Downtown Denver Water Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Downtown Denver Water - Research Paper Example This is because in the recent past, there have been reports of health hazards on the same. A scenario in the year 2012 saw more than 100,000 people drink contaminated water which raised concerns in the public domain. A high percentage of these cases were reported in the demography that included small locations and districts (denverpost.com). In the year that was 2008, there was a virus related i.e. salmonella epidemic which affected a very large group of people. Its victims suffered from chronic diarrhea and vomiting. Out of a sample of 400 infected people studied, one succumbed. This saw it being reported as the worst case of water epidemic reported since the early 2000s. The cause of the epidemic was reportedly from depleted infrastructure with instances where some pipes had not even been inspected or replaced for a prolonged duration unlike what is expected. Cracked water storage tanks and unattended inspection requirements with a case that a storage tank had not been inspected fo r more than ten years prior to the outbreak of the epidemic (epa.gov). Other causes involved cases where the drinking water tower had loose sealing that saw contaminants having direct contact with the water. There were instances where squirrels and bird droppings were found in storage tanks due to lack of proper lids and sealing on the same. This made the concerned agency bring out policies that required use of bottled water by residents and drinking of boiled water in as much as some people did not take the caution seriously, it was a shot the administration was willing to take. This made the concerned agency bring out policies that required use of bottled water by residents and drinking of boiled water in as much as some people did not take the caution seriously, it was a shot the administration was willing to take. This made the concerned agency bring out policies that required use of bottled water by residents and drinking of boiled water in as much as some people did not take t he caution seriously, it was a shot the administration was willing to take. In the year ending 2012, the administration administered more than 60 orders to push for people to boil water which has seen the number of water related hazards reports go down. The other contributor to this ill as was established was that there was poor planning in terms of the water supply system and the sewer system. During the establishment of the town, some settlement that was not meant for human habitat was occupied. A good example was a golf course that was turned into a residential area. Due to the mere fact that the water supply of the same was meant for golf course irrigation, the new demand overwhelmed it. This has seen failure of the infrastructure with reports of worn out pipes characterized with corrosion effects as a result of non-maintenance and the huge strain on the facility (denverpost.com). As a measure to restore the glory days of the area, the concerned administration has established me asures and policies to redeem the state. In the recent years there have been a lot of investment in the water infrastructure where for instances more than a billion dollar has been used since the year 2005 in improving the water systems.(U.S Environmental protection Agency) the target of the said investments in the water system is to see more that 90 percent of the Denver residents access safer drinking water as required by the EPA. The

