Information Technolgy Management in a Company Essay

Information Technolgy Management in a Company - Essay Example Management of information technology in this company is done at three levels that include the executive level, the administrative level, and the supervisory level. The executive level includes board of directors and Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s) who make decisions involving the technology to adopt according to the company’s needs. The administrative level involves staff who implements decisions from the executive level, and participate in using the adopted technology to run the organization. The supervisory level involves technology experts and consultants who examine and analyze the entire information technology system to ensure it is in line with the organization needs, and operates efficiently (Burgess, 2002). Decisions regarding IT development emerge when the current system does not suffice the needs of the organization. This may lead to an overhaul of the current system or improvement to ensure performance. This is determined through evaluation of the entire system to determine which area of the organization needs improvement in order to conform to the company’s requirements. Appropriate measures are communicated to the executive, which debates and decides on the best area to develop. This decision is effected by the administration, which implements the new technology in its current system (Burgess, 2002). A thorough evaluation of the current management system reveals areas of the company that need improvement. Advanced technological developments require improvement on these areas by adopting advanced technology to help in streamlining the under-performing areas according to the company requirements. Resources for different projects are allocated according to the company’s needs. Under performing areas are allocated more funds for development projects to streamline them with other units to ensure uniform performance (Burgess, 2002). Technological advancements

Observational Cinema And Forms Of Ethnographic Filmmaking Film Studies Essay

Observational Cinema And Forms Of Ethnographic Filmmaking Film Studies Essay There are many film styles which one can adopt to make an ethnographic film and observational cinema is one of them. Observational cinema includes direct and và ©rità © cinema which developed back in the 1960s. David McDougall was the most enthusiastic critical person when it came to observational cinema and also the most skilled person which used this type of ethnographic filmmaking. There are various implications when it comes to new technologies that anthropologists are still struggling with them till today. If it wasnt for the new technologies anthropologists would find it difficult to sync sound enabled documentaries because they really needed to show interactions in informal settings. Since, it never was possible to do so because an anthropologist needed a studio dramatization with fundamental fictionalization. This shows that there was a shift from the public to the private and also from the general to the particular. In the past, the pre-sync sound documentaries depended on a third-person commentary. The comments were used to contextualize the footage, to deliver the message and to elaborate sophisticated arguments captured by the anthropologist filmmaker. Commentary by the filmmakers was becoming to be seen as an unnecessary obstacle. This happened because when the viewers are watching a documentary with the natives speaking in their own native language, the editor has to cut certain comments and the meaning of the scene tend to be lost. Previous ethnographic films tend to combine the voice of the filmmaker with the voice o the film and also that in turn with voices film-as-text and the subjects in the film (McDougall David, 1998, pg5). Observational films are the most acknowledged from authors of ethnographic films, which hold on the traces of filmmaking in a form of documentary. Moreover, McDougall, points out that the know-how of understanding and viewing these types of observational films, is a very passive one which it shows the scene moving before you can notice it. This shows that the filmmakers view is important and challenging which is usually heard only through a voice. The 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s observational cinema, have given a new start for a style that is based on interviews, intercuts with archival or actuality footage. McDougall during an interview in the Film Teaching and the State of Documentary had used the same harmony sound of the new technology which had lead the way for observational cinema, both the early technology and the new technology are different in their character. When it comes to documentaries which are based on interviews, one notices the earlier style of observational filmmaking, which was going to takeover. Usually, in a standard dialogue, people are usually encouraged to say what they want and do, so that they can reflect what they had really experienced after a phenomenon. On the other hand, observational filmmakers, such as ethnographers, focus more on the life o the natives and how they actually live it, more like participatory observation. The person, who is doing the film, has to be sure that the saying or doing are drifting apart together. Somehow, the phenomenologist forgets that one should reflect on the person living his life rather than interpreting it. If certain scene have been staged for the camera, therefore they are not exactly real, may have similarities to those who act in the real self, but the final result wont be real. Observational cinema is more likely to think about the natives to get on with their own life when they are being observed rather than interrupting from their daily life. This type of filmmaking didnt want people to speak about themselves or to narrate their experiences especially when it is in front of the camera. David and Judith MacDougall influenced the ethnographic filmmaking even though through the years from 1970s onwards it continued to develop. Their films such as the African and the Australian films shows are still popular even today. Before this development in filmmaking, ethnographers didnt use subtitles when it comes to their documentaries, but the MacDougalls have introduced the subtitles in the ethnographic filmmaking rather than being talked over from the voice of the anthropologist. Subtitles had an important influence because the use of subtitles showed that the Non-Westerners, had also their intellectual lives, not as the Westerners used to think. As they used to shoot, MacDougalls still tied the natives to their physical and psychological limited perspectives. The aim of the film ethnographer is to capture the details through camera or photography but the fact that people are influenced by the presence of the ethnographer is rather an implication, therefore the ethnographer should have an aesthetic precision (McDougall David, 1998, pg9). There are various observation documentary films which reveal the real life which belong to a certain importance to journalism. This happens because in every society there is a public and political orientation. Now I will be discussing the implications they encountered during their practices with their new techniques in areas where tradition anthropology is enquired. From the start, David and Judith had their own ideas. They wanted to show the outline of every stage of their practice. The MacDougalls also wanted to show the differences they adopted from that of Jean Rouch, who altered the process of ethnographic exploration into a mystical or shamanistic journey, seeks to subvert the very kind of intellectual reasoning (Grimshaw, Ann, 2009 pg 122). Without any uncertainty, David MacDougalls writing reflects the recent cinematic ethnography development which they tackle realities of every day life of a particular society. Ann Grimshaw calls this technique as the metaphysic (Grimshaw, Ann, 2009 pg 122).. The work of David and Judith MacDougall will remain popular for their new way of observing things. Grimshaw tackles an epistemological perspective, where she argues that when someone questions something about knowledge needs to answer the question to its depth. The MacDougalls works such as films and writings are marked by a drive for clarity (Grimshaw, Ann, 2009 pg 122). Various anthropologists have searched for new methods to make documentary filming so that they can study Western societies. All they had to do was that they had to seek for something that renders things in their natural state, so that the film could make it to a larger audience. The method was that the ethnographer places him self as a filmmaker and therefore he views a certain type of ritual. The advantage of this method is that the ethnographers divided their methodological lines and observed while they also found the time to interact with the agency involved. On the other hand, Rouchs followers which are usually English speaking found it difficult to interact with the people of that particular society, unless an interview. Anthropologists by time started to adopt this observational filmmaking approach. The difference between certain other methods and this approach is that other methods tell very little to the audience and everyone can deduct his or her own story from the pictures seen. Films such as observational cinema involve people which they seem to be the owners of the wealth and effort of human experience (McDougall David, 1998, pg129). As a sort of implication the participants was seen as the co-conspirator in the filmmaking for not leaving the filmmaker out from his / her own film. This shows that the filmmaker gives much importance to the natives of the country rather than interrupting him/her self. When an anthropologist starts his or her research first s/he has to interact and then be accepted as part of that group. But when it comes to an anthropologist using the filming method, this builds a wall between the anthropologist and the natives because the anthropologist finds it difficult for him/her to show him / her self with the natives while being filmed unless there is someone else filming. Filmmaking doesnt leave much room for energy because all the energy is drained out with the camera so that the anthropologist can have an excellent result. This may lead for the anthropologist to reduce his or her participation with that society and therefore it is difficult for an anthropologist to recall whatever s/he has captured if not participated. Ethnographers are more likely to study non-Western Societies, which are very delicate to tackle and to study. The weakness of this situation is that since these societies are very weak, the ethnographer when it comes to film making should make him/herself as the recording instrument of history, which the pressure is on the ethnographer to weigh down the efforts to pursue more specific lines of inquiry (McDougall David, 1998, pg130). The situation leads the ethnographer to impersonate. Even though we, as spectators, are viewing people through the finalized film, as if they do not maintain anything on us, it is still up to us to understand whatever they mean by the things or rituals they make. Our situation combines a sense of immediacy with an absolute separation (McDougall David, 1998, pg130). With this observational method, the filmmaker is more likely to understand the meaning through a film or a picture rather than by understanding the meaning of the ritual by involving him / hers elf into the setting. The filmmaker became more of an eye of the audience, frozen into their passivity unable to bridge the separation between themselves and their subject (McDougall David, 1998, pg131). Films rather than tackling the abstract are more enthusiastic to tackle the specific, is deemed to be incompetent of serious intellectual expression. There are more than enough ethnographic films around which contains a doubtful interpretation, with a justification as a conclusion. Finally, Evans Pritchard also made a critique to Malinowski, where he stated that the themes are more than a descriptive synthesis of events. It is not a theoretical integrationthere is consequently no real standard of relevance, since every thing has a time and space relationship in cultural reality to explain everything else and from what ever point one starts on spreads oneself over the same ground (McDougall David, 1998, pg131). What Pritchard wanted to say was that it takes more from a descriptive observation to understand a situation; it takes to involve one self to understand what the meaning behind every situation is.

