General Management †George David Essay

George David has been CEO of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) for more than a decade. During that time he has received numerous accolades and awards for his performance as a CEO. Under his leadership UTC, a $343 billion conglomerate whose operating units include manufacturers of elevators (Otis Elevator), aerospace products (including Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters), air conditioning systems, and fire and security systems, has seen earnings grow at 10–14 percent annually—impressive numbers for any company but particularly for a manufacturing enterprise. According to David, a key to United Technologies’ success has been sustained improvements in productivity and product quality. The story goes back to the 1980s when David was running the international operations of Otis Elevator. There he encountered a Japanese engineer, Yuzuru Ito, who had been brought in to determine why a new elevator product was performing poorly. David was impressed with Ito’s methods for identifying quality problems and improving performance. When he was promoted to CEO, David realized that he had to lower the costs and improve the quality of UTC’s products. One of the first things he did was persuade Ito to work for him at UTC. Under David, Ito developed a program for improving product quality and productivity, known as Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE), which was subsequently rolled out across UTC. The ACE program has been one of drivers of productivity improvements at UTC ever since. Early in his tenure as CEO, David also radically reorganized UTC. He dramatically cut the size of the head office and decentralized decision making to business divisions. He also directed his accounting staff to develop a new financial reporting system that would give him good information about how well each division was doing and make it easier to hold divisional general managers accountable for the performance of the units under them. He then gave them demanding goals for earnings and sales growth and pushed them to improve processes within their units by implementing the ACE program. At the same time David has always stressed that management is about more than goal setting and holding people accountable. Values are also important. David has insisted that UTC employees adhere to the highest ethical standards, that the company produce that have minimal environmental impact, and that employee safety remain the top consideration in the work-place. When asked what his greatest achievement as a manager has been, David refers to UTC’s worldwide employee scholarship program. Implemented in 1996 and considered the hall-mark of UTC’s commitment to employee development, the program pays the entire cost of an employee’s college or graduate school education, allows employees to pursue any subject at an accredited school, provides paid study time, and awards UTC stock (up to $10,000 worth in the United States) for completing degrees. Explaining the program, David states, â€Å"One of the obligations that an employer has is to give employees opportunities to better themselves. And we feel it’s also very good business for us because it generates a better workforce that stays longer. † David states that one of his central tasks has been to build a management team that functions smoothly over the long term. â€Å"People come to rely upon each other,† he says. â€Å"You have the same trusting relationships. You know people; they know you. You can predict them; they can predict you. All of that kind of begins to work, and it accelerates over the tenure of a CEO. If you have people bouncing in and out every two to three years, that’s not good. According to Sandy Weill, former chairman of Citicorp and a UTC board member, David has the right mix of toughness and sensitivity. â€Å"When somebody can’t do the job he’ll try to help; but if that person is not going to make it work, that person won’t be on the job forever. † At the same time Weill says, â€Å"He does a lot of things that employees respect him for, I think he is a very good manager. Even though David is demanding, he can also listen—he has a receive mode as well as a send mode. †

Applying the Results and Conclusion Essay

In the research process, applying the results and conclusion is an important process that answers the underlying question of the study. The results are the findings of the study. Depending on what the study was about and how it was conducted, the results could vary and may determine what exactly was found and how it should be applied. The conclusion is a summary of the findings and this is where the researcher developed his or her theory and tries and proves what it is that they were trying to find out. â€Å"The teen birth rate has been steadily falling for years, but it still remains the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized countries.† (â€Å"Facts About Teen Pregnancy,† 2014). As of May 2014, the state of Texas is ranked number three of fifty-one states in the United States with the highest number of teen pregnancies and number five in teen birth deliveries. Although the numbers have steadily decreased since its peak in the 1990’s, Texas is still considered to be one of the states with the most teen pregnancies preceded by New Mexico and Mississippi. â€Å"In 2010, some 614,000 pregnancies occurred among teenage women aged 15–19, for a rate of 57.4 pregnancies per 1,000 women that age. This marks a 51% decline from the 1990 peak and a 15% decline in just two years, from 67.8 in 2008, according to â€Å"Facts About Teen Pregnancy† (2014). In the state Texas, sex education is not a required subject and researchers attribute this fact along with racial and ethical backgrounds to the problem of teen pregnancy. This problem is costing taxpayers 1.1 billion dollars a year in health care. So, this problem is not only affecting the families, it is affecting the entire community. To collect data for this study the researchers used the Secondary Data Collection process. Secondary data collection is simply gathering data from documents, records and reports of others. â€Å"Texas birth records and population projections were used to simulate pregnancy rates  among women ages 15-19 years from 2005 to 2015† (â€Å"Teen pregnancy in Texas: 2005 to 2015.,† 2012). The data was appropriate because it consisted of recorded facts and records that were taken by accredited sources. In protecting the right of the subjects, the researchers did not disclose any names, medical information, or any other form of personal information where the subject could be identified. This study was conducted on the number of pregnancies and births of women ages 15-19 and the focus was on the numbers not the specific people. To support the reliability and validity of the study researchers used the Scatter Diagram. â€Å"The scatter diagram graphs pairs of numerical data, with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between them. If the variables are correlated, the points will fall along a line or curve. The better the correlation, the tighter the points will hug the line† according to â€Å"Teen pregnancy in Texas: 2005 to 2015.† Based on historical rates of natural increase, sexual experience among racial and ethnical groups was used to present the numbers. The data was analyzed after being collected and explored. The gathered information was compared with the information from other states and the result was Texas was ranked number three when it came to teen pregnancies and births in the United States. The analysis procedures were app ropriate because the researcher had to have other statistics from other states to compare with the Texas statistics. Analyzing recorded facts and records was simply an action of comparing the numbers with other states and finding that some were higher and some were lower. This process help the researcher determine in what order each state was listed in teen pregnancies. The two types of data collected were the quantitative data and the qualitative data. The quantitative data gave information that could be converted into numbers. In other words, the subjects were counted and other information, except their age and the fact that they were pregnant or had given birth, was excluded. The qualitative data would be the information that was not disclosed such as the names and the ages. Qualitative research focuses on gathering of mainly verbal data rather than measurements. It is important to gather one or both forms of data to give more insight to the research. Depending on what the research is about, one or both method of data collection can be used. In conclusion it was found that the state of Texas is among the states with the highest number of teen pregnancies and  births. The pregnancies were attributed to lack of sex education, racial and ethnical backgrounds, economic status, and the rise in teen sexual experiences. It proved that the Hispanic race attributes the majority of the teen pregnancies followed by African Americans. Not only is Texas ranked number three and five with teen pregnancies and births, Texas is ranked number one in repeated births among teen mothers in the United States. The pregnancies are costing taxpayers 1.1 billion dollars a year. It is a proven fact that this is a problem that not only affect the families it affects the whole community. The strengths of this study are the fact that the problem is being recognized so that a solution can be found. Because of the awareness of the situation, legislature can began to generate a plan to control teen sexual habits. If this is accomplished, fewer pregnancies will occur. The limits to the study are that it did not include the opinions of the teen women. I feel that if the insight of their situation was given a better idea of controlling the situation could be formed. In order to solve this problem, I feel that the teen young women should give their story and the stories should be compared to find a/the common ground. Once the common ground is found, a better solution could be introduced to control the situation. â€Å"Changing population characteristics in Texas and differences in sexual activity and contraceptive failure among racial/ethnic groups indicate that teenage pregnancy will not continue to decline in the coming decade† (â€Å"Teen pregnancy in Texas: 2005 to 2015.,† 2012). Now that the quantitative data has been collected a researched more qualitative data should be gathered. References Facts About Teen Pregnancy. (2014, July). About Health, 1(1), 1-2. Retrieved from http://pregnancy.about.com/od/teenpregnancy/a/Teen-Pregnancy.htm Teen pregnancy in Texas: 2005 to 2015.. (2012, July). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1(1), . Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/23642480_Teen_pregnancy_in_Texas_2005-2015

