performance, regionally or globally, short term and long term. They could plan more assertively for the potential on more calculated risks and creation of fewer guesses. Finally, effective pricing is the most excellent way to make the major difference in earnings while conserving unit sales and market share. It is, in effect, the last major step on the path to high performance. References: †¢ The price is right . . . isnt it? Greg Cudahy and George L. Coleman †¢ Competition effects of supermarket services Alessandro Bonnanno and Rigoberto A.Lopez †¢ The effect of price on return intentions:Do satisfaction and reward programme membership matter? Breffni M. Noonen and Daniel J. Mount 2008 Palgrave Macmillan, 1476-6930 Vol. 7, 4 357-369 Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management †¢ The price advantage By Michael V. Marn, Eric V. Roegner, Craig C. Zawada †¢ Pricing on purpose: creating and capturing value By Ronald J. Baker

Stakeholder Management and Culture Management

Stakeholder Management and Culture Management The process of identifying and managing project stakeholders and culture is one of the most important processes in project implementation because not only is project success judged by stakeholder satisfaction, but because every stakeholder makes an essential contribution to the project (Verzuh 2008, p.48). Beside stakeholder identification and management, project managers are required to establish a balance between implementing global standards and responding to local needs in their efforts to effectively manage the diffusion of stakeholder principles and practices (Nicolod 2007, p.484). Despite the great importance associated with stakeholder and culture management processes, these thorny processes or areas in project implementation have received less attention especially when comparisons are done relative to other areas that depend on these processes (Sharp et al. 1999, p.1). Such areas include, but are unlimited to, scenario-based requirements and user involvement in the project development stages. It was from this perspective that this paper decided to make the following contributions on this topic: first, a study was developed based on the theoretical framework involved in the identification and management of stakeholder relationships. The project went on to review literature that helps its users to understand clearly the balance that needs to be struck between understanding of organizational culture and stakeholder management. It is from the above perspective that this case study aimed to study the role and the influence of various stakeholders in the implementation of projects. In tackling this case study, the author began by stating the aim the need for studying this topic. This was followed by a review of the literature. The literature review clearly established who the project stakeholders were. In addition, their role and their influence in the project were clearly identified. Moreover, the literature review defined organizational culture and went on to establish its link with stakeholder management. After reviewing the literature, the author, in a holistic view, explored how a reputable Saudi technology firm, Zuhair Fayze Partnership (ZFP), identified and managed its stakeholders during a multi-million project implemented by the company. This project, which was undertaken in the year 2001 involved the analysis, design, development, installation and commissioning of a Facilities Information System to the Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAF)- a renown aviation branch that services all Saudi Arabias Airbases. Having explored on the findings from his study, the author conclude by giving a critical analysis of his experience. It should be highlighted that this case study, having been compiled after the implementation of a military IT project, presented a unique structure and experience. This was so because it involved the development of a military system and as such some of its details could not be studied openly due to security restrictions. As such, some knowledge gaps might be present in this case study thus constituting its major limitation. 2.0 Aim and rationale of this paper This papers aim was to identify who the key project stakeholders were, how they were managed and how their expectations come to influence the success of the FIS project. In addition, the author assessed how organizational or national culture shaped the expectations of key stakeholders. All these were intended to help him and the users of this paper to develop suitable and effective stakeholder management strategies in their current or future project assignments. More so, in writing this paper, it should be noted that the author was motivated by the fact that despite the many developments in techniques and development tools to effectively manage projects, several projects have still experienced difficulties that have affected their overall quality leading to time and cost overruns. Mohammed (2006) in reviewing Morris and Hough (1987) research on an estimated 3500 projects established that overruns were the norm in project implementation since they ranged between 40 to 200 percent. The figure below depicted general statistics associated with project success from this research. Parameter %-age rating Succeeded 29 Failed 18 Challenged 53 Table 1 showing the statistics of project success and failure Pie chart 1 depicting the statistics of project success and failure 3.0 Literature review 3.1Project stakeholders Singleton (2007) defined stakeholders as organizations or individuals who are actively involved in projects and whose interests may be negatively or positively affected in the courses of completion or execution of these particular projects (p.12). According to him therefore, stakeholders were made up of two categories; indirect stakeholders and direct stakeholders. Indirect stakeholders were summed up by those individuals who, despite having some level of influence or interest in the operations of the business, were not directly involved in the operations of the project. On the other hand, direct stakeholders were composed of individuals who were directly involved in the operations of any project lifecycle. As such, they were affected by the particular project, had the power to influence it or had stakes in the successful completion of the project. The following figure 1 showed the levels of stakeholder influence and interest. High Interest Manage them closely Keep informed of