Free College Admissions Essays: Born to Write? :: College Admissions Essays

Born to Write? Two years ago, when I was a junior, I wrote the story "It Came from Catholic School," which I've included in my writing portfolio. My friends, fellow veterans of plaid uniforms and daily masses, liked it and encouraged me to submit it when the school magazine made its annual call for stories. They published the story and asked me to read from it at a reading primarily devoted to student poetry. Well, I was pretty nervous about this. The only readings I'd done before a crowd were Paul's letters to the Ephesians and the occasional Responsorial Psalm-and that wasn't my writing on the line. I grew more nervous as I sat there that night, listening to poem after poem on angst and ennui. I couldn't imagine how the students and faculty around me, who were all listening intently with properly contorted faces, would respond to my grotesque little girl. But I stood up and read a passage, a little shaky at first. Then I heard laughs, where I'd hoped I would, and also in places that surprised me. After the reading, people wanted to shake my hand. One woman thanked me for injecting a little levity into the proceedings. I felt satisfaction in my work as never before. At that reading, I realized I could write things that made people laugh-not just friends who felt obligated, but complete strangers. I really liked that feeling, and it's the promise of that laughter that motivates me to continue writing. I also realized that my work wasn't frivolous, that I could influence a reader, that my characters seemed real. For the first time, I felt that I could do what I really wanted to do-write. I look forward to progressing through a series of intimate workshops en route to a degree at your school. The interdisciplinary nature of the program appeals to me. Although I want to concentrate on Fiction, I would like to take screenwriting electives as well. I think my humor translates well to teleplays, and I would like to explore that avenue through the comedy writing courses your school offers. I aim to develop my natural strengths-humor, voice, and dialogue, while experimenting with the genres. Because I'm generally at the mercy of my characters, I can't outline a specific writing goal.

Miss Emily Grierson: Her Strength and Weakness as Portrayed in “A Rose for Emily”

In William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† Miss Emily Grierson has been perceived by her townsfolk as an icon and a monument, and that her family â€Å"held themselves a little too high for what they really were. None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau [†¦]† (Faulkner ). But deep down, Miss Emily was a broken woman, shielding herself from the changes of the world by repressing the changes and instead living in a make-believe world where she still was regarded as a woman of dignity. One of the symbolisms used by Faulker to exemplify Miss Emily's resistance to change is Miss Emily’s house which â€Å"[†¦] had once been [in] our most select street [†¦] Miss Emily's house was left, lifting its stubborn and coquettish decay above the cotton wagons and the gasoline pumps† (Faulkner ). This exemplifies Miss Emily's personality who has strived to prevent the changes brought about by time within the town that she lived in (Holland 295-96). Emily's resistance to change is also depicted in her actions after the demise of her father where she refused to have him buried and â€Å"told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body† (Faulkner ; Holland 297) as well as when she was visited by the present mayor of the town in order to remind her about the taxes Miss Emily needs to pay, she sternly told them that according to â€Å"Colonel Sartoris [†¦] I have no taxes in Jefferson† (Faulkner ) and suggested that they should speak with him regarding the matter. This left the mayor and his companions baffled since not only was there no record in their books about such agreement, but also the fact that Colonel Sartoris has been deceased for around ten years. When the townsfolk began to see Miss Emily with Homer Barron, this shocked the town since â€Å"a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northerner, a day laborer† (Faulkner ). They had attributed this to the fact that since in the past, â€Å"[†¦] her father had driven away [†¦]† (Faulkner ) all the young men who had tried to court Miss Emily during her younger years. However, â€Å"because Homer himself had remarked-he liked men and [†¦] that he was not a marrying man† (Faulkner ), Miss Emily took matters into her own hands in order to prevent the change in their relationship from occurring. Miss Emily’s behavior was attributed by the townsfolk as something that run in the family and a result of their proud nature by referring to â€Å"how old lady Wyatt, her great-aunt, had gone completely crazy at last [†¦]even with insanity in the family she wouldn’t have turned down all of her chances if they had really materialized† (Faulkner ). Taking a closer look at the story, Faulkner had given the reader some clues that drove Miss Emily into behaving in a manner that the townsfolk regarded as bizarre. Sigmund Freud had developed the concept of repression on the idea of self-deceit and forgetting things at will at the same time forgetting that such an act has even occurred (Billig 13). One reason for repression to occur is due to the feelings of distress felt by an individual. Distress may be attributed from undesirable changes from one situation to another. This includes changes in time family, economic security that emotional well-being of an individual (Mirowsky and Ross 112). Parents also contribute to the repression as seen in Freud's Oedipus complex where the child acquires habits from their parents. Since what the adult says is more important than what the child says and the parents would impose things on the child, the tendency of the child is to repress his or her desires (Billig 105). All of these are clearly seen in Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† Miss Emily’s repression was rooted on the upbringing she had received from her father. Her father indirectly imposed that he would be the only important person in the life of Miss Emily and repressed her longing to have relationships with other people in her town, specifically with the men. Miss Emily eventually carried this upbringing all throughout her life as â€Å"if that quality of her father which had thwarted her woman’s life so many times had been too virulent and too furious to die† (Faulkner ).

Gmo Lab Report

Introduction During the course of this lab, we explored whether or not certain processed foods contained Genetically Modified Organisms. Genetically modified food is an important subject in the world today. Ever since Flavr Savr came out with their tomatoes grown from genetically modified seeds in 1994 genetically modified foods has become ever more popular amongst distributors of produce (Mestel, 2013). The world’s population has grown by around one billion in the last decade (US Bureau of the Census).At this rate, Genetically Modified Organisms within food products will increase dramatically, but is this for the best? There are many risk factors that have been brought up with genetically modified foods such as potential increase of cancer according to a French study conducted by Dr. Giles Eric Seralini (Kilham, 2012). Genetically modified food is a popular subject among scientists, as it has been researched quite often. A study was done in the Czech Republic over a course of five years (2002- 2007) to test many foods, such as tomatoes and rice, for approved and unapproved Genetically Modified Organisms.Similar to the experiment conducted in the botany lab, the scientists involved in this study used a Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR, method to determine their results (Kyrova, Ostry, Laichmannova, Ruprich, 2010). Enrico Dainese and his partners did another similar study, on soybeans specifically. Like our experiment conducted on the cornbread mix, Dainese and his colleagues followed their PCR results with an Agarose Gel Electrophoresis (Dainese, Angelucci, De Santis, Maccarrone and Cozzani, 2004).An additional experiment closely related to the one performed by my partners and I is a study done in Brazil to better detect for GMO within their foods sold in markets a other places (Cardarelli, Branquinho, Ferreria, da Cruz and Gemmule, 2005). These articles show how GMO within foods are present all over the world. The reason my fellow group members and mys elf are conducting this experiment is to test a sample of processed food (in this case cornbread mix) for any existence of Genetically Modified Organisms using PCR methods. We hypothesize that the cornbread mixture has been genetically modified and herefore will show that in the results. Materials and Methods The purpose of this experiment is to use PCR method to identify genetically modified foods. During the experiment we, as a group, tested a known non- GMO food sample, oatmeal, along with our cornbread mix. We first weighed out 0. 77 g of the non- GMO oatmeal. We then proceeded to add 3. 85 ml (5. 00 ml per 1. 00 g) of distilled water (DW) to the oatmeal and ground them together with a pestle. The same was done with 0. 99 g of the cornbread mix and 4. 95 ml of DW. We pipetted each of these into separate screw-cap tubes consisting of 500 l of an InstaGene solution.These we incubated and centrifuged for approximately 5 minutes each. We then took six PCR tubes and filled them each up, 2 with the non- GMO oatmeal mixture, 2 with the cornbread mixture and 2 with a known GMO positive substance. The Non- GMO and GMO positives served as controls for the experiment. One of each of the two tubes contained 20 l of plant MM and GMO MM. The PCR tubes were then placed in a thermal cycler and after this we did an agarose gel electrophoresis to provide us with the necessary data received from bands that should’ve shown up n the gel. ResultsEven though we had followed procedure and accurately mixed the correct amount and type of DNA and Master Mix together, as shown in Table 1, we ended up getting shocking results. Photos were taken of the final gel slab the morning of the experiment (Fig. 1) and that same afternoon (Fig. 2). There seemed to be very little signs, if any, of Genetically Modified Organisms within the cornbread mixture. TABLE 1. PCR Tube Contents: Tube Number| Master Mix| DNA| 1| 20 l Plant MM (green)| 20 l Non- GMO food control DNA| 2| 20 l GMO MM (re d)| 20 l Non- GMO food control DNA| | 20 l Plant MM (green)| 20 l test food DNA| 4| 20 l GMO MM (red)| 20 l test food DNA| 5| 20 l Plant MM (green)| 20 l GMO positive control DNA| 6| 20 l GMO MM (red)| 20 l GMO positive control DNA| FIGURE 1. GMO Morning (AM) Agarose Gel Electrophoresis results FIGURE 2. GMO Evening (PM) Agarose Gel Electrophoresis results Discussion: The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether or not a sample of an off-brand cornbread mix had contained Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). As a result, we determined that there were no GMO traces located in the cornbread mix.This could be due to mistakes that may have been made during the procedure such as poor measuring or mixing, misreading results, or the cornbread mix really was not made with genetically modified foods. These results disprove our hypothesis, which stated that we believed there would be GMO traces found within the cornbread mix. It was disappointing to see that we had a negative resul t while many of the other groups received bold lines on their arag gel indicating that their foods contained high amounts of GMO. I was glad to see that not all processed foods contain it though as in with the results of the Czech Republic study.Out of all the tomatoes and papayas they tested, not one had resulted in the detection of GMO traces (Kyrova, Ostry, Laichmannova, Ruprich, 2010). We knew that the gel was accurately detecting GMO traces in foods by using the GMO positive control. Also to back up our assumptions that the Agarose Gel Electrophoresis results are accurate, it is shown in Dainese’s, and other’s, work. He used this method of GMO detection in his study to show that this is an effective way of detecting GMO traces (Dainese, Angelucci, De Santis, Maccarrone and Cozzani, 2004).It is interesting to see how genecticall modified foods are not only in the US but also in the Czech Republic and even in Brazil markets, where Cardarelli and his associates looke d into Roundup Ready soybeans and checked other substances for GMO traces (Cardarelli, Branquinho, Ferreria, da Cruz and Gemmule, 2005). Though I was disappointed to get negative results, I am happy that there was a variety in GMO traces within the whole lab. I don’t know if we would have learned much if we all got positive results. It would cause us to just assume that all processed foods have been genetically altered.The other researchers’ results intrigued me as to how different they all were yet they were all about the same thing in a sense. This lab has helped me realize how GMO within foods is affective all around the world and doesn’t just mean that the food is bigger or tastier, but has been affected by chemicals, both good and bad. Literature Cited: Cardarelli, Paola; Branquinho R, Maria; Ferreria T. B. , Renata; da Cruz P, Fernanda; Gemmule L, Andre. 2005. Detection of GMO in food products in Brazil: the INCQS experience. Food Control. 16(10): 859-866. Dainese, E; Angelucci, C; De Santis, P; Maccarrone, M; Cozzani, I. 004. A multiplex PCR-based assay for the detection of genetically modified soybean. Analytical Letters. 37(6): 1139-1150. Kilham, C. What You Need To Know About GM Foods Is Half The Story. 2012 Dec. 07. Forbes Magazine. Kyrova, V; Ostry, V; Laichmannova, L; Ruprich, J. 2010. AN OCCURRENCE OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODSTUFFS ON THE CZECH FOOD MARKET. Acta Alimentaria. 39(4): 387- 396. Mestel, R. 2013 Feb 23. Genetically modified foods: Who has to tell?. Los Angeles Times. US Bureau of the Census. Current Population Projections. 2013. www. census. gov.