Outsourcing Information Technology and Security Essay

This can be defined as the employment done to another company by an organization for the service provision in information technology or security services rather than the use of the corporate workers in the performance of such a duty. With the growing intensity of commercial activities the concepts of strategic management has been of importance in formulating various structures and economies in the business activity. Managers have consistently understood the role played by external outsourcing. Such is done is the recognition of the economies of scale and economies in the cost factor which the organization would have been affected. The Elite Supercars can be voted in as one of the global organizations where outsourcing has never been compromised. However a deep concern into the principles of economies of cost factor have been put into consideration. Firstly, an importance is attached to the scale of adequacy in terms of levels of ability for the service provider. Since the provision of both the information technology and security services call for technical pursuits from the providers, the choice of service providers has been in recognition of their technical abilities and competencies. Either, the outsourcing activity has still been in evaluation of the cost parameters. Through this activity, the company was to get a relatively lower scale in its costs. However, a scrutiny and evaluation was done by the management in accordance with the cost factors in choosing various clients against their quality of services. The choice of the clients by the company was indeed a compliment of lower costing service sales above high quality service inputs. Above all other factors, the evaluation of the environmental factors in the activity was a factor. However the two choices were complimentarily environmental friendly within the organizational setup With Elite Supercars, outsourcing information technology and security has been important complements in its activities. This is a car manufacturing company with its roots at Singapore. However to it, outsourcing of the above two corporate factors draws a question of high concern. Firstly, with its increased manufacturing activity, the company had to outsource development of various software useful in the organization’s processes. In the 1st November 2006, the company’s CEO released a press release, where it had contracted the Northern Ferrari Hire for developing an outsourcing program through the web marketing. This was to involve various software on strategic marketing modalities. Perhaps, the impressive sales turn over embraced by the company can be credited to this fact. Through the program, the company is able to adequately provide an attractive package of marketing services to its customers. Through this method, customers have closer relationship with the company where it can adequately communicate with them through the Internet. Suchan, Charles, 2006) Some various examples show the implementation success of this activity. This activity by the organization’s implementation of the program has even driven it to its extended boundaries of its activities. The program was provisional and to a strategy in various accounting components. Firstly, it was a way of optimal costing. As an important tool in an organization, optimal costing implies efficiency in the activity performance. Optimal costing is also seen as the economical method in use of organizational resources. To the Elite Supercars, outsourcing of information technology is a complement of various efficiency-costing benefits. The information outsourcing therefore shows a big success in the company’s costing system where it has obtained various efficiencies related to the program. Through use of an external supply, the organization had various benefits ascribed to it in terms of the costs. Like an external contract, the activity itself was less costing than the use of its own staff. Either, this activity by its own required a high scale of technological know how about it. In regard to its inexperienced employees, outsourcing is still fundamental in the implementation success of the program. Elite Supercars was not strong and able enough to provide the set of competent staff allied to this facility. Either well, to the organization, the provision of a set of technical staff on information technology was not economical enough in relation to the cost factor of the broad organizational activity. However to the company, perhaps the greatest benefit from the project was the consequent development and growth of its sales turn over. Since the enactment of program, the company has continued to experience high sales volume. Above this, there have been various efficiencies in terms of the marketing factor. There has been a continued reduction in the cost of marketing through the various effecienciess and economies of scale borne out of the process. (Cantwell, Alfonso, Granstrand, 2004) Outsourcing, by the Elite Supercars on security has been fundamentally one its management activities. From the past experience in insecurity and theft of its cars at their manufacturing site, the company had to seek refuge of finding a storage facility for its cars. To the company, it chose to use the facility of storage that had been constructed by Dutch Authorities. With the same storage facility, the organization experiences lower cases of theft (if any) to its highly priced cars. Formerly, the increasing state of loss of cars had become a problem which threatened the company in being out of the industry. It had continued to get higher levels of losses through the theft of its cars. At one level therefore, the facility offered cost saving attributes through reduced scales of care theft. (Domberger, 1998) The move to use the storage facility provided by the Dutch Authorities was perhaps one of it strategic management goals. Construction of its own facility was a factor seen as increasing the level of its cost factor consequently. The construction of its own shortage facility was to involve a high level of cost factor compared to the level of its operational capacity. This is an attribute of success in the implementation of the program. Since prevention of car from theft was still a factor of consideration, the opportunity cost of not constructing its own facility was basically to be through the use of another facility. Otherwise, the loss that could accrue from the loss of the cars through theft was far beyond the cost outlay got from the payment to the external shortage. Therefore, the security outsourcing program was itself a factor of high attribute in the success of the company’s activities. To the current period, security problem is no longer an issue and the company continues to embrace the broad economies allied to these out sources. Broadly therefore, outsourcing activity by the company shows a strategic management tool towards the organization activity. The company embraces the long run benefits of these two programs.

Private Concert Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Private Concert - Assignment Example The other two pieces which were also stylistically different from all the other pieces included the piece on â€Å"Ancient memories† and â€Å"Waltz for Debby†. The Palestrina piece illustrates resolution and harmony because of its dominant, 7th chord. During the 16th century, the seventh chords got created in different part, but only three of them where the dissonant 7th was prepared and resolved. During this century, harmony was as a result of horizontal voice leading. It is similar to the full 7th chord on the 2nd degree in the Palestrina piece. The piece on â€Å"Waltz for Debby† was noticeable because of its slow beat and that there was a consonant through its entirety. An American Jazz Pianist called Bill Evans composed this piece in 1961. Throughout the piece, the trumpet, electric guitar and the saxophone were all used at different times to produce different melodies. There was an increased of the dynamics to a moderate level then to a softer level after making a decrescendo. The piece on â€Å"ancient memories† was played by Dr. Darryl White at the concert. When it began, there were dissonant tones. The tones were within the harmony similar to that of the piano and drums. Later, the piece changed to a more constant harmony to the end of the song. The melody of the piece could also be said to be happy and relaxing in other parts of the song. Perhaps it was because the tempo in the song changed and the notes made from the trumpet were held. There was drumming in the â€Å"Waltz for Debby† piece which was part of the music. Most notably, the texture of this piece remained almost the same throughout until its end. There was also the 1, 2, 3 pattern which was notable. In my view, the drumming made it easier for me to enjoy the piece. It also had a different genre than the other songs, which made it easier for me to remember it than other songs. The piece on â€Å"ancient memories† incorporated a lot of repetition. This led to different changes in the

Culture and ethical values Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Culture and ethical values - Essay Example 78). Each individual gives up his own power to the supreme sovereign, the ‘Leviathan’, whose authority is indivisible and unchallengeable. The ethic of self-preservation is the basic tenet of Hobbes’ framework. Because men cannot cooperate amongst themselves, the Leviathan is tasked with the protection of order, and its powers are unlimited. Such is the untrammeled power of the supreme sovereign – whether one man or an assembly – that it exercises the right of censorship over any and all expression and all property is subject to its laws. For Hobbes, â€Å"rebellion is but war renewed† (2005, p. 195); he understands that the Leviathan could very well become tyrannical, yet he maintains that even the worst form of despotism is preferable to the anarchy and chaos of the state of nature. Rebellion against government, thus, is explicitly wrong, not only because it is destined to fail, but also because it sets a poor example (Russell, 2004, p. 506). The only reprieve that Hobbes provides for the citizens of his commonwealth is that of self-defense: self-preservation being the highest goal of an individual, he reserves the right to defend his person. Any other means of resistance to government is culpable. Therefore, we can see that there is a very limited scope in Hobbes’ agenda to rebel against government: essentially, â€Å"Hobbes wants to show why we have to obey† (Harrison, 2003, p. 191). Hobbes’ fascination with authority and the unbridled faith he reposes in the sovereign are products, however, of how he feels a just society and a commodious existence can be best preserved. He â€Å"†¦insists that the natural condition [in the state of nature] is one of liberty, equality, and the most extensive individual rights imaginable. He argues, however, that these free and equal people are in a condition of utter wretchedness and insecurity – not in spite of their liberty and

Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart - Essay Example Kmart has a long history; recently it is trying to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization. Kmart is slowly losing its customers to Wal-Mart. Before being bankrupted Kmart was the second best retailer after Wal-Mart. Both companies used different strategies to outsmart each other. They tried different strategies to woo the customers. After coming out from bankruptcy Kmart found that it has lost most of the customers to Wal-Mart and other retailers like Target. Its total net profit also declined considerably. Target took this opportunity to its full advantage and started aggressive campaigning. Though the think tank of Target knew that most of Kmart's customers would go to Wal-Mart rather than coming to Target's stores, they started slashing the prices of the products and announced heavy discounts on them. They used innovative ideas to woo the customers. To maintain its top position Wal-Mart used to slash the rates so that when customers come to purchase the items would buy other products also. These items were termed as loss leaders. Most of the middle class families are Wal-Mart's customers. Target aimed at upper middle class. Because of this stiff competition between Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Costco, etc., customer has wide range of choices to choose. Customer can buy products at discount rates.

A letter to University Program Leader for an enquery Essay

A letter to University Program Leader for an enquery - Essay Example n thrown into uncertainty by the fact that the structure of my academic program will change from a 15 credits module to a 20 credits module in the September semester. This change is going to affect my study schedule since it is likely to raise the number of credits required for a complete semester and I may end up with fewer modules completed. In March, I made enquiries with the E-learning team on when and what modules would be available for enrolment in the April Semester and I was notified to take two modules in Biological Psychology and Social psychology even though I was aware that the semester had three level 4 modules on offer; Biological, Social and Developmental Psychology. Following the unsatisfactory response that I received from the E-learning team, I contacted the E-learning team for the second time, enquiring for the possibility of adding Developmental Psychology to my program for the Semester beginning April 2012. In response, the E-learning team informed me that the program leader would not allow me to take three modules, leaving me with the unfavorable option of taking the two modules that the program leader advised. However, at the beginning of my Second Semester in mid April, I realized that some students who started in January were taking three modules (Biological Psychology, Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology) for the January Semester. I sought the advice of the program leader and the E-learning team again but did not get any responses and so I had to proceed with the two modules. In the period April to June, I frequently contacted the program leader and the E-learning team to allow me takes the third module without much breakthrough. The E-learning team later informed me that the program leader would not allow me take the third module since the Semester was just four weeks away from the assessment date and so he advised me to wait for a few more weeks when I would obtain my new study pathway. I have since received my study plan