project operations High Influence Low Influence Keep satisfied Monitor their operations Low Interest On their part, Walker and others (2008), in trying to establish a valid description of who a stakeholder was, discovered that stakeholders were groups or individuals who possessed some right aspects or interest in the operations of a project and thus contributed to or were impacted by say, the outcome or the work of the project (p.648). To them, stakeholders could be classified into four groups namely; upstream stakeholders, downstream stakeholders supply-chain partners, project team stakeholders and external stakeholders. Figure 1 below showed these groups of project stakeholders. Walker and his group (2000) in assessing the influence of project stakeholders and their mapping by project teams, came to the conclusion that identifying stakeholders could help trigger a course of investigation that leads to a better understanding of the nature and types of power and influence that may be exerted on, within and to project management teams (p.648). Frooman (1999) expounded on this point by stating that in identifying the project stakeholders, the project managers were likely to determine whether their projects were to be awarded with the needed resources. On their part, Post and others (2002) though acknowledging Freemans popularised description of a stakeholder as the interests and entities that are either involuntarily or voluntarily involved in a firms operations, went on to develop their own stakeholder view that stressed on the need for stakeholder relationships in any project that involved creation of any organizational wealth (p.1). In addition, Sharp and others (1999) just simply defined a stakeholder as any individual or group who affected or were affected by achievement of a projects objectives (p.1). They went ahead to list various categories of stakeholders as including managers of a project, end-users, engineers involved in system analysis, design and development, customers who are going to make use of the developed system, external bodies for instance system regulators, domain experts and many more (Sharp et al.1999, p.1-2). The three scholars expounded on their definition by giving another perspective that stakeholders may be composed of three categories namely those external on the project team; but who are internal in the organization, those internal on the project team and those who are external to both the organization and the project team (Sharp et al. 1999, p.2). 3.2 Understanding organizational or national cultures Weiss (2008) defined organizational culture as the shared values and meanings as held by organizational members in common, and are articulated and practised by an organizations leaders (p. 300). To Weiss therefore, corporate culture is transmitted through: Leadership styles and values as espoused and practised by organizational leaders. The heroes and heroines that the company rewards and holds up as models (Weiss 2008, p.300). The rights or symbols valued by organizations. The way of communication that exists between project heads and their stakeholders. Weiss (2008) went ahead to highlight that though organizational cultures were both invisible and visible, informal and formal, project managers needed to study and understand organizational cultures through observation, listening and interacting with project or organizational stakeholders. Furthermore, they could study organizational culture in the following ways: studying an organizations physical setting and reading company policies to familiarise themselves with its expected norms or behaviours. On his part, Chinyio (2007) defined organizational culture as involving the level of deeper and basic beliefs and assumptions as shared by the members of organizations, that unconsciously operate and defined in the basic taken for granted fashion, as organizations view of themselves and their environment (pp.176-177). Ideally, House and his group (2002) in their GLOBE research program theoretically defined organizational culture as any shared motives, beliefs, values, interpretations and identities or meanings of important events that emerge from most common member experiences and are passed across generations of age (p.5). Furthermore, in helping us to broaden our understanding of culture, Schein (1996) highlighted that culture manifested itself at 3 levels namely the level of deep tacit assumptions, the level of espoused values that reflected on what a group wished to be and the day to day behaviour. For any project success, project implementers needed to have a clear understanding of all the identified levels. From their perspective, Osland and Bird (2000) noted that there was a tendency for observers to confuse individual with group values (p.69). As such, there was need for project expatriates to carry out keen observations to identify the variance in behavioural norms for individuals, organizational cultures, subcultures as well as changing sections of the society (p.70). More so, Schein (1996) when analyzing why innovative projects failed to proliferate and survive noted there was lack of alignment amongst the following categories of culture: the operator culture which existed amongst the subordinates of an organization, the engineering culture which existed amongst the middle level managers and the executive culture which was present amongst the company top management (p.9). 3.3 The link between stakeholders and organizational culture Studies on project management have shown that coupled with leaderships, organizational cultures are central to projects operating efficiency and overall effectiveness. Studies have generally revealed that cultures are the glue that holds other organizational dimensions (strategy, structure, people and systems) together (Weiss 2008, p.300). Project success will only be achieved if project leaders come to associate themselves with modelling, building and helping to sustain ethical and legal organizational or national cultures via comprehensive and properly defined compliance and ethics programs. 