Mp3 Players essays

Mp3 Players essays As of late, there has been a new force arising in the music industry, this being Mp3. There has been an explosion of interest in Mp3 primarily thanks to the internet. People can easily download nearly any song they want for the price of a phone call. Mp3 (short for MPEG-1, Layer 3) is compressed digital audio. Songs can be Ripped from a CD with ease. A typical .WAV (CD Audio) file would take up around 40 mb, whereas the compressed Mp3 version of the same song would take up a mere 4 mb. This is one of the reasons Mp3 is so popular. Until now Mp3 files have been confined to computers, which has been their major downfall, but over the last year the first generation of portable Mp3 players has arisen. These have been slow to take off in Australia but are experiencing huge sales internationally. One of the advantages in Mp3 players is that they have no moving parts, so there is none of the jumping or skipping found in CD players. Usually the player comes with a program designed to extract CD files, encode them to Mp3 then send them to the player. The Mp3 files are downloaded from the PC into the units memory. The type of memory is called Flash memory and the player typically comes with 32 to 64 mb base memory with the option of upgrading. A small LSD display is used and in some players there is the option of using ID3 tags which tell the listener the song details. The units are generally small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and are very economical, running for up to 16 hours on the one AA battery. One problem with Mp3 players is that there is a limit to how many songs they can hold. A 32 mb memory chip can only hold around 8 songs and when the cost of a larger chip is around two hundred dollars, this is a major downfall. The average Mp3 player costs about $300 which is less than the better sounding MD players but more than the less reliable CD players ...

Franz Joseph Haydn Biography essays

Franz Joseph Haydn Biography essays Franz Joseph Haydn was born on March 31st, 1732, in Rohrau, Austria near Hungary. His father, Mathias Haydn, was a wagoner and a sexton at his parish and his mother, Elizabeth, was a simple and humble woman. During the evening Mathias would play the harp, and Elizabeth would sing to their children. One day, his father noticed him scraping two sticks of wood against each other simulating a imitating a violin. His father was determined to give his son as much musical training as he could. He had asked the choirmaster, Johann Mathias Frankh, to teach the six-year-old boy the violin and harpsichord. After two years he was taken into the choir at St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna, where he sang from around 1740 to 1750. The chapel-master, Reutter, neglected and often mistreated young Haydn. When Haydn turned 17, his voice broke, being of little use to the church. He was eventually dismissed from the choir, and bitter days followed for Haydn. He had no money, no friends, and no home. He was forced to sleep in the streets the first night away from the church. Then one of his peers from St. Stephens pitied him, and gave him temporary shelter. Soon after, he found some pupils and a few engagements as a violinist. He also studied much of Philip Emanuel Bachs sonatas. In a short while, he had composed a mass, which attracted some attention, bringing in some commission. Then, Haydn became acquainted with a famous singer, Michael Porpora, who worked for the Venetian ambassador to Vienna. Porpora made Haydn his accompanist, and through this, Haydn got the opportunity to meet several magnificent composers in Vienna. Joseph Haydn composed his first string quartet in 1755, in which he inherited this form of composition from Boccherini. This form of composition intrigued Haydn, and for the next few months he composed one string quartet after another. After listening to these quartets, von Furnberg recommende...