Media Convergence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Media Convergence - Essay Example Or as Jenkins (2006) states, there is a cooperation between all multiple media industries, and media audiences will look for information where they can find it. This essay will look at convergence and what is meant by it, and will look, briefly, at the dangers of convergence, then will examine the Astral-Bell merger and analyze the merger from the voices of the people and the voices of the individuals who are behind the merger. Media Convergence According to Jenkins (2004) there is an inherent danger in media convergence, in that the multinational media conglomerates have the potential, and live up to this potential, to dominate every sector of the entertainment industry. Thus, the power elite had the potential to rule the airwaves, putting out its message to the masses, and the message is the message that benefits the corporations and the powerful (Brenkman, 1979). The media may be associated with large structural forces (Havens, et al., 2009). And the message may become more like p ropaganda, which makes the mass media more of a propaganda machine than a marketplace for free ideas (Murray, 2005). Giroux (2004) states that one of the dangers of media convergence, when certain corporations become too powerful, is that the message that goes out to the people is the message that benefits the corporations that own these multi-media conglomerates, which is the message of the neo-liberal – low taxes, deregulation and private enterprise is good, the opposite is bad, and an unequal distribution of wealth in society is a good thing. This is because the corporations that own these conglomerates are the very corporations that would benefit the most in this kind of society of profit above all else. Media convergence has the power to do the bidding of powerful people (Rossman, 2004), such as when Clear Channel, which is a multimedia conglomerate based in the United States, organized a boycott against the country group The Dixie Chicks, after the lead singer, Natalie Maines, told a crowd that she was embarrassed to be from the same state as George W. Bush, and Clear Channel, wanting to get favorable legislation for its plans to expand, organized the boycott to please the Bush Administration. In short, media convergence has the potential for great harm. Too much power in any one hands would cause the marketplace of ideas to falter, and the message that is disseminated will be the message that is crafted by this particular entity. It is in this context that the merger between Bell and Astral will be examined. The Bell-Astral Merger The View of the People According to Winseck (2012), the Bell-Astral merger refer to the fact that Bell is attempting to buy Astral media, and this would represent a major deal between the largest Telecom-Media-Internet conglomerate in the country, and they would have revenues of over $22 billion. Winseck (2012) states that the merger would mean that the country would have lost an independent station, which is what Astra l is, having revenues of just over $888 million in 2010. Winseck (2012) looks at this in the context of the Ronald Coase, economist, idea that the two ways of dealing with business environment uncertainties are the market and the hierarchies, and that the Bell-Astral merger would be essentially elevating the hierarchies over the markets. If the merger goes through, according to Winsec

U.S. Fiscal Cliff Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

U.S. Fiscal Cliff - Essay Example The primary obstacle towards a greater understanding between the two political parties with regards to austerity, spending, and the national debt is with regards to how the situation should be handled. On the one side the Democratic Party oftentimes if much more fiscally liberal than the Republican Party and as such oftentimes has few qualms in running up high deficits. However, the Republican Party itself under the Bush years added to the national debt by a figure of over 4 trillion dollars. Such a sum for the time was an unimaginable one. Aided by nearly a decade of conflict and two wars, the Republican Party lost any and all credence that they had formerly retained with reference to being the party of fiscal responsibility. However, with regards to the individual positions that the political spectrum retains, there can be said to be two. The Democratic Party believes that the best way to find a reasonable solution for such economic difficulties revolves around raising taxes (speci fically on the upper middle class and wealthiest citizens). Such an approach has merits; however, speaking economically, it also serves to penalize those job-creators that most directly influence the level of growth and recovery that the nation would experience if such a deadweight loss were not experienced. Similarly, those that support the alternate view to the one listed above claim that any and all budget shortfalls must be remedied by relying on austerity and/or budget cuts to achieve the desired result.

Reparation Law & Evidence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Reparation Law & Evidence - Assignment Example Introduction When a claimant seeks compensation to harm incurred from a situation or individual, the most desirable means of settling the dispute would be by incorporation of alternative dispute resolution tactics without necessarily going to a court trial.3 Such techniques may include use of arbitrators, or regulators to deliver resolved the dispute or by offering an opinion on the matter that may assist the parties in dispute to resolve the dispute. Before claim, other key areas to note include the economic status of the defendant. If the defendant is bankrupt and has no property of value or in debt, it may be unwise to seek payment since it would only cost the plaintiff legal fees which they may never be able to recover.4 In such a case, if still necessary to make a claim, it would be wise to state an amount and the time of payment, as well. United Kingdom laws require that compensation claims against a wrongdoing have adequate evidence that explicitly shows the actual instance of wrongdoing. This may be in the form of witnesses or a document footage, which must all be presented to the court handling the case. Without proper evidence, it is quite impossible to follow up a successful claim against a defendant.5 There are claims involving companies, well noted in company law. Such cases include breach of contracts, whether by a company or an individual. Such cases, usually seek compensation for the required service or product stated in the contract, where one party did not meet the end of their bargain, or acted against provisions in the contract.6 Cheryl acquires injuries on her face, after being hit by a pedal from Lizzie’s bike after it was run over by Donnas’ car to the point that she could not see through her right eye. She cannot be able drive for at least a week. This inconveniences her from attending a concert, hence losing money used to purchase tickets to that concert. Cheryl earns her living as a model, and because of the injuries incu rred, she cannot attend an audition as well as a photo shoot for an advert for a company. Cheryl has several claims that she could be able to pursue in the case of her situation. The UK law provides that she can make a whiplash personal injury claim. She could direct the claim to either Lizzie, the bike’s owner, to Donna, who smashed Lizzie’s bike and finally to Donald, the car owner who initially hit Lizzie. The claim against Lizzie would have a basis on the aspect that Lizzie did not wait for the lights to turn green before she started crossing the road, and in the event, she is at the centre of an accident involving Lizzie and Donald’s car. The basis on such a claim would be that Lizzie was careless and that she did not follow traffic regulations that require her to wait until the lights are green before she crosses the road. She could use either Donald or Donna as her witnesses since both of them were present at the time of the accident.7 Donald would be a b etter witness, since he would also be trying to ward of blame on hitting Lizzie. He would, therefore, make a strong support for Cheryl’s claim against Lizzie. Towards Donna, Cheryl can make a personal injury claim based on the aspect that she was the one who runs over Lizzie’s bike, and in the event, a pedal comes off, only to hit Cheryl on the face.8

Analyse the ideology of motherhood represented in distributed imaging Dissertation

Analyse the ideology of motherhood represented in distributed imaging spaces such as Instagram - Dissertation Example This is because more and more people share their life events on the social networks regardless of the events being sad or happy, says (Kivran-Swaine et al, 2013:1-5). Through one’s social media account most people are able to follow one’s transition through the years from one’s teenaged life to adulthood. Motherhood is only the kinship relation between an offspring and the mother. It is also one of the most life altering events that can be experienced and is often represented in the social networks. Most social media users usually cover their social pages with pictures of their experiences of pregnancy, and motherhood accompanied by status updated of about their daily events as mothers. Kivran-Swaine goes on to say that the ways in which motherhood is represented and enacted on the social networks is usually very broad, and does not effectively account for the complex content in which motherhood is understood and performed using new communications technologies. M ost information presented on the social networks about motherhood usually give the idea that motherhood is full of happy moments; where the mothers are always smiling holding their bundles of joy and updating how happy and blessed they feel to be mothers. The ideology of motherhood in the social media is often one-sided. Section II: The theoretical concept of â€Å"workface† Kivran-Swaine comes up with a theoretical concept of ‘facework’ that she uses to analyze the ideology of motherhood in the social media. Facework functions as a critical mode of self presentation and self expression on the social media where mothers create their own â€Å"mommy face†, a social space where they can showcase their motherhood achievements and their various standards of motherhood with the rest of the world. There are a number of mothers who have shown a good use of their facework, whose social media activities have incorporated their experiences as mothers that are if the y have not completely changed to motherhood experiences only. A good example of new mothers who have incorporated their motherhood experi