3.4 Key steps in stakeholder management Singleton (2007) identified the following as the key steps in any stakeholder management process: Identification of key stakeholder groups Determination of stakeholder influences and interests Development of management strategies for each identified groups. On his part, Gibben (2010) postulated that before going ahead to implement any project, project leaders or managers needed to take into account the following issues (p.14); Clearly identify project stakeholders; Gather key data or information of the identified stakeholders; Use the collected data to determine or identify stakeholder priorities; Establish the strengths and weaknesses of the various stakeholders; Identify the stakeholder support; Predict the stakeholder behaviours. This can be determined by studying organizational culture and finally; Prepare a stakeholder management strategy. All the above stages can be summarized under stakeholder analysis approach. Tellingly, Strong and Rath (2005) argued that the approach of stakeholder management contained three key steps namely; stakeholder identification, stakeholder analysis and stakeholder planning (p.173). Furthermore, on their part, Carayannis and his group (2005) stated the following as the key steps involved in stakeholder management (p.184). Identifying and classifying the stakeholders of the project (against, neutral, for) and analyzing their possible project impacts. This could be done using the project lifecycle. Isolating and analyzing project stakeholders with any likely negative impacts Incorporating and involving key primary project stakeholders (included and not limited to the clients, labour union, suppliers, contractors, consultants, and government agencies) in the project plan and in every subsequent phase of the project Ensuring that the required information is regularly availed to the identified stakeholders at appropriate times. This will ensure that the identified key stakeholders will clearly concur with project objectives leading to a successful completion of the particular project. 3.5 Stakeholder management strategies These are the approaches used by project managers in minimizing the influences caused by the identified project stakeholders. From his research, Karlsen (2002) found out that in most projects, systematic or formal stakeholder management strategies did not exist (p.22). From his research, stakeholders were managed on a random basis since there were no plans, processes, methods or well-functioning strategies. As a result, project managers decided on the best solutions of managing any identified stakeholder weaknesses. However, Wolper (2004) went ahead to propose the four generic strategies of managing stakeholder relationships (p.172). These were: Collaborating cautiously with the stakeholders who were found to have a mixed blessing relationship on the project. Involving and trusting the supportive stakeholders Implementing defensive strategies that are pro- active in nature for the non-supportive stakeholders; and Monitoring the stakeholders with little/marginal relationships with efficiency. 4.0 Project case study 4.1 How ZFP identified and managed its key stakeholders This being a military technology system, ZFP used a different but distinct approach of implementing the system. The process of stakeholder identification was the third in its project implementation stages after the definition of the strategic issue and the determination of underlying factors. The following is a detailed analysis of how ZFP carried out this important but mostly overlooked process of project implementation. The company project implementation committee started by identifying the key stakeholders. In doing this, the committee categorised the stakeholders into two broad categories. These were the primary and secondary stakeholders. The following were identified as belonging to the primary stakeholder category: Customers or users of the FIS system (Saudi Arabian air force soldiers) Project managers, supervisors and engineers from ZFP and RSAF. RSAF shareholders (all Saudi Arabian air force bases: Dhahran, Tabuk, Taif, Al Kharj and Khamis Mushait and the Saudi Government) Suppliers/contractors/subcontractors of hardware and any software packages Project steering committee Primary stakeholders were considered as those individuals or groups who had key interests in the FIS project. As such, they were likely to be affected by the operations in the FIS project lifecycle. On the other hand, secondary stakeholders were described as those individuals who had no or very few interest on the FIS project. They were considered vital in this project since their actions may have, in one way or another influenced the quality of the general system that was to be developed then. For instance, the steering committee had pointed out that the Saudi Arabian media constituted a key secondary stakeholder since any negative covering on this huge public and military project might have caused great damage to the successful completion of this project. This was so because negative publicity towards the project may have raised public outcry which would have resulted in the Saudi treasury suspending the financing of this complex and multi-million FIS project. Besides the media, other individuals or groups who made it to the secondary stakeholder category included and were unlimited to the following: The licensing agency (Malath Cooperative Insurance Reinsurance) Saudi Arabian environmentalists The general Saudi Public Professional organizations in the Saudi Kingdom for instance, Legalized Institutes for Project management in Saudi Arabia. Competitors (those firms who lost their bids to deliver the system) Anyone one who validly claimed to have a stake in the FIS project Having successfully identified FIS project stakeholders, the steering committee left it to the project manager to analyse their influence and create a management strategy for this project. As such, the project manager, after close consultation with project supervisors, developed the following as the stakeholder analysis and management strategy: Stakeholder(s) Interest/Issues of concern Action (s) Saudi air force soldiers, RSAF shareholders, management teams and project engineers They were to be the key users of the system and as such were to provide a supportive relationship. Were low as potential threats but high on ensuring potential co-operation. Since they had a supportive relationship, their relationship management was likely to be managed on a rare basis. ZFP was to involve these supportive stakeholders in all its relevant project issues. The licensing agencies, environmentalists, professional organizational, competitors and the general Saudi public These were to present three types of relations; mixed blessing, non-supportive and marginal stakeholder relationship. As a result of these relationships, they were to