How Much Do Donations Help College Applications

How Much Do Donations Help College Applications SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips This is a question a lot of students think about during the college admissions process. If my parents could afford to donate $1 million, would I get in? Do donations affect your admissions chances? If so, by how much? In this article, I'll answer all of these questions. What Do Admissions Offices Usually Look for in Applicants? To answer the question of how much do college donations help college admissions, we must first break down the qualifications for a â€Å"normal† applicant (who does not donate).In brief, admissions officers are looking for students: who meet or exceed their average GPA for admitted students who meet or exceed their 25th/75th percentile SAT or ACT score for admitted students The 25th percentile score means that 25% of the students attending have a score at or below that number (this is below average). 75th percentile means that 75% of students have a score at or below that number. In essence, the 25th/75th percentile covers the middle 50% of all students admitted to the school. If you score at the 75th percentile for any school and have great grades from your high school, you have a great chance at getting in. If you're at the 25th percentile, you'll need to have a strong application to boost your odds of getting in.You can find out both of these numbers by Google searching â€Å"[College Name] Freshman Admit Profile† or â€Å"[College Name] SAT† or â€Å"[College Name]† ACT.† Of course, they factor in personal statements, supplements, achievements, letters of recommendation, etc., but without meeting the two qualifications listed above, a â€Å"normal† applicant would not have a great chance of getting in.However, admissions offices also look for special applicants known as â€Å"development cases† or â€Å"development admits† (although admission officers do not publicly acknowledge such). What Is a â€Å"Development Case† in Admissions? As defined by Daniel Golden, author of â€Å"The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges- and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates† who conferred with sources in the Office of Undergraduate Admission at Stanford while writing his books,â€Å"‘Development case [is] a term that refers to the children of important donors or potential donors,† who receive an even more substantial advantage than legacies (students whose parents attended the school). Why are they called development cases? To be honest, in all of my research, I have been unable to answer this question, but I would guess it either comes from the fact that these applicants can help "develop" the university (the funds their families donate will be used for development) or these applicants themselves are in need of further "development" since they do not meet the "normal" admissions standards of the university. How Much Money Do You Need to Donate (or Potentially Be Able to Donate) to Qualify as a â€Å"Development Case†? An admissions officer will not publically answer this question, but in my research, I found that Stanford considers development cases to be applicants from families capable of donating $500,000 or more. You basically need to buy a building. I'm sure it's comparable at the other elite colleges, especially when you take into account that Stanford has the 4th largest endowment out of all US Colleges with over $18.6 billion.If Stanford gives preferential treatment to students who could donate $500,000 or more, I'm sure other schools with smaller endowments will at least do the same. NOTE: so there is no confusion, this $500,000 or more is in ADDITION to paying the $200,000 or more in tuition for the student to attend the university. Why Do Colleges Accept â€Å"Development Cases† Over More Qualified Applicants? From a practical standpoint, colleges want to admit students who are likely to add the most value back to the school. This can be through donations or achievements that feed the school's reputation. By accepting a development case, they're basically saying that the value of the donations from that student's family now and in the future are worth more than a student who isn't able to donate that money.In even simpler terms, they want additional donations to protect their university's endowment and make it better by building new facilities and making other improvements to the school. Do Admissions Officers Seek Out â€Å"Development Cases† or Do They Wait to Be Contacted? Universities definitely look out for potential â€Å"development cases† in their applicant pool. Universities are a business (even if they are non-profits). Right or wrong, they admit â€Å"development cases† in order to get more money for the university to build better facilities, provide more scholarships, and generally make the university better. A former admissions officer at Stanford admitted that each year she was given a list from the Office of Development of applicants who were the children of significant donors. Former admissions officers at other elite colleges have admitted this as well. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Exactly How Much of an Advantage Do â€Å"Development Cases† Receive in Admissions? Again, according to Golden,â€Å"It can be as big as 400 or 500 points out of 1600 on the SAT, using the old 1600-point scale,† Golden said. â€Å"It can help a student with a score of 00 out of 1600 get into a top university.† In other words, these â€Å"special† applicants do not need to meet the 25th/75th percentile score for schools. They only need to be within 400 or 500 points (for the SAT) of the 25th/75th percentile.This help means the student could go from being an average applicant to a middle-ranking public college like UC Santa Cruz or UC Riverside to a serious Ivy League contender. How Prevalent Are â€Å"Development Cases† at Elite Colleges? While it varies from school to school, 4%- 5% of accepted freshmen at Dartmouth were given special admissions consideration due to donations by their parents. Also, Duke admitted in the early 2000s to easing its admissions qualification to admit about 100 students each year due to their family's wealth.I would guess this number is similar across all elite colleges, and development cases taking up 4-5% of the freshman class is very significant because it means 100-125 more qualified students did not receive admission. With great money comes great power (and little responsibility). How Do â€Å"Development Cases† Attempt to Secure Admission (If They Haven’t Yet Donated)? According to Golden, â€Å"wealthy parents sometimes use private counselors with contacts in admissions offices to indicate that they are likely to donate large sums of money if their child is admitted.†However, these parents do not have an explicit quid pro quo with the admissions office such as "I'll donate X amount if you admit my child," but there is rather an implicit understanding that they will donate a significant sum of money if their child is accepted. One of these elite private counseling companies, The Ivy Coach, says that money only helps so much. It won't turn an F student into an Ivy Leaguer, but it can help a student who is on the fence be admitted, and there is a specific amount that will get that kid in.However, they won’t tell you the number because they want you to pay them money to â€Å"guide you† and then they will tell you how much you need to pay the school. The president and founder of The Ivy Coach, Bev Taylor, did explain the type of advantage the children of large donors receive,â€Å"They’ll get a better read or they’ll get a second read, they’ll get a second look. ‘How can we accept this kid?’ is the question. Instead of looking to see what’s wrong here, let’s look to see how we can accept this kid.† Now that you have gotten the theoretical explanation of how much donations help in college applications let’s examine some real life â€Å"development cases†: Real Life Examples of â€Å"Development Cases† In his book, Golden references Margaret Bass, a Stanford Class of ’02 Graduate, as an example of a classic development case. Margaret Bass is the daughter of and alumnus who is one of Stanford's former chairs of the Board of Trustees and donated$25 million to Stanford in 1991 and $50 million to the Graduate School of Business in 2005. Bass was a so-so high school student. She was ranked in the middle of her class (40th of 79 students), and out of the nine students from her high school that applied to Stanford that year, she was the only one offered a spot in the freshman class, but she had the second lowest SAT score of those students (1220 out of 1600). At Duke, Maude Bunn earned admission despite her low SAT scores. Her family is famous for Bunn coffeemakers and has a large fortune from it. Duke admitted her hoping that her parents would repay the university. Her parents became the co-chairmen of a Duke fundraising campaign for Duke parents. This has happened more recently as well. In 2013, Maisie Lynton, daughter of Harvard alum and current Sony Pictures CEO, was torn between Harvard and Brown. Her father reached out to Brown, a school he didn't attend, and donated over a million dollars to create scholarships. She was offered admission to the class of 2019. Should You Donate? While I think $500,000 or more will help you out quite a bit, if you're planning on donating $10, 50, 100 or 1,000, keep your money! And don’t even think of trying to bribe the admissions officer, they’ve seen it before! A former admissions officer said several parents each year try innocent bribes (such as offering to buy him dinner) while others try more direct bribes (such as leaving an envelope with $1,000 in it at the admissions office). These bribes were rejected. Save your bribe for the admissions office, but if you have $500,000 or more to donate to the university endowment, you might just have a shot at the Ivy League. What’s Next? Let’s help you get into college with or without a donation. Taking the SAT?Check out our ultimate SAT study guide to help you with your prep. Taking the SAT very soon? Check out our guide to cramming for the test. Not sure where you'd like to go? We'll help you find the right college for you. Nervous about getting arecommendation letter for your college application? Learn about who you should askto write itand check out ourtemplate for a good letter. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Subculture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Subculture - Research Paper Example Further, Latinos have considerably different histories, cultural approaches and contemporary social problems (Suarez-Orozco & Paez 5). They form a major subculture in the United States, with characteristics that distinguish them from mainstream culture. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinctive components of the Latino Subculture. Whether the group sees themselves as a distinct subculture and how they are viewed by the mainstream culture will also be examined. Description of the Latino Subculture The main reason for the presence of various subcultures in the United States is immigration from other countries and environments. â€Å"Latinos are not a simple racial or ethnic group, but they are the product of a distinctive civil society† (Hayes-Bautista 5). Latinos are generally described by governmental policy models as: a racial group, a language group, a group with strong affilitation to their traditional culture, a dysfunctional minority gr oup, or an urban underclass. However, the core element of Latinos is the continued presence of a Latino civil society, which provides Latino children with their initial experiences in the social world, teaches them right and wrong, duty, early concepts of civic responsibility, and first notions of personal identity. There is a great heterogeneity among the different groups of Latinos, their experiences depending on various factors such as â€Å"race, color, gender, socio-economic status, language, immigrant status, and mode of incorporation into the United States† (Suarez-Orozco & Paez 4). The social practices and cultural models of multiculturalism contribute to the experiences, perceptions and the range of behaviors of both immigrant and native-born Latinos in ways unprecedented during earlier large-scale immigration. The racial and ethnic categorization of Latinos has high stakes political and economic implications such as civil rights, equal opportunities, and affirmative action. Mainland Puerto Ricans and immigrant Dominicans indicate a high level of transnationalism, evident in the economic, political and cultural strategies adopted by diasporic people. They lead double lives with double loyalties, living alternately between their island and the mainland; remitting large sums of money to their homeland, continue to participate in political processes there, and periodically visit their homeland to maintain their social and cultural ties. Transnational behavior, and alternately moving between the mainland and Mexico has been practised by Mexicans also based on the completion of seasonal work (Suarez-Orozco & Paez 332). Components of the Latino Subculture Symbols In the United States Hispanic popular Catholicism, the hope of resurrection or liberation cannot remove the sufferings of the past and the present. It has to emerge from the living memories and symbols of those sufferings: â€Å"the tears, the blood, the scars, the crucified Jesus† (I sasi-Diaz & Segovia 280). Thus, the second major symbol of Catholicism is a symbol of celebration, of the hope that continues amidst suffering, the symbol of Mary. Latinos identify Mary with the symbol of the crucified Jesus, and crucification is considered as the root of resurrection not only of Jesus but of all people. Latino symbolism is resilient, and is evident in their determination

Comparative asian economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comparative asian economics - Essay Example At the beginning of the period between 1948 and 1984, this infrastructure did not reach every village along the way, making it incredibly difficult for those who did produce goods to sell them to a larger market (Guttman, 1980). As the period advanced, infrastructure was improved, and as the communications revolution has progressed world wide these technologies are reaching into smaller and smaller villages across India (Saith, 1981). Along with these advancements have been improvements in education. Both the development of infrastructure and the improvement of education have helped India economically, with the advancements picking up speed in the mid-1980s. The cotton and jute industries were thriving before Indian independence from British rule, and these industries experienced continued growth—with the criticism that foreign trade was not developed properly in order to take international advantage of these industries (Rose, 1968; Rajaraman, 1975). In a 1960 speech, Ambassador Braj Kumar Nehru observes the progression of world events from pre-World War I to that point in history. From his point of view, the Victorian Era had created a stable but unjust world in which the superpowers dominated politics and culture and nations like India were supposed to stand on the sidelines and admire the superpowers. The two world wars changed the superpowers, redrew national boundaries, upended set cultural practices, and plunged the world into economic and political chaos. (Nehru also points out the steep rise in Muslimism across the world, which had a definite impact in how his nation was ultimately partitioned.) The nation of India rose up just at the end of the struggles, and from Nehru’s perspective in 1960 it was poised as an example for other Asian and African developing nations to follow. It must be kept in mind that this assessment comes from an Indian ambassador to the United

Recycling Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recycling - Annotated Bibliography Example In chapter five: Engineering and Construction for the Infrastructure Life Cycle, Neil recounts that the recycling is not a simple one. It is a ‘sophisticated process that should be done by embracing modern high technologies’ (97). The main contribution of this source is that it emphasizes that the concerned environmentalists and conservation agencies should be ready to adopt the latest trends in technologies. We used it to solve the problem of water wastage and contamination of the environment. This book can be quite important when conducting a research on recycling. The information it contains were found out in a research that was conducted by this scholar. By emphasizing that the recycling process should be done using the latest technologies, it becomes quite clear that such information should be included in the research. The book is similar to Zaman, A. and Lehmann’s "Challenges and opportunities in transforming a city into a "Zero Waste City" because they both emphasize the need of cleaning the environment of wastes. However, their difference is that it includes a comprehensive discussion on the use of highly developed infrastructure in the recycling of wastes. For this reason, the book will be a very resourceful material. In chapter two: Waste Not Want Not, Jenkins begins the discussion by clarifying that wastes are not useless. They can be reused and made useful to human beings. As the author examines, human beings have an uncontrollable culture of consumption. This has led to the overuse and subsequently the wastage of the available resources. To solve this problem, the writer suggests that the used materials should be recycled. The author says that ‘it is by the recycling process that the used materials can be changed to become harmless materials that can again be used by people’ (111). In chapter six: Composting Toilets and Systems, the author says that ‘human wastes, if not properly managed can be so harmful to the human beings’ (104).