Florence vs. Board of Chosen Free

Florence vs. Board of Chosen Freeholders of county of Burlington et al. Essay Florence vs. Board of Chosen Freeholders of county of Burlington et al. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1. The case is subtitled â€Å"Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit.† What is the meaning of â€Å"Certiorari†?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Certiorari is an order by a higher court to review the subordinate court. In this the higher court request the lower court to bring the case forward so that it can review how the lower court has gone about with it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2. Which justice wrote the majority opinion for the court? Which justices joined him/her?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion. Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Alito, Justice Breyer later on joined him,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. In five sentences or fewer and in your own words, what are the underlying facts of this case?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The case involves a plaintiff who was found guilty of a misdemeanor and given a fine for a traffic offense. However, he felt that the police had violated his rights and went to the Supreme Court to seek a certiorari for the court to look at the decision of the lower courts but the court of appeal affirmed the decision by the lower courts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4. What was the main legal issue in this case? In other words, which constitutional provisions were allegedly violated?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main legal issues was whether the police had actually violated a fundamental right in the constitution. The right to privacy is the constitutional question in this case. Who did Petitioner sue? (Who was defendant in original case?)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5. The petitioner was the board of chosen freeholders of the county of Burlington.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What was the decision of the District court?                   6.The district court held that there was a violation of the fourth amendment.                   7.And how about the Appeals court? What was their decision?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The court of appeal upheld the decision of the district court.                   8. The U.S. Supreme Court noted in the majority decision that Appeals courts around the country have been split on this issue. Did this influence the Supreme Court’s decision to hear this case? Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This did not affect this case as the court applied their discretion to see the events that had been currently been brought before the court and keep aside the ideas that had ever applied in other cases. The court was also interested to create a precedence as such.                   9. The majority cites the case Block v Rutherford, 468 U.S. 576. For what purpose did they bring up this case?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The court used this decision to try and explain the reason for upholding the third circuit as such. This tries to explain the reasons as to why the court upheld it and also show situation which the issue of contraband banning could be used. The court used this to show that if the arrested party was a person of higher degree crime then he could be denied the rights.                   10. The court also raises Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517. What point were they trying to make here?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The use of this case was also to try and explain why the court had made this decision as such and also show instances that such a decision would not amount to infringement of rights.                   11. And Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318 was discussed in depth. In your own words, what were the facts of that case?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the case the petitioner had come to court to seek whether undoubted security imperatives that are involved in jail supervision override an assertion that some of the detainees must evade from the invasive search.                   12.Why did the majority cite the Atwater case?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The majority cited this case to act as a guideline as to whether there can be limitation to enjoyment some rights as such.                   1. The majority lists the many types of contraband that can be smuggled into jails. List at least six examples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mobile Phones, Drugs, Weapons, Glass materials, Illegal clothing, Messages to other prisoners                   2. Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was discussed. Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This situation was discussed to show the situations that the right can be limited. The right is explained that it can be limited in cases that the arrested party would pose a threat to the security of the public.                   3. Chief Justice Roberts issued a â€Å"concurring† opinion. What is a â€Å"concurring† opinion?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A concurring opinion is an opinion that goes in line with the decision and majority opinion of the courts.                   4. In your own words, what is Chief Justice Robert’s point?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chief justice Roberts tries to explain the impossibility of the court giving the exclusion of a rule delivered by the same court as such. J                  5. ustice Alito also filed a concurring opinion. What was his point?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   His opinion was that the court will not be present at all times to ensure that the offenders are not subjected to these conditions. He tries to explain the fact that a judicial officer cannot always be present in the police stations to ensure that the right is not infringed at all.                   6. Who wrote the dissenting opinion? And who joined him/her?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dissenting opinion was written by Justice by Breyer                   7. The dissent said that a certain standard should apply to searches. What standard were they recommending?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The standard that he sets is the determination of the weight of cases so as to be able to know how serious a matter could be before opting to go ahead to conduct searches on a detainee.                   8. The dissent, too, cites Atwater v. Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 315. Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opinion cites this case to cite situations I which the right to privacy could be limited and not in minor offences such as the one brought before the court of justice.                   9. On page 5 of the dissent the justices refer to â€Å"amicus† briefs. What is an Amicus brief?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a matter of fact, an amicus brief simply means an intervening brief to a case presented before the court of law.                   10. What examples did the dissent include to show those strip-searched for minor offenses?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dissent uses the example of traffic offenders being subjected to the same manner just as the people involved in major state offences.                   11. If you were on the court, would you side with the majority, the dissent, or one of the concurring opinions? Why?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most importantly, I would side with the decent since they have managed to show conclusively how the right can be infringed as such and also tries to protect the rights of minor offenders as well. References Florence vs. Board of Chosen Freeholders of county of Burlington et al. (2012)566. U.S Source document

Influence of Money and Media on Elections

Influence of Money and Media on Elections During elections, electoral networks drive the â€Å"every vote counts† campaign, but the voter appeal is lost due to the high value placed in high-proficiency media and the conniving, slick interest groups that use propaganda to persuade voter turn-out. There lie many problems in the world of politics. Nasty campaigning and slamming ones opponent have become a commonplace in todays society. The root of these distinct problems doesnt stem directly from the candidates themselves, but rather the national committees for the Republicans and Democrats that represent them. The money which is spent by the massive institutions to their partys candidate in each election is overwhelming, but also impacts the public persona which is seen through the exorbitant and high-priced media campaigns that seduce public interest There are very specific rules that are governed rigidly regarding campaign financing. However the major national committees for the Republicans and Democrats have found ways around this system. The campaign financing rules are simple. Individual people are permitted to give $1000 per candidate per election, whereas interest groups are allowed to donate up to $5000 per candidate per election. In comparison to the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by both major parties, these are relatively small amounts of money. These national committees of the major parties use non-federal accounts to accumulate what is known as â€Å"soft money.† There are no limits on how much a party can spend at local levels for grass roots party building. The money in the non-federal regulated accounts is funneled to states, which are used to endorse or bash one of the candidates. Each major political party spends soft money in places where they have available seats in office and where they know they can retain them. This allows them to ensure more political influence in Congress. If a party feels they cannot steal a seat from the other party, the committee is less likely to spend soft money to keep up. The significance of this is that the candidate who spends the most money often wins. Though the large corporations and interest groups are the source of the influence, the political candidate is the face that the American people see to represent their party. This reality has caused voters to doubt whether their individual vote even counts. With each election, more Americans feel that the ultimate cause of who wins is determined by the amount of political wealth and media attention they have acquired. The solution to the problem is simple reform of the laws which govern campaign financing. While the answer may be simple to achieve, the solution is quite a different story. The major parties control the lawmaking body of the United States. Many of these congressmen owe their political position to what is known as soft money. This soft money comes from interest groups and major corporations; leaving the legislators in a very tough position. However if they were to reform the laws, the roles of these interest groups and the money of these corporations would be greatly diminished. It would provide a level playing field in all congressional districts around the nation. Eliminating soft money from politics would be to restore purity in a sense to the political process. Reforming the laws would ensure that political parties can not influence elections through money. It would also prevent interest groups and large corporations from controlling large aspects of todays government. For instance, the new law could set limits on how much money can be spent on television and radio advertisement. When this amount of money has been reached, the candidates could use no more political money for this type of advertisement. By the same token any amount of money could be spent on pamphlets and brochures. Educating voters on the issues and specific candidates stance on those issues is more alluring than oppressing and berating ones political opponent through media advertisement. This would allow the American people to decide based mainly on the issues presented, not through biased media influence. Campaign finance reform is a very hot topic. It seems that many people are jumping on the bandwagon hoping for some good press when a law is finally passed. With our most recent 2008 election, the candidates were undoubtedly fighting for votes in a close election, since the two of them set a record in soft money spent during an election. We need to fight to make politics about prevalent issues and leadership once again and take our country back from large corporations and interest groups that have assumed control through their large resources and persuading media influence.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Malaysia