constitute high potential threats and thus needed high potential co-operation from the project managers to address their hidden and bad intentions. These categories of stakeholders were to be managed through cautious, monitoring and proactive defence strategies. Besides using these strategies, generic strategies, most appropriate to any new diagnostic category, was to be adopted. For instance, instead of ZFP defending itself against negative publicity, it was to develop a high quality system at an affordable competitive price. The quality of the FIS system would thus speak for itself leading to the non-supportive relationships losing their credibility in their efforts to dispute the project Table 2 showing how ZFP analysed and developed stakeholder management strategy 4.3 How stakeholder expectations affected the successful delivery of the project. As noted earlier, the declaration that a project was successful can only be justified if the specific project clearly answered to the needs or expectations of most, if not all, stakeholders. In this technology project, the identified primary and secondary groups of stakeholders had their own unique expectations which were clearly and appropriately addressed by the overall project manager (with the assistance of the steering committee members). 5.0 A discussion of my experience 5.1 Identification of key stakeholders As previously highlighted, the steering committee that was chosen to oversee the implementation of this huge IT project had, in liaison with the project manager, held several sessions in the initial stages upon which key FIS project stakeholders were identified. From the workshops held, it was established that two categories of stakeholders claimed ownership to this project. These were the primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders were constituted by Saudi air force soldiers, RSAF shareholders, project management, project engineers, project suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors amongst others. Secondary stakeholders were constituted by the licensing agency (Malath Cooperative Insurance Reinsurance), environmentalists, professional organizational, competitors and the general Saudi public. 5.2 Understanding key stakeholder expectations Other than the RSAFs managing providing a detailed description of the requirements of the FIS system that was to be developed, the project manager and the steering team had to do their best to ensure that additional funds were provided to the various phases of the project on a need basis. Moreover, the management from both companies were frequently updated on the status of the FIS project amongst other stakeholder expectations. In the end, a hi-tech Facilities Information System was delivered, installed and commissioned to the delight of the many project stakeholders. 5.3 The assessment of key stakeholder influence The FIS project steering members and the overall project manager carried out a comprehensive analysis of the two categories of stakeholders. This was done with the main intention of determining their influence and the need to counter it. During this analysis stage, four stakeholder relationships were identified by the management team. It is from these relationships that the influences of these stakeholders were determined. The two types of relationships were: The supportive relationship which was constituted by all the primary stakeholders as listed above. This category of stakeholders posed a low potential threat to the success of the FIS project since they fully supported the aim and goals of the FIS project. They thus worked hard to help achieve the project aim and goals. The non-supportive relationship was made up of a few secondary stakeholders for instance the competitors. They formed a most distressing relationship and as such were high potential threats. 5.4 management of key stakeholder influence In managing the influences of key stakeholders, the steering committee members decided to use a collaborative and proactive defence to address the influence of the non-supportive stakeholders. In adopting this strategy, the management intended to turn the negative non-supportive relationship into a supportive stakeholder relationship. For example, when environmentalists tried to inquire on the suitability of the FIS system in conserving the environment, the steering committee took it upon them to organize a consultative and awareness forum where this specific stakeholder was comprehensively updated on the strengths of the FIS system in conserving and preserving the environment. At the conclusion of the forum, all stakeholders had joined the supportive stakeholder relationship. The influences of supportive stakeholders were addressed through a strategy that was dubbed as trustworthy involvement. This strategy placed little attention to the management of these stakeholders since they posed a low threat to the survival or successful completion of the FIS project. 5.5 Understanding the organisational culture Having established the above stakeholder management strategy, ZFP held meetings and reviewed organizational policies. This was carried with the main intention of understanding RSAFs organizational culture. From the reviewed reports and the observations made, it was established that most air force soldiers in the four airbases were technology gigs and as such, would comfortable interact with the high-tech FIS system that was being developed. 5.6 Understanding national culture characteristics of its team members and identified key stakeholders Being a Saudi Arabian technology firm and boasting a hundred percent Saudi workforce, ZFP did not experience difficulties in understanding cultural characteristics of the Saudi Kingdom. The steering committee had noted that most Saudis were tolerant, self-directed, efficient, logical, task-oriented, multi-tasking, collaborative, team-players and entrepreneurial. These characteristics were manifest in most stakeholders and were even identified by the project manager as the key strengths that propelled the FIS project to emerge a success. 