AC3908 international finance environment Coursework

AC3908 international finance environment - Coursework Example The EVA methodology was implemented in order to improve resource allocation across Asahi Glass’s number of business around the world as well as to evaluate the managerial performance of top level executives (Mir and Seboui, 2008; Brown and Caylor, 2005). The case study explores the way the company calculated EVA and the weighted average cost of capital for the different business segments based in different countries (Desai, 2006). In this report we will analyze the impact of the bank based system on the company, the reforms associated with corporate governance, the barriers faced by the CEO while bringing about the reforms and lastly the implementation of the EVA methodology. Corporate governance framework constitutes of a bunch of mechanisms that are both market and institutional based which encourages the controllers of an organization to make decisions that are aimed towards maximizing the value of the shareholders. These mechanisms are meant to tackle agency problems. Normally, two basic models are utilized; control model that focuses on control from internal boards and market control that usually constitutes of independent boards, scattered ownership and policies that promotes transparency. It is however tough to determine the model that is the most appropriate one (Talamo, 2011; Handley-Schachler, Juleff and Paton, 2007; Thomsen, 2004). Corporate governance comprise of a variety of internal as well as external factors in companies such as Asahi glass. First of all, the ownership concentration in companies based in Asia is much higher than in companies based in the Western countries. This is precisely because majority of the big organizations in Asia are either family enterprises or state-owned. This results in the creation of an unequal and unfair selection system. This type of governance framework existing in organizations might have

INTERCULTURAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTERCULTURAL - Essay Example on the positive altitude of her friends and parents, where they did not allow the intimidation of the civil rights movement to inflict fear on their children, rice was trained to remain positive in every aspect of live (The right scoop, 2010). During her interview with Kate Couric, Rice sounds positive concerning their hard task of facing their two enemies that threatened their national security. She accepts the fact that both Iraq and North Korea were dangerous in their own way but she assured her that they were going to deal with both of them separately (Schneider, 2010). The parents to Condoleezza tried their best to protect their little gal from the areas that would bring her face to face with discrimination, but though she was young, she was so much responsive to the civil rights struggle and the concerns that pertained to Birmingham. She is also seen to be actively involved in settling the disputes that existed between U.S and North Korea together with Iran. As witnessed in her childhood experiences, it is clear that Rice was an intelligent child, where her intelligence is also exhibited in the manner she handles the insecurity concerns brought about by North Korea and Iran. She believes in negotiations between rivalry communities, and dialogue with your own enemies (Schneider, 2010). After being asked by Kate on whether her government has ever taken the initiative to conduct negotiations with their enemies, she says that, they have made an effort to engage North Korea in the framework of six party talks. Having grew in a terrorism atmosphere, Rice in her interview with Kate is seen to revolve around the aspect of maintaining peace with his rivalry communities, where she is even going to the extent of involving the neighbouring communities to assist the US in convincing the North Korea and Iran to abandon their intentions of embarking on using weapons of mass destruction (The right scoop, 2010). Having seen what rivalry could bring during her early days of

The South Korea Financial Crisis Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words

The South Korea Financial Crisis - Dissertation Example There will be sections on: promoting greater competition (which includes the pre-crisis in Korea, Korea’s downfall and subsequent recovery, Korea's economic transformation, Korea and economic sanctions, Korean international relations and the politics of economy; globalization in Korea, and the comparison of Malaysia to Korea); improving corporate governance and education (which includes Korean debt, the economy in a postwar Korea, and higher education and economic competitiveness within Korea); and improving capital structure and profitability (which includes Korea's recovery and capital controls and trade liberalization in Korea). According to Lee, â€Å"Most strikingly, formerly the 11th largest economy in the world, Korea†¦ha[d] been the hardest hit. The Korean government requested emergency help from the IMF on November 21, 1997, to restore overseas confidence†¦For the first time in three decades, [Korea[ would experience the worst economic growth in forthcoming years†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Korea had been hit hard by the economic downturn in Asia. Regrettably, this was not just a Korean phenomenon, however. Korea’s problems, however, were indicative of the rest of Southeast Asia. Korea was majorly in debt by 1997, as it had been steadily increasing about $20 or $30 billion dollars more into debt each year for the three years prior to the Asian Economic Crisis of 1997. Not surprisingly, Korea’s total debt shot through the roof in 1997. Korea’s total debt had reached $120.8 billion dollars by 1997.... After this, there will be sections on: promoting greater competition (which includes the pre-crisis in Korea, Korea's downfall and subsequent recovery, Korea's economic transformation, Korea and economic sanctions, Korean international relations and the politics of economy; globalization in Korea, and the comparison of Malaysia to Korea); improving corporate governance and education (which includes Korean debt, the economy in a postwar Korea, and higher education and economic competitiveness within Korea); and improving capital structure and profitability (which includes Korea's recovery and capital controls and trade liberalization in Korea). According to Lee (2003), "Most strikingly, formerly the 11th largest economy in the world, Koreaha[d] been the hardest hit [by the Asian Economic Crisis of 1997]. The Korean government requested emergency help from the IMF on November 21, 1997, to restore overseas confidenceFor the first time in three decades, [Korea[ would experience the worst economic growth in forthcoming years" Korea had been hit hard by the economic downturn in Asia. Regrettably, this was not just a Korean phenomenon, however. Korea's problems, however, were indicative of the rest of Southeast Asia. Korea was majorly in debt by 1997, as it had been steadily increasing about $20 or $30 billion dollars more into debt each year for the three or four years prior to the Asian Economic Crisis of 1997. Not surprisingly, Korea's total debt shot through the roof in 1997. Korea's total debt had reached $120.8 billion dollars by 1997, which is in comparison to past years, which is shown in the following table (which covers the years 1982-1997). According Haggard et al. (2003), "Korea's

INTERCULTURAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTERCULTURAL - Essay Example on the positive altitude of her friends and parents, where they did not allow the intimidation of the civil rights movement to inflict fear on their children, rice was trained to remain positive in every aspect of live (The right scoop, 2010). During her interview with Kate Couric, Rice sounds positive concerning their hard task of facing their two enemies that threatened their national security. She accepts the fact that both Iraq and North Korea were dangerous in their own way but she assured her that they were going to deal with both of them separately (Schneider, 2010). The parents to Condoleezza tried their best to protect their little gal from the areas that would bring her face to face with discrimination, but though she was young, she was so much responsive to the civil rights struggle and the concerns that pertained to Birmingham. She is also seen to be actively involved in settling the disputes that existed between U.S and North Korea together with Iran. As witnessed in her childhood experiences, it is clear that Rice was an intelligent child, where her intelligence is also exhibited in the manner she handles the insecurity concerns brought about by North Korea and Iran. She believes in negotiations between rivalry communities, and dialogue with your own enemies (Schneider, 2010). After being asked by Kate on whether her government has ever taken the initiative to conduct negotiations with their enemies, she says that, they have made an effort to engage North Korea in the framework of six party talks. Having grew in a terrorism atmosphere, Rice in her interview with Kate is seen to revolve around the aspect of maintaining peace with his rivalry communities, where she is even going to the extent of involving the neighbouring communities to assist the US in convincing the North Korea and Iran to abandon their intentions of embarking on using weapons of mass destruction (The right scoop, 2010). Having seen what rivalry could bring during her early days of

Assignment (primary research required) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Assignment (primary research required) - Essay Example This report explores the application of theoretical concepts of small business management in particular the issues surrounding marketing aspects of small businesses and the strategies that need to be adopted with particular reference to the restaurant industry. A primary study was conducted involving a family restaurant. The purpose of the research was to explore how successful small business entrepreneurs apply theoretical concepts of small business management such as marketing to their businesses. The findings suggest indicate that marketing is perceived as a means to build customer awareness about the enterprises and offerings. It was also found that application of marketing thoughts and practices are useful for profitability of the firm, but are constrained by lack of resources. Contents Abstract ii Contents iii Table of Figures iv Photo credit iv Managing Small Business Marketing 1 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Significance 1 1.2 Aims and objectives 2 2. Literature Review 2 2.1 Definiti on of small business 3 2.2 Marketing and business orientation 3 2.3 Marketing mixes and approach to marketing 4 2.4 Customer acquisition in small businesses 5 2.5 Customer relationship management in small businesses 6 2.6 Summary of critical review 8 3. Primary Research 8 3.1 Interview with owner manager 9 3.2 Findings 11 4. Discussion 11 5. Conclusion and Recommendations 12 5.1 Recommendations 12 The researcher also recommends that further studies may be undertaken to reveal the difference in the levels of success of small businesses in terms market share and profitability caused due to implementation of marketing principles and techniques. 12 References 13 Table of Figures Figure 1: EU Classification of enterprises 3 Figure 2: Small businesses usually follow the bottom-up marketing approach 5 Figure 3: Observations from literature review 8 Photo credit Cover page photo: http://www.oxfordrestaurantguide.com/gees/ Managing Small Business Marketing 1. Introduction The small business sector is a major contributor to the economy in many parts of the world. In the year 2000 the sector in the UK comprised approximately 3.7 million small firms, majority of which were micro businesses, of which 66 per cent were either run solo or self-employed people (Fraser & Thompson, 2011). Twenty-five per cent of these had less than 10 employees. These figures are growing steadily. The UK government believes that â€Å"the health of the economy requires the birth of new enterprises in substantial numbers. We cannot assume that the ordinary working of market forces will necessarily preserve a small firm sector† (Fraser & Thompson, 2011, p. 29); and considers it to appropriate to intervene in proliferation of small business. There are however other reasons for phenomenal growth of small business as, (1) free market economy; (2) control by large firms; (3) spirit of individualism; (4) growth of IT; (5) growth of niche marketing; (6) growth in service sector; and (7) unemploym ent. 1.1 Significance In the UK small businesses contributed a significant 25 per cent of total private sector employment. Their combined turnover represented almost 20 per cent of the total turnover of the private sector. Small business firms employing fewer than 50 people accounted for 9.5 million jobs