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Malaysia Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) implied that the firms consideration of, and response to, issues beyond the narrow economic, technical and legal requirements of the firm and to accomplish social benefits along with the traditional economic gains which the firms seek.(Husted 2003). The inception and framework of CSR was first created by the European Union in promoting the CSR to the environment and society that is related to business. European Commission (2001) defined CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis that by developing awareness and responsibility that leads to enhance the success of the business. CSR implementation can be divided in two areas which are Internal and external. In internal area, CSR practices basically deals with the people that are related to the business internally such as employees and any other issues that is involved to the management of the production and resources such as safety environment and health assurance in investing in human capital. On the other hand, in external area, the socially responsibilities involved a large range of stakeholders to the company business such as suppliers, customers, government and shareholders. CSR is defined as open and transparent business practices that are based on ethical values and respect for the community, employees, the environment, shareholders and other stakeholders. It is designed to deliver sustainable value to society at large. CSR supports Triple Bottom Line reporting which emphasizes the economic, social and environmental bottom-line wellness. CSR goes beyond compliance to laws. And we wish to emphasizes this. It is important to avoid a legalistic way of thinking when considering CSR. There is no universal approach to CSR. Companies are free to adopt what suits them. However there are some basic concepts that cut across all definitions and these should be considered in crafting a companys CSR vision. CSR is not about compliance or philanthropy or public relations. It often involves cultural transformation in a company as it integrates CSR concepts into its operations and decision making. Vitally, CSR involves communicating the companys actions to its stakeho lders and encouraging their feedback. Only in this way can a company have a dynamic and relevant CSR vision. Literature Review In Malaysia, the disclosure of CSR on annual report is voluntary. The choice of social issues disclosed tends to reflect the Malaysian Governments priority or the particular obligations which companies have. Corporate Social Disclosure (CSD) may have the potential to strengthen stakeholder relationships as reporting promotes corporate transparency and instills greater confidence and trust amongst stakeholders. CSD represents an additional channel for engaging stakeholders in a dialogue, and it enables companies to identify and address key issues of concern to their stakeholders. CSR disclosure has been the subject of substantial academic accounting research (Farook and Lanis 2005; Gray, Owen and Maunders 1987), however, while there has been research relating to annual reports in general, little has been undertaken focusing on CSR disclosure by PLCs, which can influence many people in society, view their social responsibility, and if indeed they discharge their social accountability b y voluntarily disclosing CSR information (Gray, Kouhy and Lavers 1995). Announcement of YAB Prime Ministers Budget 2007 has stated the requirement for all Public Listed Company (PLC) to disclose any CSR activities in the Company Annual Report and to adopt and manage the CSR activities in their own business practices. There is also stated the Bursa Malaysias CSR framework for PLCs guideline in promoting CSR practices. Bursa Malaysia CSR framework has outlined 3 critical elements in CSR practice. The first element is the establishment framework created from the national policies and aspirations, so that the establishment of CSR is towards to national goals and objectives. The second element is the flexibility of the disclosure framework. PLCs are required to disclose CSR statement in the company annual report. The framework gives opportunity to PLCs to practice CSR in their own creativity and action as they manage the best action for the company. Lastly, this framework is not just a step by step prescription but it is a guideline for the PLCs in promoting CSR practices. This is important for the company to establish efficient CSR practices and policies. Every PLCs need to create their own creative and effective CSR practices relevance to the framework guidelines. The Bursa Malaysia CSR Framework looks at 4 main focal areas for CSR practice. They are the environment, the workplace, the community and the marketplace, in no order of priority. In the environment area, CSR focus on a variety of issues such as the use of energy on how the company allocates its usage effectively and to reduce any damages that can adverse effect to environment. In the community area, the relation of the company and the community is a two way communication. For example supporting employee involvement in community issues enriches the community and the company. Companies can be creative in looking at how they can contribute to children, youth development and the under-privileged. The opportunities for company interaction with the community are vast. In the marketplace area, the important stakeholders such as shareholders, suppliers, and customers can be identified so that companies can interact responsibly with this group in a number of ways, such as raising the standar ds of Corporate Governance within the company so that it meets shareholder expectations is a further consideration. Lastly, is in the workplace area. Employees are drawn from society and so everything that related to staff needs to be socially responsible, whether we are dealing with basic human rights or gender issues. A quality work environment and health safety are obvious considerations in inculcating in the employees and the values which the company holds dear if the CSR is practiced in that company. A company should focus on areas such as economic, environmental and social when developing sustainability strategy (Szekely Knirsch 2005). Sustainability strategy development can be based on legitimacy, economic and social theories. These theories explain social disclosures pattern by organizations (Haniffa Cooke 2005) and thus, practicing of CSR. Legitimacy theory is whereby corporate social disclosures were motivated by the corporate need to legitimize activities (Hogner 1982). This is where corporate management will react to community expectations (Guthrie Parker, 1989). Thus, companies are expected to carry out activities that are acceptable by the community. Corporate social disclosure can be used to appease some of the concerns of the relevant publics and also as a proactive legitimation strategy to obtain continued inflows of capital and to please ethical investors (Haniffa Cooke 2005). Second, economic theory reflects the degree of association of CSR and financial perform ance by taking consideration of cost-related advantages, market advantages and reputation advantages (Chamhuri Wan Noramelia 2004). In the business, CSR is concerned with employment, lifelong learning, consultation and participation of workers, equal opportunities and integration of people towards restructuring and industrial change to promote quality and diversity in the workplace and health and safety strategy. Lastly, the social issues include the benefits offered in terms of training related to safety, health and environment, donations, education scheme, medical benefits and others. (Chamhuri Wan Noramelia 2004). Environmental issues emphasize on preserving and conserving natural resources such as conducting recycling activities, water and process treatment and compliance with authority regulations and requirements. Many enterprises recognized the importance of their responsibilities towards the environment and take them seriously by setting targets for continually improving t heir performance while ensuring the compliance with all relevant legislation. Organizations also have a range of impacts on the communities within which they operate and in at least some measures, disclosed these issues in their own CSR reports and information. CSR social activities may include charitable contributions to local and national organizations such as fundraising, donations and gifts in areas where it trades and others like regeneration of deprived communities, reclamation of derelict land and creation of new regeneration jobs. Development of strategies and programs on social and environmental issues enabled firms to gain close relationship with community. Firms could take initiatives by conducting campaigns, seminars, workshops and giving donation to the society. This way enables a company to meet its CSR commitment and indirectly acts as a marketing and promotional strategy. As the result, higher market share can be obtained, which lead to higher revenues from larger sales. Policies, strategies and programs that are associated with social activities can be used to indicate the level of CSRs commitment of an organization. Organizations too, need to meet the customers demand and expectations. As to maintain good relationship and attract more customers, enterprises are taking initiatives to fulfill the demand of providing such information. For instance, eco-labeling is a way of communicating organizations social responsibility to public. Besides, CSR is also concerned with employment, equal opportunities and integration of people towards restructuring and industrial change. Employees who feel protected and appreciated will increase their productivity in production and thus, achieving economies of scale. Comparable in CSR Perspective of KFC Holdings (M) Bhd PJ Development Holdings Bhd KFC Holdings (M) Bhd KFC Holdings take into account the priority of CSR by continuing put a great emphasis on conducting business in a responsible and ethical way. From improvement on their products and services to helping the communities in which they operate, they continue to seek out ways to enrich the responsibility to their stakeholders. In ways of strengthening local communities, promoting equal opportunities in the workplace, developing human capital, enhancing customers experience and improving the lives around the company. The Board and management at KFCH will continue to adhere to the values of responsibility, integrity and compassion in all areas of our business. In doing so, they are determined to make a positive contribution to society while building confidence and goodwill among stakeholders. To achieve this they adhere to wide-ranging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs spread out over six pillars. These are, to champion the Halal cause, to improve educational standards, to encourage entrepreneurial development, to promote a healthy lifestyle, to foster a sense of national unity, and to help the less fortunate. KFCH has disclosed their CSR activities in Annual Report 2009 by following the 4 main local area as stated by Bursa Malaysias CSR Frameworks. The first area is community. KFCH remains committed towards giving, whenever the opportunity arises, to anyone in need of a helping hand and recently, KFCH proposed the incorporation of Yayasan Amal Bistari, a corporate foundation which will be the means through which CSR activities, endeavours and programmes of all KFCH entities and brands are carried out. Projek penyayang is held by giving KFC to the less fortunate, the elderly and orphans throughout Malaysia, every quarter of the year. KFCH also held Walk For Charity and giving aid where needed in support of Hunger Relief 2009. KFCH, Johor Corporation and Bistari young entrepreneur Sdn Bhd (Bye), the developers and marketeers of Catur Bistari, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will allow KFC to sell the Cilik Bistari board game, a simplified version of Catur Bistari for younger children, at all its outlets. The KFC sailing team raced alongside other competitors at every regatta organized by the Malaysian yacht Associatio n. Elsewhere, KFC futsal teams competed with the best in the JKing Futsal Challenge Johor 2009, as well as i-Futsal championship organized by Harian Metro. KFC also involved with International Kite Festival in Pasir Gudang, Johor and Bintulu, Sarawak. KFCH also held Annual Buka Puasa session at Ayamas Port Klang in 2009 and saw a turnout of over 2,500 employees and were joined by 400 orphans who received goodie bags and food from KFC and RasaMas. KFCH had the privilege of sponsoring two episodes of Tijarah Ramadhan, a television program dedicated to featuring companies which donate to the underprivileged. Second area is marketplace. KFCH interacts and communicate with customers, suppliers, governmental and non-governmental bodies and observe how corporate initiatives and products affect the communities and the environment. Marketplace CSR initiatives include programs towards improving Halal standards and building future entrepreneurs. KFCH participated in the World Halal Forum, which participation was in the form of sponsorship and product showcase. KFCH once again participated in Malaysias largest food and beverage exhibition and the worlds largest international Halal trade fair by setting up a booth and promoting Halal certified products and services to the thousands of visitors from all over the world. KFCH also participate in Halal Food Standards Realisation (Hafstar) event organized throughout the country to promote Malaysian Halal Standards and to regularise and discuss the standard procedures of handling, processing and storing of food based on Shariah and Malaysian Standards. The Gerak Usahawan Siswa initiative was undertaken in the hope of imparting an interest in business and entrepreneur development amongst university students. The Group collaborates with the Bistari Young Entrepreneur Sdn Bhd in mentorship programmes and educational lectures that help develop young Malaysian entrepreneurial talents. This includes the Tunas Bistari, Didik Bistari and Siswa Bistari Entrepreneur Programmes. The third area is workplace. KFCH has more than 18,000 employees go to work every day striving to be the best in the business. KFCH implement varios of activities to create individuals who are the best-in-class in their awareness, capability, proficiency and drive for success. KFCH implement Pedoman 2009, the annual event to appreciate their employees loyalty and effort. The one day event was attended by all Restaurant Managers from KFC, Pizza Hut, RasaMas and Kedai Ayamas, as well as support staff from all over the country. KFC and Pizza Hut organized the National Champs Challenge in Kuala Lumpur with the best of the best from Restaurant Managers and staff coming together to play off intensely in the final rounds, competing to emerge as National Champions and represent Malaysia at the Regional Champs Challenge. KFCH also carried out the Management Associated Program to recruit new graduates who have now become part of our permanent staff. KFCH also held annual Hari Mekar competition as teams from throughout the Group battled it out in various categories in an effort to be crowned the Overall Champions. The winners then represented KFCH at the Grand Finals of Hari Mekar organised by Johor. The last area is the environment. KFCH conscious of the responsibility towards the environment and as such have taken steps to understand and minimize the impact of ther business on the environment without compromising operational standards or shareholder value. A major environmental challenge that has been undertaken continues to be in the area of waste water management. This waste water management measure has been undertaken by KFCH plants that have problems with waste water such as Ayamas Port Klang, Ayamas Bandar Tenggara, Johor, Bakery Outlet at Kompleks KFC Glenmarie and Region Food Industries. These KFC plants and outlets have been treats the final discharge waste water in compliance with the DOE Standard for discharge. KFCH also agreed with proposed treatment process will use the Biological Treatment System, which uses a UASB (Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Bed) and AICAR (Alternative Intermittent Cyclic Reactor) and also using a chemical and bio treatment continuous processor, the plant treats 250 cubic meters per day. PJ Development Holdings Bhd On the other hand, PJHD outlined the CSR events in their annual report 2009. These CSR activities are Bukit Bintang Central Gotong Royong, Charity Christmas Carolers, Charity Outreach Project to Trinity Childrens Centre, Christmas Cheer with House of Joy, Beach Gotong Royong, Mooncake Festival Celebration, Earth Day, Turtle Conservation Week, PJD Green the Day, PJD Kids, Tree Planting, Charity Buka Puasa, Blood Donation Drives and Provision of Garbage Compactor Recycle Bins. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities for PJD Group have become more focused in the last financial year under review. PJDH efforts in becoming a more responsible corporate citizen have led us to contribute more towards the well-being of the community surrounding us. In community area, PJDH held activities such as outings and festive cheers with orphanages continue to be on each of our divisions CSR agenda. On a Group basis, they organized an outing with 4 orphanages, namely the Sinthamani Divine Life Ashram, Rumah Amal Baitul Kasih, Lifesprings Childrens Welfare Home and Good Samaritan Home and other charity drives raising over RM40,000. In workplace area, the Group also organized several Blood Donation Drives throughout all its office locations nationwide. The blood donation drives conducted at our head office, branches, factory and hotels were well participated by employees, friends and public alike and that will be a regular activity on PDH CSR agenda. In environment are, the Group still maintains its CSR programs to protect the environment such as provision of garbage and recycle bins, recycling rain water, recycling excess concrete in our construction sites and championing the localized version of the United Nations Local Agenda 21 Waste Management Project within the Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur area and Green Tree Planting Day. PJD Group now has an internal CSR portal where all CSR activities are shared amongst all office locations. Given the fantastic response, this portal has proven its role in encouraging employees to contribute ideas toward developing initiatives that benefit the Group and its stakeholders in line with our CSR slogan, Together We Build a Brighter Future. Conclusion Both of the company fulfilled the CSRs frameworks as stated by the Bursa Malaysia which are the environment, the workplace, the community and the marketplace except for PJDH that did not disclosed any marketplace area of CSR