5.7 How my observations compared with the literature The author had reviewed a lot of literature both from the class lectures and electronic sources. This literature had comprehensively covered amongst others the following objectives: To study some of the stakeholder concepts To understand the nature of stakeholder engagement in various projects To clearly define who the stakeholders were and go ahead to state their role in project implementation To understand the various stakeholder influences and how stakeholder management strategies were developed to counteract the established stakeholder influences. To define national and organizational culture and to establish their link with stakeholder management. Having participated in almost all project phases and keenly observed the various project activities, the author highlight that ZFP, as a reputable technology firm, was worth its reputation as one of the best Saudi Arabian technology firms. This is because of the systematic manner in which its employees implemented the various project phases. For instance, before identifying the key stakeholders, the steering team had clearly stated and established the strategy for this project. This had been followed by a comprehensive review of the factors influencing the project. The stakeholder management, though overlooked in most worldwide projects, received its value of attention with key stakeholders being clearly identified, their analysis being carried out and a management strategy established to counteract their influences. All this matched the concepts studied in the literature review. 5.8 Effective implementation of the project As the saying goes, it is always hard to achieve 100 percent success in any (project) endeavour. Despite the FIS project being declared a success, it should be noted that this project, if objectively analysed, had some weaknesses in its implementation stages. The following recommendation can be made on the stakeholder and culture management phases; which were the key themes of this study: The project management team should specifically identify the key stakeholder in any future project. This will help the management to carry out comprehensive analysis of the specific stakeholders. As such, they will adequately propose as many options of managing their influences. This is vital because it was noted that the management team had generalized some of their stakeholders. For example, instead of just listing competitors as secondary stakeholders, they should have gone ahead to identify who constituted these technology competitors. For instance, The Consolidated Contractors International Company had in many cases emerged as the greatest competitor to ZFP. There was thus need to establish a management strategy that could counteracted its influence in such multi-million technology projects. Conclusively, it should be emphasized that the presented case study has reviewed theoretical and highlighted the observations from a practical perspective. Through theoretical literature review, the author had the opportunity to expound on his knowledge on the categories of individuals that summed up the project stakeholders. Furthermore, the author found out that rational approach to stakeholder management involved exhaustive identification of stakeholders through mapping of their project roles. To add, the idea that the implementation of suitable communication processes to projects with multiple stakeholders reinforced my knowledge that communication was the key aspect of winning the support of project stakeholders. In the end, in identifying the limitation of this study, the author points out that the observations made in this project were restrictive in nature. This is because the author, being a learner, was not granted permission to study all project aspects due the restrictive measures that accompanied this military project. There is therefore need for further research to examine relationships between performance and corporate actions, key aspects which have been studied on a sketched outline in this case study.

Horatio †Unsullied Character in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE En

Horatio – Unsullied Character in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps even more innocent than Ophelia in Shakespere’s Hamlet is Horatio. This essay will treat his character in depth, including many literary critical evaluations.    Who is the play’s historian? None other than Horatio. In the first scene Horatio gives a detailed history of what has gone before regarding King Hamlet:    Our last king,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Whose image even but now appear'd to us,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thereto prick'd on by a most emulate pride,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dared to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For so this side of our known world esteem'd him--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did slay this Fortinbras; who by a seal'd compact,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Well ratified by law and heraldry,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Which he stood seized of, to the conqueror:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Against the which, a moiety competent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Was gaged by our king; which had return'd   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the inheritance of Fortinbras,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Had he been vanquisher; as, by the same covenant,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And carriage of the article design'd,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Of unimproved mettle hot and full,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shark'd up a list of lawless resolutes,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For food and diet, to some enterprise   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   That hath a stomach in't; which is no other--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As it doth well appear unto our state--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But to recover of us, by strong hand   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   So by his father lost: and this, I take it,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is the main motive of our preparations,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The source of this our watch and the chief head .. ... Press, 1992.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html    West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957.    Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"Hamlet: A Man Who Thinks Before He Acts.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Ed. Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. LaMar. N. p.: Pocket Books, 1958.      