Merger and Acquisitions Theories in Management

Merger and Acquisitions Theories in Management Management theory and practice Mergers and acquisitions are a main means by which single and individuals are able to grow and then enter the new markets. After this happens, the competitive structure of the whole industries may alter radically in a span of a short time. Mergers are the unifications of two or even more firms into forming a new one whereas acquisitions are the companys purchases of the majority of the shares from another. Mergers and acquisitions can also represent a major mechanism through which the firms that are national are able to become multinational firms. The cost and benefit analysis of the mergers and acquisitions affect the decision by the managers and the shareholders of whether to take up a specific merger and acquisition. The decision by the employees also can lead to the acceptance or refusal of the merger and acquisition (Paul Simon 2). In this paper, I am going to research on why the employee-related issues prevent the succeeding of a merger or acquisition. The modern business environment is characterized by change that is continuous in nature. Every organization is considered as a system where work, process, system, people are all aligned in order to ensure that the unit of the individual, individual and overall systems are well fit to deliver the strategies of the organization. The objective of the integrative process is to integrate people, processes, technologies and strategy without interrupting service, quality or product and not only to combine financial standing of any two companies. Employees issues in relation to the integration phase always relate to the human capital related integration issues such as integration of the culture of the organization, leadership, organization structure and design, processes and systems and retention of the key talent. The other important issues are effective planning for the purpose of integration, employee communications, and the selection of good leaders to manage the business combination and the creation of practices and policies for knowledge sharing and learning and also the transfer. The failure to address the issues that concern merger and acquisition impacts the new and current organization very negatively at the stage of post-merger in two levels. One of these two levels is the individual level and the reactions of the individual employees are insecurity, powerlessness, alienation, a drop in productivity, loss of energy and the rise in absenteeism which increases turnover and profits. Other stress factors include the performance evaluation criteria, the loss of control over the life of the professional and also the alterations in the reporting relationships which would also impact the merger or the acquisition adversely or negatively. There are also many other psychological impacts which result from the merger activity. These are lifestyle instability, loss of confidence, depression, anxiety among others and these symptoms may lead to large-scale industrial strikes at times (Nilanjan and Bhattacharya 143). From this we can find that due to these impacts, the employees can resist the mergers and or acquisition in their companies. The other level is the corporate level and at this level the impacts are long-term in the cultural integration, organization structure and design, processes and systems. The failure to tackle these issues in the phase of planning of the merger process can lead to outcomes such as benefits integration, high financial costs, incompatible HR plans and policies, inadequate communication to the employees, insufficient provisions and reserves for risks that had not been discovered and/or improperly evaluated, inefficient financial accounting for the integration costs, the loss of loyalty of the employees leading to the high turnover rates, the dilemma of the workforce reduction, reduced productivity and finally leads to lowered employee morale (Nilanjan and Bhattacharya 144). These issues are the ones that drive the employees to be against and protect the mergers and acquisitions. The strategic combinations of the mergers and acquisitions have a dramatically greater chance of success in terms of providing the added value to all employees, and shareholders. The success could also be experienced in justifying of the acquisition premium when they are led, designed and implemented with these four elements. The first element is the integrative perspective in which the mergers need to be seen as combinations that try to balance the interplay of the organizational architecture and organizational strategy with the guiding principles of the management of the change. The second element is the designed integration which is the scope, intensity and degree of the integration and should be driven by elementary business case for the merger or acquisition which defines integration process. The third is the differential leadership because leadership is very vital and different leaders have different roles. The leadership roles should be considered and assigned at the initial stages because this could bring confusion at the late stages. Lastly, the expanded due diligence factor is considered where the organizational issues are discussed. In this case, the organizational diligence is made a crucial part of the merger and the acquisition chain of events as is the due financial and legal diligence. An example of the job losses caused by mergers and acquisitions and also the reduction of salaries of the members of banks is the European banking sector. Since the start of 1990s, the European banking sector has witnessed massive job losses and the decrease of the salaries of the employees who were left. The impact of these job losses has been greater in the Northern Europe rather than in the southern Europe. The employment in the sector of insurance has also been affected as a result of mergers and acquisition. The nature and quality of the employment has greatly changed from the year 2000 in Europe (Paul and Simon 2002: 45). The reductions of employment have affected the branch administrative and networks functions. The older workers with the conventional banking skills who do not qualify and therefore not transferable easily to the new developed and centralized functions, for example those that work in the call centers, are affected adversely. These are the people who may rise ag ainst any mergers and/or acquisitions and also the banks may consider these people and reach a decision not to accept any mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions have been known to accelerate corporate practices because the enterprises tend to review the whole cost structure entailing the mergers and acquisitions with the aim of identifying the very maximum savings that are possible. The job losses have increased greatly from 17.5% to 24% due to many mergers and acquisitions. A merger and/or acquisition also referred to as a takeover invalidates in many ways the employment contract. The employee works for someone else without having taken the required steps to change his or her employers. This brings into clear view in an emphatic manner the one-sidedness of the employment relationship and also the idea that the employees do not have any control over the decision of who their employers are. The mergers and/or acquisitions are described as the legitimate means for breaking the implicit contracts in the view of restructuring (Paul and Simon 2002: 183). The mergers are seen as avenues to disrupt job security that the employees have held for long periods and therefore are bound to disrupt the process of mergers and/or acquisitions. These mergers and acquisitions appear to the employees as deliberate strategies to violate the internal norms and also as a hard, brute exercise of powers and therefore they can prevent the succeeding of the mergers and acquisitions. The integrating of the different company procedures and systems requires the harmonization of the different aspects of terms and conditions that apply to the employment signings. These include job titles, pay scales, job descriptions, entitlements and benefits, supervisory and reporting lines are all subjected to revision in order to ensure that there is common practice in the new mergers and acquisitions. These changes may make the employees to reject any mergers and acquisitions. The mergers and the acquisitions upset the links between explicit and implicit contracts in accompany that was in the past based on trust between workers and managers, they are presently founded on assumptions and beliefs regarding mutual responsibility between employees and employers. The integration, merger and acquisition also requires the harmonization of the different aspects of conditions and terms of the employment to ensure that common practice in the combined organization which may alter the existing practices of the human resource and management of either or even both of the organizations. Workers or employees have also considered the lack of incentives due to mergers and acquisitions. There is no transparency in the reward systems and the mergers also lead to contradiction between performance assessments that focus on personal contribution and the objectives that require team-based work. The employees therefore call for better balanced team-based and individual rewards. This is supported by trade unions where they argue that the alterations to the psychological contract which include erosion in the job security are not well reflected in the enterprise reward systems after the mergers and acquisitions. This decreased job security, increased workloads, stress and anxiety are other significant consequences of the heightened merger and acquisitions activity. These factors coupled with lowered morale and also a deterioration of the organization performance has led the employees to be against the implementation of mergers, takeovers and acquisition. This human side of the acquisitions and mergers is all about the overall impact that mergers and/or acquisitions have on the employees in a certain company. These impacts on the psychological difficulties that the employees experience, the culture clashes which may emerge in companies during the post-merger integration period. Finally the ways in which these outcomes manifest themselves that include communication breakdowns, there is also the we-they mentality that occurs between the inclusive organizations in the merger and acquisitions, minimized commitment, reductions in productivity, organizational struggles for power and also office politicking and at last the loss of the key and main organizational members. All these factors combined include the employee issues that affect the realization of mergers and acquisitions (Anthony and James 3). Through research through face to face interviews, a writer concluded that the employees were an important asset to the companies and that they should be considered when the management decides on mergers and acquisitions. Through an interview with an employee of a company that had undergone acquisition, Hayes was told that the employees would not make any move because they were told that their methods were outdated and that they would have to readjust to the new companys way of conducting their activities. He indicated that when he tried to complain to the corporate about the situation, he was warned that if he squawked too loud, his position would be in jeopardy. This resulted to the destruction of the company morale and with time, the main people started leaving and it did not take much time before he also resigned (Hayes 1981: 131). If the company had taken into consideration all complains of their employers, they would have retained their experienced workers and this would increas e the productivity levels. Acquisition and mergers can adequately transform the organizational processes, systems, structures and also cultures of one or both of the companies involved that the employees will often feel confused, frustrated, frightened, stressed or even frustrated and therefore whenever the employees of a particular company here of any merger and/or acquisition they are ready to prevent the realization of the same. On the personal level, these feelings often lead to psychosomatic difficulties, sense of loss, marital discord and at the extreme level, they can lead to suicide. On the level of organization, these feelings are manifested in lowered productivity and commitment, increased disloyalty and dissatisfaction, increased turnover among the key managers, power and leadership struggles especially among the managers who remain in the organization and finally an increase in the dysfunctional work-related behaviors at all the levels of the hierarchy. These impacts on the employee and by the empl oyee are issues that negatively affect the mergers and acquisitions. It is reported that in the 3000 and above mergers that occurred in the year 1985, so many employees estimated to be more than ten thousand lost their jobs and others were forced to accept early retirement (Kanter and Segger-man 1986: 17). It was also estimated that by the year 1990, there will be 2500 savings and loans and 5400 banks that would be involved in mergers and these would affect more than 900, 000 people in the United States. In the year 2009, it was noted that there were decreasing mergers and acquisition activities and that also the credits were tightening. One of the reasons of a successful merger and transaction activity is the compensation which is never done and if it is done it is only given to the executives. The compensation can be a powerful tool to motivate the management and its team to influence positive outcomes in the activity involving mergers and acquisition. This has not been the case in the recent past and the employees are laid off without being paid well leading to the negative feelings that they experience shortly afterwards. This can explain the reduction of the merger and acquisition activity because the employees through their managers are able to prevent the realization or completion of a merger and/or acquisition owing to the fact that they are not compensated. In the recent past there was the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by the Bank of America, there was a problem in the executive pay and compensation and this led to a very expensive roadblock to the desired transaction. A report by the PricewaterhouseCooper indicates that the merger and acquisition activity has decreased 86 percent from the year 2008, the previous year. In addition to these statistics, when the High Court approves the schemes of arrangement of a merger, it takes into account the workers interests. The scheme of arrangement must provide for adequate protection for the employees service benefits and conditions. If the scheme shows otherwise, the High court does not agree to the terms and conditions of the merger and therefore we find that the issues of the employee are considered. The organizational behavior is always reflected by acquisition behavior, the relative size and the cultural compatibility. Global mergers and acquisitions are the main corporate strategies which the multinational corporations use to diversify, expand or even consolidate their businesses. In the year 2006, there was a recorded worldwide annual value of the acquisition transactions exceeded US $ 4 trillion (Larsen 2007: 23). This trend was also recorded in the year 2007 where the worldwide transaction value of the acquisitions in only the first 3 months ranged at US $ 1.13trillion which was the highest busiest recorded quarter ever in history (Saigol and Politi 2007: 145). However, almost 83%of these transactions were unsuccessful (KPMG, 1999; Sirower 1997). A considerable amounts of research developed that the failures were caused by the absence of a national cultural fit which is the cultural distance of the workers and employees (Rottig and Reus 2006: 340). This may lead to cultural problems and clashes among the involved workforces. This in return lowers the employee cooperation and commitment, cause voluntary turnover of the acquired top managers and could also complicate the process of post-acquisition integration (Very and Schweiger 2001:22). The cultural distance might have some positive results but it is among the high points that lead to the failure of the mergers and acquisitions and it is an employee-related issue. The organizational culture which is defined as the interdependent and interrelated system of practices, beliefs, norms and assumptions that the members of the organization bear collectively should be put into consideration before a merger and/or acquisition because when they are altered extensively after the merger, the employees will tend to work against them and this will not promote success of the merger and/or acquisition. The assumptions, norms and practices could be unconscious which are learnt through the socialization of the organization and often reflect the shared perceptions of the daily practices and also determine the things that are carried out within an organization (Gertsen, et al. 1998: 123). An example is the acquisition of the Tokyo Bank by the Mitsubishi Bank in the year 2003. These two organizations had very dissimilar organization cultures. The employees of the Mitsubishi Bank shared a common cultural norm of being to work on time, wearing only white shirts while at work and also thanking their department supervisors and managers in person for any monthly pay checks. But in contrast, the employees of Tokyo Bank were not used to strict dress code and being reprimanded for getting to work late and they also had no duty to carry out a thanksgiving ceremony as they collected their monthly salaries. After the acquisition activity, a huge number of the employees of the Tokyo Bank were alienated by the strict culture of the Mitsubishi Bank and they left the combined company voluntarily. This was in the United States. This is an example of how the employee-related issues could lead to unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions. Poor communication between the employees of the same company after a merger or an acquisition could lead to problems of integration in both the domestic and the international mergers and/or acquisitions. This may cause unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions and it is an employee-related issue. On the other hand, the international acquisitions are characterized by ethnocentrism; nationalistic attitudes; xenophobia and language barriers (Vaara 2003: 864) and these could lead to the failure of the mergers and acquisitions. Work cited Nilanjan Sengupta and Bhattacharya Mousumi. Managing change in organizations.PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Anthony Buono and James Bowditch. The human side of mergers and acquisitions: managing collisions between people, cultures and organizations. Chicago: Beard Books, 2003 Kanter, R and Seggerman, T. managing mergers, acquisitions, and divestiures. Management review, Oct 1986, pp 16-17. Hayes, R. what happens to my people after I sell? The human side of acquisition. In S. J. Lee and R. D. Colman (eds.), handbook of mergers, acquisitions and buyouts. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1981. Paul Temple and Simon Peck. Mergers and Acquisitions: critical perspectives on business and management. : Taylor Francis, 2002. Thomas Straub. Reasons for frequent failure in mergers and acquisitions. Germany: DUV, 2007. Rottig, D. Reus, T.H. Organizational and national cultures consequences for acquisition performance: A meta-analysis, Paper presented at Southern Management Association, Clearwater Beach, 2006. Saigol, L. Politi, J. MA volume tops $1,000bn, Financial Times, March 30: 13, 2007. KPMG. Mergers and Acquisitions: Global Research Report 1999. London: KPMG, 1999. Gertsen, M., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J.E. Cultural Dimensions of International Mergers and Acquisitions, Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 1998 Gertsen, M.C., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J.E. Different concepts of culture, in Gertsen, M. C., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J. E., editors (eds.) Cultural Dimensions of International Acquisitions, Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 1998. Vaara, E. Post-acquisition integration as sense making: Glimpses of ambiguity, confusion, hypocrisy, and politicization, Journal of Management Studies, 40(4): 859-94, 2003 Very, P. Schweiger, D.M. The acquisition process as a learning process: Evidence from a study of critical problems and solutions in domestic and cross-border deals, Journal of World Business, 36(1): 11-31, 2001. Sirower, M.L. The Synergy Trap: How Companies Lose the Acquisition Game, Free Press: New York, 1997.