Dell History Essay -- essays research papers

Dell History The Dell Company was founded in 1984 by no on other than, Michael Dell. He, through no coincidence is the computer industry's longest running chief executive officer. He has accomplished this based on a simple concept. He decided to sell personal computer systems directly to customers. His direct selling empowered Dell with the knowledge, so he could best understand his consumer’s needs; and provide the most comprehensive computing solutions that met those needs. Dell Mission In 1997, Dell Computer’s mission became â€Å"to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in the markets we serve.† Dell’s objective was achieving â€Å"virtual integration†. Business Strategy In today’s environment, Dell is enhancing and broadening the fundamental competitive advantages of the direct selling model. The enhancements are likely to lead to increasing efficiencies to its entire business. Through the direct business model, Dell offers in-person relationships with corporate and institutional customers. But that is just a small part of their model, they also offer, telephone and Internet purchasing; customized computer systems; phone and online technical support; and next-day, on-site product service. Dell arranges for system installation and management, guides customers through technology transitions, and provides an extensive range of other services. The company designs and customizes products and services to the requirements of ...

Essay --

Knowledge and philosophy are one of the key components for studying accounting. Knowledge is created when you have gathered facts and information. As suggested by Arrington & Schweiker (1992) ‘nothing counts as knowledge until it is argued before and assented by a research community’. This means that when new knowledge is created, it is always undergoes an enormous scrutiny by peers, so that it is nearly perfect. Kuhn (1970), Davis (1971) and Collins (1985) also suggest that any knowledge should be easily accessible by the public e.g. the users of accounting or accountants themselves. To obtain knowledge we have to make some observations. These observations are then transformed by the process of induction into laws and theories. Therefore knowledge is seen as creating a reality. As mentioned before knowledge is especially important in the construction of realities. This is because accountants in general created these economic realities, this leads to an expectations gap between the accountants and the users, hence accountants are also seen as communicators for these realities. However because accountant construct these realities it can become biased and objective (Morgan 1988). Accountants also persuade users to accept the realities that they have created. On the other hand philosophy helps us to better understand and access to knowledge. This type of study is known as epistemology. Epistemology creates a foundation of the basis of knowledge. One of the bases of knowledge is truth and fact. However this can be a very problematic area because if a statement is deemed to be true then it is automatically a factual statement. This causes problems because the words true and fact are interchangeable i.e. if a statement is a fact... ...tely it may change our knowledge. This leads on to my point that knowledge and philosophy is always changing, this then changes the world we live in. This is because eventually we change our concepts and theories. For example if a theory is changed, that is related to the conceptual framework and social construction, and then this too is changed. I have seen that in the creation of knowledge and philosophy, the process of induction is vital because it allows us to build theories and more importantly economic realities. When studying or researching accounting we sometimes come across a few paradigms such as the All Ravens are Black paradigm and the inductivist turkey. These paradigms helps to better understand knowledge and also it can separate true from false and fact. It can help us to refine our knowledge so that the end result is almost prefect e.g. neutrality.

Explain errors of omission and errors of commission. Essay

Explain errors of omission and errors of commission. Ans – == Errors of commission == An error of commission occurs when you record an incorrect value in posting. Such errors include original entry errors, transposition errors, calculation errors and reversal of entries. An original entry error occurs when an incorrect figure is recorded and posted. A prime instance of this is the ten-key error, where you accidentally hit the number above the correct key. For example, if you enter 7, instead of 4, you would get a difference of 3, 30 or 3,000,000 even. The transposition error occurs when you switch two digits in a number. For example, if you enter 71 as 17 or 428 as 824, you have committed a transposition error. Notice that the difference between the two numbers in a transposition error is always evenly divisible by nine. The result of 71 – 17 is 54 and 824 – 428 is 396. Calculation errors occur when you use incorrect totals. For instance, if you properly record transactions in a sales ledger but incorrectly total this and use the incorrect figure in the income statement, a calculation error has occurred. Reversal of entries occurs when the correct figures are used in the correct accounts, but they were entered on the wrong side of the respective accounts. For instance, if you record a sales transaction by debiting Sales and crediting Cash/Bank, you commit a reversal of entries error. == Errors of omission == Errors of omission can be one of the more difficult errors to detect, since they involve failing to record a transaction partially or completely. An error of omission may be hard to detect because it could lead to a balanced accounting equation. This type of error demonstrates why accountants and accounting students should double check their work properly to see if anything was omitted, instead of using a balanced Statement of Financial Position as validation. For example, if you fail to record depreciation in a period or record a devalued asset, such errors of omission would only be detected through careful scrutiny of all particulars. == Errors of principle == Apart from being accurate and careful to include all figures, accountants must also ensure that they are procedurally accurate as well. An error of  principle is one that is contrary to the fundamental principles, concepts and assumptions of accounting. For instance, if you record capital expenditure as revenue expenditure or treat withdrawals by the business owner as an expense, these go against the fundamental principles and held concepts in accounting. Such errors will skew the figures in the income statement and statement of financial position. == Conclusion == In accounting, it is important to avoid making errors of commission, errors of omission and errors of principle. While seeing a balanced statement of financial position can be satisfying, it does not indicate that no errors exist in the recording and summarizing of transactions. It is easy to make any one of the three categories of accounting errors at any given time, hence the requirement that accountants be meticulous and alert.

Joy Luck Club †Conflict Essay

Conflicts play a crucial role in novels and are seen in many different forms. Two of which are internal and external. An internal conflict is when a character must deal with private problems. An external conflict is when a character must deal with problems originating from another person or the public in general. These types of conflicts are visible within the novel entitled The Joy Luck Club written by Amy Tan. There are many prominent conflicts seen in The Joy Luck Club. Two of which I’ve chosen are between Waverly and Lindo, and between June and Waverly. The first prominent conflict within this novel deals with Waverly and her mother Lindo. Waverly feels as though her mother is attempting to ruin her life by causing her to â€Å"see black where there once was white† (186). Waverly believes Lindo is attempting to influence her daughter for the worse. She doesn’t want to be influenced by her mother’s opinions, her criticisms of everything that she loves, yet Waverly fears that even if she â€Å"recognized her sneak attack, she was afraid that some unseen speck of truth would fly into her eye, blur what she was seeing and transform it† (181) into the thing that her mother saw, into something full of faults, something that is not good enough for her. Waverly resents this, yet Lindo believes that it is for Waverly’s own good. She does not want Waverly to accept something just because it was a gift, like the fur jacket that Rich gave Waverly. Lindo believes that she has taught Waverly to grow up with valu es, with goals that everyone and everything must meet. As Waverly shows Lindo the jacket, Lindo inspects it, finally reporting, â€Å"This is not so good† (186). Waverly protests, â€Å"He gave me this from his heart,† (186) to which Lindo replies, â€Å"That is why I worry† (186). Lindo simply wants Waverly to strive for the best. Lindo believes that her daughter deserves the best, and nothing should influence her for the worse. The conflict between mother and daughter is finally resolved after Waverly confronts her mother about the verbal abuse she has endured. Waverly realizes that her mother is only â€Å"an old woman†¦ getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in† (204). Waverly finally tells her mother about her life, especially about Rich, and they begin to get along better. Both must sacrifice a little pride to make the relationship work, but as they both do so, they grow closer and their relationship becomes stronger as a result. The second important conflict within The Joy Luck Club deals with the competition between June and Waverly. Their conflict begins at birth, considering that they are only one month apart. Their mothers started the competition by comparing which baby was the smartest, strongest, prettiest, and so on. They compare â€Å"the creases in their belly buttons, how shapely their earlobes were, how fast they healed when they scraped their legs, how thick and dark their hair† (27). As the children grow, they follow their mothers’ examples and begin to compete on their own, especially Waverly. Once Waverly becomes famous from her chess playing, she begins to rub her success in June’s face. Waverly was never afraid to make June feel bad about herself, stating after a bad piano recital, â€Å"You aren’t a genius like me† (151). June resents all that Waverly does to her, to make her lose confidence in herself. Even Waverly’s compliments are sneak attacks on June. The simplest statement could turn ugly in a second. For example, Waverly compliments her haircut at New Year’s, yet when she discovers that June still sees David, the gay man, she states, â€Å"He could have AIDS†¦ you can’t be too safe these days†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (229). June struggles with anger, and finally, after many years of torment, she sees her opportunity to prove Waverly wrong, to show her that she also makes mistakes. June states, â€Å"Maybe I could afford Mr. Rory’s prices if someone’s firm paid me on time† (230). However, this also backfires on June. Waverly is initially surprised and hurt, then she simply tells June that her copy writing was not what their firm was looking for. June is crushed again. She will never triumph over the genius, which is Waverly. June finally realizes that she will never be as smart or as strong as Waverly. June knows that â€Å"she is good at what she did, succeeding at something small like that† (233). She finally accepts herself as she is, ending her competition with Waverly once and for all. In closing, the conflicts within this book deal with internal and external conflicts for each character. Two of the most visible conflicts are between Lindo and Waverly, and between June and Waverly. Each of the conflicts is resolved through some sort of compromise on one or both sides.