Burnning Notebooks as Therapy Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Burnning Notebooks as Therapy For many people, the purpose of journaling is a sort of catharsis. With pen on paper, they are able to work through problems and issues. These problems are overcome simply by allowing time to process these tribulations enough to form sentences about them. I too use writing for this purpose. However, I often do not allow writing to be the last step in my emotional eradication. I was seventeen the first time I held a match to a completed page, but lighting the fire is the last step. Before a notebook can be burned, it must first be filled; this isn't an easy task. A Mead composition notebook contains one hundred sheets--or two hundred pages. The goal in essence is to write. As each word flows onto the paper through the pen, some event must set the precedent; be it long narrations of break-ups or pained descriptions of breakdowns, copious amounts of material must pave the way--the emotionally passive life cannot be translated onto paper. However, for those who can complete the task, the reward comes when the back cover is closed. It is then that the... Burnning Notebooks as Therapy Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing Burnning Notebooks as Therapy For many people, the purpose of journaling is a sort of catharsis. With pen on paper, they are able to work through problems and issues. These problems are overcome simply by allowing time to process these tribulations enough to form sentences about them. I too use writing for this purpose. However, I often do not allow writing to be the last step in my emotional eradication. I was seventeen the first time I held a match to a completed page, but lighting the fire is the last step. Before a notebook can be burned, it must first be filled; this isn't an easy task. A Mead composition notebook contains one hundred sheets--or two hundred pages. The goal in essence is to write. As each word flows onto the paper through the pen, some event must set the precedent; be it long narrations of break-ups or pained descriptions of breakdowns, copious amounts of material must pave the way--the emotionally passive life cannot be translated onto paper. However, for those who can complete the task, the reward comes when the back cover is closed. It is then that the...

George Frederic Handel :: essays research papers

George Frideric Handel   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Frideric Handel was one of the greatest composers of the late baroque period (1700-1750) and, during his lifetime, perhaps the most internationally famous of all musicians. Handel was born February 24, 1685, in Halle, Germany, to a family of no musical background. His own musical talent, however, began to show before his tenth birthday. He received lessons from a local organist, the only musical instruction he would ever have. His first job was as church organist in Halle. In 1703 he traveled to Hamburg, Germany. It was here, in 1704, he composed his first opera, Almira. After achieving great success he soon felt the urge to move on to Italy, the birthplace of operatic style. He first stopped at Florence in the fall of 1706. Later on in the spring and summer of 1707 and 1708 he went to Rome, and in the late spring of 1707 he made a trip to Naples. In Italy Handel composed operas, oratorios, and many secular cantatas; he ended his Italian trip with the spectacular success of his fifth opera, Agrippina (1709), in Venice. Other Composers of George Frideric Handel’s Time Bach was a German organist and composer of the baroque era, one of the greatest and most productive geniuses in the history of Western music. In 1756 Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria. One of the greatest composers in Western music tradition, Mozart began composing at age five. By the time he was 13, he had written sonatas, operettas, and symphonies. His works include The Marriage of Figaro , Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute. Beethoven was one of the world's greatest composers was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770, Beethoven began to lose his hearing in 1802. By 1817 he was totally deaf. Beethoven wrote classical pieces greater than anyone else of his time like his third Symphony, Eroica and his Ninth Symphony. The Ninth Symphony, composed in 1824, begins with â€Å"void music† which may have originated in the silence and gloom of Beethoven's own deafness, but the symphony then explodes with a wonderful array of sounds. One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed. Arts and Architecture The Taj Mahal in India was completed in 1648.

Theatre-Director’s Role

The director is the most important person in the play because without his visions the actors would have no purpose and nothing would go on. Without the director all would be at loss in the theatre. The director is the one who tell everyone what to do and installs the fear into the cast and other to perform at their best at all times. The director is the person who all the actors and stage crew and everyone tries to impress and they will always be on their best behavior while the director. I would want to be the director because everything is dependent on you and you are the one who calls the shots and I will maintain order on the set. The director is the one who knows the whole play and has to get the performers to perform and to make the show run as smoothly as possible. If the actors or stage coach were to get out of line or not do their job then the director would heard about it and not be do happy about it. The preparation for the director is a major issue. Many hours of perfecting the acting according to the script takes a strain when you have to account for everything that is going on. A director must having coping skills and still be enough and authoritarian to have respect from all the members of the cast. For me personally, I would have to learn how to work with people instead of getting mad and not wanting to work through problems that might occur during rehearsal and the whole production in general. The work and preparation that needs take place is tremendous, but the director has to put so much pre meditated work in that is not seen by many people, but its truly eveudent in the final production.