Inner and outer beauty in Dorian Gray Essay examples -- essays researc

The term ‘beauty’ may have very relative significance. Something can be beautiful for us, but ugly for other people. The external beauty of a person is often the first thing that we pay attention to. This is the result of the association of beauty with good and ugliness with evil. Through the outer appearance we make a general opinion about a given person. Such a way of thinking may be very misleading. In order to get to know the person we need to look to the inside – into the soul. This is the place where the real beauty and ugliness are hidden. The notion of inner and outer beauty is perfectly presented in the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. The story described in this book shows how the external attractiveness influences people’s behavior and corrupts the inner beauty. The plot situated in the XIX England perfectly describes the higher class of this period. Shallow and two-faced society is concentrated only on the esthetical values of the surrounding. Youth and beauty are the most precious and cultivated things. Even the worst deeds are forgotten if your beauty is extraordinary. The main character, Dorian Gray is an example of a person from a higher class. This twenty-year old and extremely handsome young man is regarded among society as an ideal of beauty. His Physical attractiveness draws the attention of a very talented painter Basil Hallward. He decides to immortalize Dorian’s beauty and paints his portrait. In the meantime Dorian meets cynical nobleman, Lord Henry Wotton. Just like everyone else, Lord Henry is astonished by the prettiness and innocence of Dorian. Henry is a charming talker, and his views concerning beauty are the same as the views of other members of aristocracy. He cherishes it above all considering it as the most important thing in life. The talk with Lord Henry makes Dorian to think about the elapsing of the physical attractiveness. He realizes that some day his charm and youth will disappear and he will not be able to live a careless life anymore. This thought scares him very much especially when he sees the finished portrait, painted by Basil. He makes a whish, which will change his life forever: ‘If it were I who was to be always young and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give anything! Yes, there is nothing in the world I would not give! I would give my soul for that’ (Chapter 2). Dorian i... ...s primeval looks, showing his magnificent outer beauty. The book is full of allegories and illusions. Even the title has a deeper meaning. The word ‘dorian’ means ‘golden’ in ancient Greek. The linking of two colors: golden and gray perfectly reflects complexity of the main character. Dorian is an example of a Narcissist, a person who is in love with his own look. His glamorous good looks contrasts with the rotten and evil inside. The story shows how shallow people can be while judging others. Another interesting point is the misleading statement that the beauty always comes together with goodness. The painting which serves as a mirror of Dorian’s soul perfectly reflects the inevitably changes in his character, while the beauty of his face is unchanged. No one beliefs in the evil stories about him because of his outstanding outer appearance,’ The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a timeless story about what is really important in life, namely our inside. Only by knowing our hidden emotions we can re ally judge whether the person is good or bad. Bibliography: Varty,A.(1998).A Preface to Oscar Wilde,Longman,NY Cornish,F.H.;Wilde,Oscar(1993).The Picture of Dorian Gray,Heinemann,Oxford

The Process of Baseball Season Preparation :: Expository Process Essays

The Process of Baseball Season Preparation Baseball has always been America’s natural past time. Many fans love watching baseball but do not realize how hard it is to prepare for a season. Most fans think the players just show up on the first day. I think this belief is completely false. I feel that preparing for a baseball season requires much preparation. The preparation I use includes working on my swing, working out, and studying other people’s ideas on hitting. These steps are necessary for me to have a successful season. These steps have proven to be a valuable aid in helping me to prepare for the season. I believe these steps are the basic steps to becoming a great baseball player. Developing my swing is the first step I use in preparing for the upcoming season. There are a few different techniques I use to work on my swing. The first way is to take hitting lessons. I learn much of my knowledge about hitting from taking hitting lessons. My usual routine consists of taking lessons three times a week. This allows me to be evaluated by a professional. I took hitting lessons from the same coach for five straight years. His teachings have helped me become a much better hitter. Another way I develop my swing is by practicing daily. Even though I take hitting lessons, I still need more work. I am lucky enough to have access to a facility that has hitting cages. This allows me to work in the winter and during inclimate weather. By going to work on my swing on my own, I am able to work on the skills that my hitting instructor has taught me. This seems like it would take a long time, but it does not. I carefully plan out my time, and this allows me to use my time wisely. I allot times to work different aspects of my swing. By doing this, I am able to cover all aspects of my swing. I also videotape my swing, and this allows me to view myself afterwards. Since I videotape my practice sessions, I can go over my sessions afterwards. I have caught and fixed many mistakes my carefully watching my swing on the recordings. Developing my swing is the first of three main steps I use in preparing for the upcoming season. Next, I work out using weights to improve my chances for success in the upcoming season.