Nursing Servant Leadership Paper Essay

As we develop into leaders, one of the things we need to know is what it means to be a servant leader. Today such examples are greatly lacking. Servant leadership is a choice by a leader to follow the example of The Jesus Christ and The Mother Teresa and lead by serving, becoming a bondservant and giving his life for others. Servant leadership is an inner attitude of the heart by which a person chooses to place himself or herself under the leadership of Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa. Christ often invited people to follow him. Some followed and many did not. One of the things to understand is the difference between obedience and submission. A person in authority or general leader in our present society can command for obedience. Submission, on the other hand, is a choice by the follower to choose to follow a leader, and also an inner attitude of the heart can never be commanded. Some chose to submit to Christ and followed him. Many chose not to submit to Christ and followed other religious leaders. Christ gives us the freedom to make the choice not to follow or submit. Most religious leaders out there serve the people and community first. The characteristics of a servant leadership as seen by Robert Greenleaf are â€Å"listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building the community.† (Greenleaf, 2002, p. #19-25) The first and most important characteristic of an excellent servant leader is listening. A servant leader always listens to the concerns of his/her co-workers, staff members, or patients and tries to find the most appropriate or the best solution to a problem. Leaders have traditionally been valued for their communication and decision-making skills. Although these are also important skills for servant leaders, they need to be reinforced by a deep commitment to listen intently to others. By listening intently, servant leaders seek to identify the will of their group members and help to clarify that will. For example, Mother Teresa had always listened to the concerns and conditions of the poor and needy people; therefore, she dedicated her life into servicing and taking care of people who needed help and fulfilled her main purpose in life by believing that, â€Å"Service to human is service to God† Listening is essential to the growth and well-being of a servant leader. Second, empathy is another important characteristic of an excellent leader. A servant leader strives to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and  recognized for their specialty and uniqueness. An excellent servant leader assumes the good intentions of co-workers and colleagues and does not reject them as people, even when one may be forced to accept certain behaviors. For example, Mother Teresa said that, â€Å"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.† We can see Mother Teresa in her missionary work because she had established orphanages, leprosy outreach clinics, shelters for the homeless, the poor, the disabled, and the blind. Third, healing is one of the most vital characteristics of an excellent servant leader. One of the greatest strengths of servant leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationship to others. Many people have broken spirits and suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is a part of being human, servant leaders recognize that they have an opportunity to help those with whom they come into contact. For example, Mother Teresa showed her empathy toward the diseased and hungry people by providing them with bandages, medicine, and nutritious food. Fourth, a crucial characteristic of an excellent servant leader is awareness. General awareness, especially self-awareness, strengthens servant leaders. Awareness helps one to understand issues involving ethics, power, and values. It lends itself to being able to view most situations from a more integrated, holistic position. For example, Jesus Christ had cured many people who were suffering from leprosy and gave life to many dead people, but he told them not to tell anyone because Jesus Christ knew that only he could make miracle happen, and if rumor had spread about his miracle, then his work of service would be opposed by other religious leaders. Fifth, another important characteristic of servant leaders is reliance on persuasion, rather than using one’s positional authority in making decisions within an organization. A successful servant leader seeks to convince others, rather than giving orders to their workers to follow his/her decision. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant leadership. A servant leader is effective at building harm ony within his/her group. For example, Mother Teresa had persuaded others to help her eradicate the poverty and diseases by providing medicine, bandages, food, and clothes to people who needed them. The sixth characteristic of an excellent servant leader is conceptualization and foresight. The ability to  look at a problem from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. While a traditional leader is more likely to be consumed by the need to achieve short-term operational goals. A servant leader, instead, stretches his or her thinking to encompass broader-based conceptual thinking. The ability to conceptualize is also very closely related to the ability to have foresight. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequences of a decision for the future. For example, Mother Teresa knew that although she followed Catholicism, she should not preach her religion to people since it would be opposed by the Hindus because they would think that Mother Teresa was converting them from Hinduism to Christianity, and the government of India would stop her service to humanity. The seventh essential characteristic of an excellent servant leader is stewardship. As per definition.com, the stewardship is defined as, â€Å"holding something in trust for another.† Stewardship means an institution in which CEO, staff members, and trustees all play significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Servant leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion, rather than control. For example, Mother Teresa used her ability of persuasion to tell others to help her in the noble cause and invited decision of every individual to give better care and services to diseased and poor people. The eighth and essential characteristic of an excellent servant leader is a commitment to the growth of people and building community. Servant leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their contributions as workers. A servant leader also recognizes the tremendous responsibility to do everything in his or her power to nurture personal and professional growth of employees and colleagues. In practice, this can include actions such as making funds available for personal and professional development, and encouraging workers to be involved in decision-making. Servant leaders also seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions. For example, Mother Teresa had persuaded others to help her with raising  funds to establish clinics for people with diseases and to buy clothes, slippers, and food for poor people. By doing this, she had built a better community within society in many countries of the world. At last, I would like to conclude that servant leaders seek to involve others in decision making, and servant leadership is strongly based on ethical and caring behaviors. It also enhances the growth of workers while improving the caring and quality of organizational life by employing the characteristics like listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, and commitment to the growth of people and building the community. Indeed, servant leadership offers great hope for the future in creating better, more caring, institutions.

Cherish the Children’s Thinking Essay

Do you think teachers should cherish the children’ s thinking? Most people think the teachers should treasure the children’s thinking and give the children a space to think freely. It is important for children to cherish their chance to think freely, because they may lose the imagination when they grow up. If all people in the world do not have imagination, this world would not have some new technology products and this society won’t progress. This world needs to keep the pace of progress because no progress is backwards, for example the gasoline is less and less in the world, if scientists can’t create a new energy, then gasoline will disappear. So, this world need to progress by imagination and creativity. The teachers should train and treasure the children’s imagination in order to develop this world and keep progressing. Nowadays, most people have lost the ability of imagining because they had seen too many real things, for example they can†™t believe there are some aliens in this world. However, the children believe that the aliens are real in the world because the children are naà ¯ve and willing to trust anything. Thus, teachers should cherish the children’s freedom to think and make their thinking positive in order to develop their own better, earn more academic knowledge and change their lives in the future. Firstly, in order to get a better development of children, the teacher should make children’s thinking more positive. Ho (2007) argues that the American education is not advanced, but it is better in other ways than other countries from the article called â€Å"We Should Cherish Our Children’s Freedom to Think†. (page112) He compares the education of him and his son and discovers they are very different. He had to memorize something about academic knowledge, for example the main cities in the world, lines for Hamlet and a number of math formulas. In contrast, his son studied ever ything by some experiences, for example he drew a map from his home to school and label every street and building he passed when he was six years old. (Ho, 2007, page112) He agrees this learning method because this kind of education can help the children develop their ideas and creativity. The children are the hope of world, so the teacher must use current and suitable methods to educate the children in order that children develop better. Secondly, if the teachers make students study in the process of playing games and answer the questions actively, the children will earn more academic knowledge. If the children’s ideas are accepted by their teachers and their teacher praise them, the children will keep their thinking and want to get more praise. In this case, the teachers should praise the positive ideas of the children and veto the negative thinking. Ho’s teachers answered the question and gave them a correct answer only when they asked, and he didn’t have a chance to make a decision in many cases. However, his son got a good laugh and an A grade from his teacher when he asked his teacher question and told his teacher his ideas. (Ho) And Ho’s son learned the knowledge of history through play the role. (Ho) Those are good ways to educate, b ecause this way can make the student more confidence, more interested in study and study more industriously. Thus, they will get more academic knowledge. Finally, the people will be able to change their life through some original ideas if they keep their imagination and creativity. Nowadays, this world needs more new products that can attract your eyeballs. If you have the abilities of imagination and creativity, you can change the world. For example Steve Jobs, who is a legend in the world, changed the whole world. Because of his ideas, he created many technology products called iPhone, iPod, iMac and so on. Those products all changed the habits of people, for example many people always put the iPhone in the hand and watch it. Thereforeï ¼Å'the people of the whole world are fond of his product designed by him. Then he had become a rich and excellent man. Thus, we should treasure the thinking of childrenï ¼Å'either kill the imagination in order that they can get a better life in t he future and change this world. In conclusion, American education can make children think freely. For example Ho’s son drew a map when he was six years ago. Special method that is to praise children and play the role can make children earn more knowledge. Keeping the children’s thinking may make them get better life and become a person who can change the world such as Jobs. I think most countries can change their system of education and the teacher should use other ways to educate children. They should respect the children’s ideas and do not kill their imagination and creativity in order that children develop better, earn more knowledge and change their lives and world.