Compare and contrast Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe with Golding’s Lord of the Flies Essay

This judge will comp be the cardinal novels, Robinson Crusoe and schoolmaster of the go, to see how each author jobed the consign of view of auberge at the cartridge clip that they lived in. The nature of subt all in allowy will be viewed from their two different perspectives.Daniel Defoe published Robinson Crusoe in 1719 William Golding published Lord of the Flies in 1954. Both novels are the starting line simile works of their respective authors and they deal with the electric receptacle of being deprived of the surroundings of the purification that they are used to. The establisher is astir(predicate) a man, postwrecked rep cancel turn outedly, and how he survives in the seem of slavery and furiousry. The latter concerns a chemical group of schoolchildren whose plane crashes onto an island after a nuclear war breaks out and explains how they cope and motley as snip wears on with no sign of a bringing.Although the subject consequence of these two records is equivalent on the surface, in that respect is a contrast in the delegacy the two authors represent polish. Daniel Defoe was a novelist, journalist, businessman and spy. He defended William of Orange and Marys rise to the thr ane. He attacked the Church of England in his defend The Shortest Way with Dissenters and he was fined and imprisoned, so lightenary(prenominal) after his release he became a spy for the g everywherenment. He did not unhorse writing until he was almost sixty.The Robinson Crusoe write up was inspired by the actual be intimate of Alexander Selkirk on the island of Juan Fernandez from 1704 to 1709. Defoe wrote for the core and cut d possess classes and his realism and sentimentalism pleased them. At the time Britain was at the beginning of its Empire building phase and was entering a well-fixed Age. afterward the union with Scotland in 1707, inside trade prospered in this, the largest customs-free area in Western Europe. The aristocracy and uppe r middle class that controlled Parliament as well as controlled the lead chronicle employment and banking companies, so that the growth of mod enterprises was more than rapid than whatsoeverwhere else in Europe.The gradual control of the seas, the establishment of trading posts in exotic lands, and the policy of victorious overseas territories as booty from made wars en abled Britain to gain commercial benefits and to build the foundings largest empire. Inside Britain, the Industrial change was under way. New countries were seen as lands of probability and resource mevery citizenry emigrated to raise their fortune in tobacco suppuration or gold mining and so on There was a general credit line of optimism concerning mankinds time to come and when Crusoe is shipwrecked the however survivor on an unknown island he fights for survival not only in the physical sense but similarly in the sense that he fights for his thought that polish would conquer all difficulties .The principal(prenominal) character of Defoes book is Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe precious to go to sea and explore rather than follow his fathers wishes and practice law as it says on the first page My fatherdesignd me for the Law but I would be satisfied with vigour but press release to Sea. Robinson Crusoe repeatedly went out to sea, passive though after each expedition he always vowed to go post and stand by on land. Eventually he was shipwrecked on an island and this is where the chief(prenominal)(prenominal) narrative of the story begins.In this book he retains a solid sense of civilisation. This is shown after he rescues a savage from other savages who were about to eat him. He called him Friday after the day that he had met him, immediately taught him English and what his morals were I wishwise taught him to say Master, and then let him know, that was to be my nameI would hark back him Cloaths. Crusoe also warned Friday off cannibalism and when he posterior res cues a Spaniard and Fridays father from savages, he thought he had an recitation of society How like a King I looked The whole country was my own position so that I had undoubted Right of prescriptMy volume were perfectly subjugated I was absolute Lord and Law-giver. Order is brought out of chaos by civilisation.The Lord of the Flies, on the other hand, was written when the Cold war was under way, nuclear tensions were high and people were nervous and fearful about the forthcoming of mankind. The story reflects Goldings thoughts about civilisation what in his view it was really like when the coating was stripped away. The story begins with the aeroplane crashing and the group of schoolchildren diversitying a coincidence of a society with a democratically positive leader. However as the narrative progresses, civilisation slowly falls apart the main group of boys trace out savages and lives are taken. The book ends with all sense of civilisation being lost and the main cha racter tally for his life. Eventually civilisation is restored in the form of a Royal Navy cruiser, after spotting the signal that the boys initially lit, access to rescue them.The main character in Lord of the Flies is named Ralph and this story starts with other boy and him discussing what happened to the plane that they were in. After decision more children and no adults he called a meeting where he said, Seems to me that we ought to have a chief to decide things. This shows he had close to views on the need for planning. Jack, another boy, also had some sense of civilisation After all, were not savages. Were English and the English are best at everything. This is ironic, as later on he is the one to break all the rules and become the chief of the savages. Eventually they came to a divergency over a signal they had lit to try and attract rescue ships. Ralph treasured to keep it going, but the other children cherished to hunt animals. The group acted like a savage tribe and eventually chooses to fall by the wayside educate bread and butter one of Ralphs acquaintanceships, Piggy, offers the choiceWhich is unwrap to be a take in of painted niggers like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? Which is mend to have rules and agree, or to hunt and knock down? Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and respite things up?The group then killed him and Ralph was caterpillar tread for his life. He represents a leader of a democratic society, which soon collapsed. One chanced nothing What could they do? Beat him? So what? extinguish him? A stick sharpened at both ends. At the end, when an ships officer from the rescue ship asks him who was in charge, he state himself the leader again knowing that no one would dare challenge him in the face of civilisation protected by provide. Ralph had no power in the story to protect his civilisation. Power lay with those who had the branchs.In Robinson Crusoe gentlemans gentlemanity freedom, based o n reason, is seen to be a higher way of living in the sixteenth and septenaryteenth centuries. Defoe notes the comportment of phantasmal differences and uses the situation to express his precept that freedom of belief should overrule religious bigotryWe had but third Subjects, and they were of three different Religions. My man Friday was a Protestant, his drive was a Pagan and a Cannibal, and the Spaniard was a Papist however, I allowd Liberty of Conscience throughout my Dominions.The opposite is true in Lord of the Flies as the group degenerates from civilised English schoolboys to primitive hunters only interested in the hunt and the kill. A pigs head on a perch represents religion in this story, similar to a totem pole that the native Americans and other similar tribal people used. This represents a slip by to a less reasonable form of existence.Lord of the Flies is similar to zoology Farm by George Orwell, in that the flavour of civilisation disappears and chaos reigns a s they stamp out the person in control and all the order that goes with it. By contrast, Robinson Crusoe is similar in outlook to The Swiss Family Robinson (Johann Wyss) in that both retain an hopeful outlook even after they have been shipwrecked on the island. In both of the above books they find and mould living areas, they capture wild animals to make a remotem and they both are religious. A further modern example of the Castaway plot is in TV shows like Big Brother or other situations where a group of people is stranded in an area and has to set to keep any semblance of control. The instancy seems to affect the group and behaviour is alter compared with what is normally seen in public society.The boilers suit feel of Robinson Crusoes plot is optimistic reflecting the times that Defoe lived in. Rene Descartes, a philosopher of the period, believed in the power of human spirit and reason over the force of nature. He said that authentic knowledge must come from human reas on alone. Defoe uses pirates and savages to symbolise a more primitive and uncontrolled force and uses Crusoes triumph over them to illustrate human spirit. Lord of the Flies, however, is pessimistic all semblance of civilised society is stripped away. The two world wars undermined to ability of human beings to interact and use reason. Advances in society and engineering science had destroyed faith in rationalism and a belief grew that if left to our own devices, humans would in essence backtrack to animals. In the former novel the main character was on his own and it was only later did he have any company. There was no ram on him to change into a savage and he could keep to the way he was without anything to read him.Lord of the Flies, however, portrays children like a pack of wolves, with the most influential ones being the leaders. When one of them started to backslide into savagery, he took the rest with him. William Golding fundamentally believes that all humans are offen sive inside, but it is just that civilisation puts pressure on you to keep in go down and if it were not for the controls present in civilised society, we would all be like the savage group. There was no Piggy to emit sense. There was no solemn fiction for debate nor dignity of the conch.The Navy officer who arrived to take them back to the waiting ship said, I should have thought that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that. Robinson Crusoe, on the other hand, arrived home with Friday (his servant) and immediately wanted to set shroud again for South America. My true friend the widow earnestly diswaded me from it, and so far prevaild with me, that for almost seven years she prevented my running abroad. This shows that he still had an adventurous spirit and was willing to go out again confident that he would be able to cope with any troubles.Both stories show that civilisation of necessity controls before it is effective rules need to be enf orced and reason alone whitethorn not be enough to fit survival. Crusoe may not have survived without his hoagy and Ralph had nothing to protect himself with when the symbol of civilisation (the conch) was broken. In spite of this similarity, Defoes book presents a positive outlook for the future of humanity as civilisation revolve across the globe, whereas Goldings work suggested that the weapon would be used not to detain civilisation, but to destroy it. Both reflect the world view of their times.