When Children or Young People May Need Urgent

Identify circumstances when children or young people may need urgent medical attention Some children may be too young or may not be physically able to tell you when they need medical attention due to a disability. Often children and young people can become seriously ill very suddenly which means that as a member of staff you should be alert to any changes in their behaviour which could indicate pain or nausea. When a child becomes sick or lets you know that they feel unwell, you will need to sufficiently look after them until their parent or a carer arrives to collect them. In life threatening situations the emergency services should always be contacted straight away. An example of this would be if a child had any of the following signs of acute illness.An open wound that won’t stop bleeding or where the blood is pumping out.Burns or scalds to the child’s skinMeningitis symptoms such as a stiff neck, fever, headache and a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed by a glass.Confusion, headache, vomiting or blurred vision after a head injury.Being floppy, unresponsive or unconscious.Difficulty breathing and blueness around the lips.Having a high fever, heat exhaustion or severe sunburn.Some children may be too young or may not be physically able to tell you when they need medical attention due to a disability. Often children and young people can become seriously ill very suddenly which means that as a member of staff you should be alert to any changes in their behaviour which could indicate pain or nausea. When a child becomes sick or lets you know that they feel unwell, you will need to sufficiently look after them until their paren t or a carer arrives to collect them. In life threatening situations the emergency services should always be contacted straight away. An example of this would be if a child had any of the following signs of acute illness.An open wound that won’t stop bleeding or where the blood is pumping out.Burns or scalds to the child’s skinMeningitis symptoms such as a stiff neck, fever, headache and a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed by a glass.Confusion, headache, vomiting or blurred vision after a head injury.Being floppy, unresponsive or unconscious.Difficulty breathing and blueness around the lips.Having a high fever, heat exhaustion or severe sunburn.Some children may be too young or may not be physically able to tell you when they need medical attention due to a disability. Often children and young people can become seriously ill very suddenly which means that as a member of staff you should be alert to any changes in their behaviour which could indicate pain or nausea. When a child becomes sick or lets you know that they feel unwell, you will need to sufficiently look after them until their parent or a carer arrives to collect them. In life threatening situations the emergency services should always be contacted straight away. An example of this would be if a child had any of the following signs of acute illness.An open wound that won’t stop bleeding or where the blood is pumping out.Burns or scalds to the child’s skinMeningitis symptoms such as a stiff neck, fever, headache and a rash that doesn’t fade when pressed by a glass.Confusion, headache, vomiting or blurred vision after a head injury.Being floppy, unresponsive or unconscious.Difficulty breathing and blueness around the lips.Having a high fever, heat exhaustion or severe sunburn.

Introduction to Christology

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Theo 530: Systematic Theology II Lesson 1 Dr. Daniel R Mitchell, Professor Introduction to Christology Contemporary Issues in Christological Method Overview Christ and History The Search Christology from Above vs. from Below The Person or Work of Christ, Which is Prior? Christ and Myth I. Introduction to this Study A. Relation to other Theological Study 1 Theology Proper (above) 2 Man and Sin (below) Three Issues Addressed Here 1 Faith and History/Reason 2 Ontology vs. Function 3 Myth and the Nature of the Biblical Witness II. Search for the Historical Jesus Key Players: Strauss, Renan, Harnack Harnack’s Presuppositions NT and Superstitious Culture Ancient Miracle Claims are Commonplace Anti-supernaturalism Miracle Claims are Rooted in Ignorance Harnack and the Essential Message of Jesus The Kingdom of God and its Coming God the Father and the infinite value of the human soul The higher Righteousness and the Commandment of Love III. Critique of the Classic Liberal Position A. Schweitzer, Search of the Historical Jesus Jesus in the NT is thoroughly Eschatological. It is Presumptuous for Moderns to try to Reinvent Him. Jesus was â€Å"wrong,† but his essential message is not lost on the NT reader. Kahler 1 Distinguished Historie and Geschichte 2 Contrasted â€Å"Jesus† of Historie and the â€Å"Christ† of Geschichte. IV. Above or Below? 1 Kahler’s Distinction led to the question: Which is prior—Historie or Geschichte? 2 The Neo-Orthodox Theologians such as Barth, Bultmann, and Brunner begin with the Kerygma—from Above (the NT w itness). 3 Kasemann (â€Å"New Search†) and Pannenberg begin with Historie (probable facts)—from Below. 4 Erickson wants to use both in dynamic tension. 1 Following Augustine he begins with faith (from above) 2 He proceeds â€Å"from below† to test the reliability of his faith-given â€Å"hypothesis. V. The Person vs. the Work of Christ The NT seems to Link these 1. (e. g. Messianic Mission and Divine Sonship) Classic Theology Separated them and Stressed Ontology (the Person) Reformers (Luther/Calvin) followed Classic theology, but emphasized the Soteriological significance (Work) of Christ. Modern Theology Continued and Exaggerated this Distinction and Emphasis. Schleiermacher— â€Å"feelings† Bultmann/Tillich—â€Å"existential† question VI. Pros and Cons of the Two Approaches Christology from Above Strength—Emphasizes â€Å"Who† Christ is in evaluating the significance of His Work. Weakness—Tends to become bogged down in philosophical questions, which have no relevance to practical life. Christology from Below Strength—Relevance to Life Weakness—Driven by â€Å"felt needs† and Risks blindness to Issues of Importance that are only secured â€Å"from above. † VII. Christ and the Incarnation Myth Bultmann and â€Å"demythologization. † Builds on the philosophy of Idealism Links Christianity and World Religions Erickson’s Responses The Incarnation is a Mystery The Doctrine is Rooted in Jesus’ own Claims of Himself. The NT teaching is entirely unique to the World’s Religions.

Race and Racial Group Essay

Search the Internet for groups and organizations promoting racial equality to help you complete this assignment. You may also refer to the Internet Resource Directory in Ch. 13 of Racial and Ethnic Groups. Using the information from the text and your web search: Identify one racial group from the list below:  · Hispanic American/Latino Write a 500- to 750-word paper from one of the perspectives below:  · A historian writing about the racial group in a book chapter  · A news reporter writing a newspaper article or blog entry about the racial group  · An individual member of the racial group, writing a personal letter to a friend who is not a member of that racial group Answer the following questions:  · What have been the experiences of this racial group throughout U.S. history?  · What have been the political, social, and cultural issues and concerns throughout American history?  · What legislation meant to constrain race within prejudicial boundaries was enacted? How did the various groups you researched fight this legislation? What legislation meant to alleviate prejudicial boundaries has been enacted? How did the various groups you researched promote this legislation? Assignment: Historical Report on Race Purpose of Assignment Students explore a variety of resources on racial equality and write a paper from a historical perspective relating to the experiences of a particular racial group in the United States. By understanding the history of experiences of various groups, students will be better prepared to connect historical experience to racial diversity today. Resource Required Internet Resource Directory in Ch. 13 of Racial and Ethnic Groups.

Acquisition Team Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Acquisition Team - Research Paper Example primarily, acquisition constitutes a process that functions and bears results based on interdependence and cooperation of various aspects in the contracting process (Engelbeck, 2002). Furthermore, acquisition team is what makes the process of acquisition succeed, based on the set goals. Moreover, formation of the team should reflect aspects of integration, interrelation, cooperation, and collaboration with enhanced communication networks. Business Opportunity Opportunity Title: Z-Full Seepage Blanket Extension, Bolivar Dam, Ohio Solicitation Number: W91237-11-B-0006 Agency: Department of the Army Office: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office Location: USACE District, Huntington URL: https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=c88569da75a9388b1203f6f44e4a9fc7&tab=core&_cview=0. This is one of the projects owned by the Department of Army, and solicitation for the project awaits posting of notice for contractors. The project largely involves contractors initiating an action-plan of pl acing fill material on the downstream side of the Bolivar Dam in Bolivar, Ohio State. Included in the work to be performed are base contract plus two options. On the part of Base Contract, construction of a portion will take place at downstream seepage blanket, a terrace filter blanket extension, 450’ of storm sewer, and tree and brush clearing around the left abutment of the dam (FedBizOpps, N.d). On the part of two options, option (1) will involve construction of remainder of the downstream seepage blanket and 530’ of storm sewer. Option (2) will involve construction of the right abutment seepage blanket (FedBizOpps, N.d). The process of constructing seepage blankets will largely involve borrow material from an on-site borrow area, whereby, the portion of material will be purchased by the contractor from commercial source (FedBizOpps, N.d). Construction to be done will take place on government owned-land, which will be the same thing happening for borrow and spoil ar eas. Research has indicated that there will be need for roads (Haul roads) connecting borrow and spoil areas and subsequently linking them to seepage blankets. The whole project is estimated to cost between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 (FedBizOpps, N.d). The delivery (completion) of the project is estimated will take 635 calendar days after the initial date when authorization of the project commencement notice is received. Sections of FAR Act will guide some of the operations of the project such that, 25% of total contract performance incurred for personnel should be expended for employees of the prime contractor. Acquisition Team Engelbeck (2002) observes that Acquisition needs to be perceived as the process that connects the needs of customers and overall satisfaction derived by the customers. Further, Acquisition is a process of steps and activities involving identifying requirements (needs), acquisition planning, preparation of the solicitation, source selection, negotiation, and contract award, performance and closeout (Engelbeck, 2002). Success of acquisition process has been attached to ability to institute acquisition team that is multi-organizational as well as cross-functional in nature. Therefore, given the nature of the above project, the following experts are deemed critical to the success of the acquisition process. Program Manager (PM) The acquisition process only succeeds or fails from efforts, skills, and knowledge of the PM. This is a professional whose shoulders hold the entire work-process of acquisition, and the direction the PM takes will greatly define the success, failure or progress of the project