The Burnout Athlete

Many athletes dedicate their lives to their sport; however, the human body cannot always handle the demands of sport. The general consensus among athletes is that you must work very hard in order to improve performance. For the most part, that assumption is true. Hard training places much stress on the body and makes a person weaker, and it is in the rest period where the gains are actually made. Overtraining is seen in athletes when sufficient rest is not included in their training program and their performance plateaus, and then eventually declines. This chronic debilitating syndrome is characterized most commonly by fatigue, the inability to exceed the former level of performance, and a decreased ability to recover. If an athlete continues to overtrain, it can ultimately lead to burnout, which is total mental, emotional and physical exhaustion, often resulting in early withdrawal from the sport environment. Burnout is characterized by loss of desire to play, lowered self-esteem, emotional isolation, increased anxiety and mood changes. In the following studies, psychologists have tried to determine what exactly causes repeatedly poor performances and the tendency for athletes to prematurely quit the sports they love. The study done in 1984 on the psychological burnout in high-level athletes, David Feigley notes the lowered quality of our national team programs due to high rates of dropout much before athletes reach their prime. He focused on elite adolescent athletes because their attrition rate is so high. Until this study was done, burnout was related mostly to job stress, but the findings were seen to be applicable to sporting situations. When bureaucratic management organizations were compared to sports programs, many similarities were discovered including hierarchical authority, rational authority, impersonal application of rules and the division of labour. In this study, Feigley refers to burnout as a condition produced by working too hard for too long in a high-pressured situation, accompanied by a progressive loss of idealism, energy and purpose that is often paralleled by a feeling of being locked into a routine. The individual displays a pattern of physical and emotional exhaustion involving the development of negative self-concepts and negative attitudes towards work, life and other people (Feigley, 1984). There were several characteristics that identified people as more susceptible to burnout including perfectionism, being other-oriented and lacking assertive interpersonal skills. His research found that burnout could be the result of demotivation occurring from the change and nature of feedback, the increasing need for autonomy, and the increasing awareness of the physical, competitive and social consequences of intense participation (Feigley, 1984). Feigley concludes that by diagnosing the symptoms early, recognizing susceptible individuals, and combating demotivators can assist in preventing and amending this disorder. In 1987, Morgan, Brown, Raglin, O†Connor and Ellickson, engaged in a study on the psychological monitoring of overtraining and staleness involving competitive university swimmers. Overtraining is seen as deliberate and important in endurance sports, which is the reason he chose the sport of swimming. The general procedure was a psychometric assessment using the Profile of Mood States (POMS), which measures relevant levels of mood, tension, depression, anger, vigour, fatigue and confusion. The POMS was administered to approximately 400 members (male & female) of the swimming team over a period of ten years within a realistic setting and training load, instead of one manipulated experimentally. They came to the conclusion that mood state disturbances increased in a dose-response manner as the training stimulus increased. The possibility that the changes in mood state could be attributed to something other than training for a competition like academic, economic or social stressors, led Morgan et al. (1987) to carry out an investigation using swimming and control groups. The findings supported the view that increased mood disturbance with overtraining is associated with the training stimulus rather than the other stressors. This study also looked at an aspect known as tapering and came to the conclusion that this reducing of the training load can be as effective as complete rest, if sufficient time is available. A few years later in 1990, Murphy, Fleck, Dudley and Callister examined the training loads of athletes in a controlled environment as opposed to the previous studies done during a usual training season. In monitoring psychological tribulations, this study used standardized clinical instruments, which hadn†t been used before as there has been little research done in this area. The objective was to discover psychological characteristics of overtraining. Athletes participating in judo at a United States Olympic Training Center were chosen for the study because of the high volume and intensity demands in their training programs. The subjects were monitored over a ten-week period consisting of three phases. They were assessed by use of psychological instruments such as the POMS, the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory, the Spielberger State-Trait Personality Inventory, the Derogatis Symptom Checklist and the Psychological Skills Inventory for Sport. An increase in negative mood states following an increase in volume training was not seen in this study as earlier ones have shown. The most reliable gauge used until this point had been the POMS score, but in this study there was no substantial change for the duration of the experiment. Another study was done in 1990, this time by John Silva in order to present conceptual models that define the nature of positive and negative adaptations to training stress using intercollegiate athletes involved in ten different sports. Since little was known about the prevalence of negative responses to training stress, what the athletes perceive as the causes and symptoms, and how often athletes experience negative training stress Silva decided to investigate it. He first divided training stress into three phases, staleness, overtraining and burnout. Staleness, which Silva defines as the initial failure of the body†s adaptive mechanisms to cope with the psychological stress created by training stimuli, was experienced by 72. 7% of the athletes, who perceived it as tolerable. Of the respondents, 66. 1% indicated that overtraining, as Silva describes, as the repeated failure of the body†s adaptive mechanisms to cope with chronic training stress, was bad to experience. The number who experienced the final phase of burnout, (the exhaustive psychophysiological response exhibited as a result of frequent efforts to meet excessive training demands), dropped to 46. 9% and was rated as being the worst effect of negative training stress. A few years later in 1994, Bo Berglund and Hans Safstrom engaged in a study, which monitored the psychological changes during training and racing seasons in fourteen world-class canoeists to determine whether mood disturbances are the result of an increase in training load. On the basis of distress markers, they also tried to titrate the training loads of the athletes during periods of hard training and tapering. Starting in the off-season, (when there was a low training load), and continuing until the end of the season, Berglund administered a Swedish version of the POMS, because previous research had consistently shown that mood responses are sensitive indicators of how well athletes can tolerate overtraining (Berglund, 1994). At the same time, the athletes were also asked on a weekly basis, to complete a training load rating test describing the previous week†s workouts. During the heavy training, the POMS score increased significantly to approximately 160, until the athletes reached the tapering period, where there was a significant improvement in mood state in which the score decreased to 120. The findings were consistent with earlier studies that an evaluation of mood response to hard training can reduce the risk of staleness. Recently, in 1997, Hooper, Mackinnon and Hanrahan were interested in determining whether athletes who are stale showed different values in the POMS from those who are intensely trained but not stale. Hooper indicates staleness in this investigation as when the athlete has reached any of the states of negative adaptation to training stress (staleness, overtraining, or burnout). The POMS mood states of nationally ranked swimmers were measured over an entire season. There were five times during the season when the subjects were tested: early, mid and late season, during tapering and post-competition. This questionnaire was answered before the testing of performance. Hooper et al. (1997) classified the swimmers as â€Å"stale† or â€Å"not stale† at the end of the season based on certain criteria. Compared to previous times, stale athletes demonstrated poorer competitive performances. In contrast, the non-stale athletes showed an improvement in performance. In comparing the POMS scores of the stale versus non-stale swimmers, there was no notable difference. Hooper et al. (1997) coupled this current data with that of a previous study (Morgan et al. , 1988), which showed that significant increases in POMS scores have been observed in athletes after intensified training, which did not result in staleness, to come to their conclusion. The fact that there were only three stale athletes and the POMS assessment was administered only five times on non- training days, are limitations that Hooper et al. (1997) declare in their study. The general conclusion drawn from this study is that while it appears that the POMS may be useful for monitoring for those athletes predisposed to staleness, it may not reliably differentiate between stale and non-stale athletes under all circumstances (Hooper et al. , 1997). Also in 1997, Ralph Vernacchia composed an article on psychological perspectives on overtraining. He uses the combined results of previous studies to define overtraining, identify the overtrained athlete and also caution risk factors for this syndrome. Vernacchia agrees with Morgan†s (1992) use of the word overtraining implying it is an ongoing process, whereas staleness and burnout refer to the outcomes of overtraining. This article emphasizes the need to stress an athlete just before, but never to, the point of exhaustion. There are two motivational patterns displayed by unsuccessful athletes, discussed by Vernacchia, which need to be investigated in order to understand the motivations of the overtrained athlete. They are the undermotivated, overconfident underachiever and the overmotivated, underconfident underachiever. Two tools identified by Vernacchia used to recognize overtrained athletes are the POMS and the Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes Inventory. It concludes by offering recommendations for preventing overtraining in athletes. Overtraining in athletes is a phenomenon, which manifests symptoms that are detrimental to an athlete†s performance. Interest in this subject arose in the mid 1980s, therefore has not been studied to a great depth. Every study has its own set of signs and symptoms associated with this syndrome, but are becoming more similar and distinct as the years go on. The psychological assessment tool that has been used most often throughout these studies is the POMS, which is seen to have both positives and negatives associated with it. The only known treatment for this syndrome is rest, which is why early detection is very important. The longer the overtraining has occurred; the more rest is required. The athlete may then slowly resume training at low volumes on alternate days and gradually work their way back up to reasonable loads, being careful not to let it recur. A general conclusion to date has been that monitoring athletes during periods of strenuous training for symptoms, which are indicative of overtraining, are beneficial in prevention. Coaches and athletes need to be educated on the factors that lead to overtraining in order to eliminate the possibility of occurrence and adhere to the old saying, â€Å"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure†. Many steps can be taken to prevent overtraining, and they all begin with good communication between the athlete and coach. The athletes could start by keeping a log of training and include how they felt, muscular soreness, fatigue and general heath after each workout. The coach must allow the athlete adequate rest following intense, high volume workouts and it is the athlete†s duty to express concerns when this is not happening. Ultimately, a training program should allow for flexibility, and when early warning signs of overtraining are evident, adjustments need to be made accordingly. In reviewing the literature to date on this topic, and realizing the disastrous consequences for athletes, it is safe to say that being undertrained is far better than being overtrained. Nonetheless, continued research on intensive training and tapering cycles, involving more subjects and a greater range of sports is necessary for the benefit of athletes.