Death and a King’s Horseman and All My Sons Essay Example for Free

Death and a King’s Horseman and All My Sons Essay Compare the ways in which Soyinka in Death and a King’s Horseman and Miller in All My Sons present Elesin and Keller? How far would you agree that the personal tragedy of each protagonist’s death is less important than the death of their sons? Soyinka and Miller shape the protagonists by their presentations of their voice using different language and use of setting cultural context which presents their different responsibilities and duties exposing their character. The different presentations of the characters determine how the audience connect with the protagonists. Elesin and Keller’s deaths are climatic points in the play, with their son’s deaths also being pivotal; acting as catalysts for the protagonist’s death which cause the protagonist’s to acknowledge their fatal flaws. The different purposes of the protagonist’s suicides, made evident also by the protagonist’s presented characters, determine whether the tragedy of their death is more important than the death of their sons. The setting and cultural context of each of the plays a profound role in shaping the characters as the differing cultural context affects the character’s duties and responsibilities which shape their presentations as characters. Though set in the same time periods, the cultures differ between plays. Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman opens in â€Å"Oyo, an ancient Yoruba city in Nigeria, 1944†, during British colonialism whereas All My Sons by Miller is set in the â€Å"outskirts of an American town† just after the war in the late 1940’s after world war two. Soyinka and Miller’s introductions of the culture and the setting at the beginning of the plays expose the protagonist’s individual characters. The â€Å"secluded atmosphere† on the â€Å"outskirts of an American town† in which All My Sons opens acts as a dramatic device to show Keller’s devotion to his family by presenting him as sectioned off from wider society. Additionally, the â€Å"closely planted poplars† which seclude the area act as a dramatic device to represent Keller’s somewhat narrow minded principles and set values. Soyinka’s portrayal of the culture and setting also presents Elesin’s character and nature. Soyinka invites the audience to the rich Yoruban culture through Elesin’s voice; â€Å"a man of enormous vitality† who exposes the beauty of the setting to the audience, thus revealing his lust for earthly pleasures. â€Å"The smell of indigo on their cloth, this is the air I wish to breath† portrays Elesin’s yearn for life. The use of evocative description of the setting and culture creates a picture of Elesin’s vibrant character. The author’s use of language, which creates the character’s voice, presents the protagonists differently and shapes the audience’s reactions and feelings towards them in each play. Miller’s use of disjointed language such as â€Å"what’s goin†, to create Keller’s voice, presents him as an un-educated simple man. Though his incoherent language means the audience isn†™t enticed or fascinated by him, it presents him as an ordinary character, allowing the audience to connect with him on a personal level. The fact the audience is able to connect with Keller personally, because of his down to earth nature, means the audience are less sympathetic of his fatal flaw as Miller’s presentation of him causes the audience to be un-expectant of his down fall. â€Å"Back in my day you were either a doctor or a lawyer† exposes Keller’s myopic perspective of the world and strong attachment to his set values. Conversely, Soyinka’s use of complex language to create Elesin’s voice fascinates and captivates the audience, giving him high status as a character. Soyinka presents Elesin as an exuberant character fascinated by earthly pleasures. â€Å"I become a monarch whose palace is built with tenderness and beauty†. The flowing rhythm of his voice and the use of positive adjectives expose his passion for life; his fatal flaw as a character. Elesin speaks poetically in riddles such as â€Å"when the horse sniffs the stable does he not strain at the bridle?† presenting him as articulate and expressive. He also uses metaphors to express his ideas such as â€Å"you’re like a jealous wife† when talking to the Praise-Singer. This use of riddles and metaphors makes him sometimes difficult to unders tand presenting the idea he hides his fatal flaw by using his language to distract the praise singer from acknowledging his love for life which distracts him from his cultural duty. For example when the praise singer accuses Elesin of forgetting â€Å"a long faithful mother of his children† referring to his responsibilities to his culture, Elesin replies poetically saying â€Å"when the horse sniffs at the stable does he not strain at the bridle?†. However, his superior position makes it difficult for the audience to connect with him on a personal level. This foreshadows his downfall as a character as he later abandons his responsibilities to his culture by not committing to his duty of suicide. Because his fatal flaws are foreshadowed, when his downfall is eventually exposed it is expected by the audience thus they feel sympathy for him and his death is seen as an act of redemption. Both All My Sons and Death and a King’s horseman are structured with the climatic parts of the play at the end and use foreshadowing techniques throughout the plays to build up the tension and climax. In Death of a King’s Horseman Soyinka portrays Elesin’s fatal flaw; his desire for earthly pleasures which distracts him from the responsibility of death; to foreshadow his downfall as a character. Soyinka’s use of language exposes Soyinka’s desire for mortal pleasures. â€Å"This market is my roost† foreshadows his inability to sacrifice his be devotion for life for the benefit for the people in his culture. Similarly, Miller uses foreshadowing techniques to prognosticate the revelation of Keller’s mistakes. The broken tree which is a memorial for Larry acts as a dramatic device which foreshadows the end of Keller’s family’s ignorance to his mistake. The mother also foreshadows this by The different purposes within the narrative of the protagonist’s death affect their differing importance’s compared to the death of their son’s which acts as a catalyst The point at which the fathers acknowledge their sons death is the pivotal point at which the protagonist’s accept their fatal flaws. In Death and a King’s Horseman, because the death of Elesin is presented as an act of redemption, in my opinion the tragedy of his death is more important than the death of his son When Keller’s mistake of killing Larry is discovered he responds defensively to protect himself. â€Å"The minute there’s trouble you [mother] run out of strength† suggests Keller attempts to direct the blame on to somebody else and deny his mistakes. The fact his death takes place as a result of his family shunning him suggests his intentions for his suicide are selfish, to protect himself from unhappiness as his family is the only thing he values in life. This causes the audience to view his death as a cowardly act rather than an act of redemption from his mistakes. In my opinion this makes his suicide less important than the death of his son within the play which is the pivotal point of exposing Keller’s faults as a character. On the contrary, Elesin’s intentional death is presented as an act of redemption. It is clear Elesin kills himself for the benefit of his culture as â€Å"he has a duty to perform†. The presentation of his cultural duties at the beginning of the play The moment at which he kills himself is more important than the death of his son as it is the pivotal point in the novel where his mistakes and flaws are redeemed by showing his loyalty to his culture. Therefore, although Keller’s suicide seems less important than the death of his son as his suicide is merely a selfish act to protect him, Elesin’s intentional death is an act of redemption, making it equally important as the death of his son.

Physics and the Olympics :: Sport Sports Olympic Competition

The Olympics are fabled to have originated from a Greek myth, in which Hercules won a race at Olympia, a plain in the small state of Elis, and then decreed that the race should be enacted every four years. The more likely story is that the Olympic festival was a local religious event until 884 BC, when Iphitus, the king of Elis, decided to turn it into a broader festival. To accomplish that, he entered into a temporary truce with other rulers, allowing athletes and others to travel peacefully to Olympia while the festival was going on. In 776 BC, the Greeks based their chronology on four-year periods, called Olympiads, and the Olympic festival marked the beginning of each Olympiad. Today, the Olympics are still held every four years, and advanced in technology and fitness training have enhanced world records to the absolute maximum. All Olympic sports have experienced major changes over the years, but here I will discuss a few of the more famous Olympic events; the 100-meter dash, the javelin throw, and the pole vault. The Greeks actually had a sprint of about 190 metres called the stadion in the ancient Olympics, which was a sprint down a straight track and back again. The technology of the day consisted of nothing more than a wooden post at one end to help the runner on his return back up the track. Races originally began with the athletes standing upright, with their toes resting in grooves in a stone starting sill - hence the expression "toe the line". False starts were punished by flogging from a judge standing behind the athletes. Later it seems that a starting gate (called the husplex) was used, much like that used in horse-racing today. In the modern Olympics, sprinters start from a crouching position, pushing against starting blocks to help them accelerate. Blocks were introduced in the late 1920s and were first used at the 1948 Olympic games in London. Instrumented starting blocks appeared in the early 1980s, and consisted of a spring plate and a microswitch. In the late 1980s units based on strain gauges emerged, although they were very sensitive to the push of the athlete against them and caused many wrong false starts in competitive races. An improved strain-gauge version that worked quite well was introduced in about 1993, and two years later an "intelligent" version was developed.

Anti Nature Concept by Nietzsche Essay

The name of Nietzsche occupies one of the leading places among the greatest philosophers till nowadays. His influences can be traced in postmodernism and existentialism. His theories and views are studied by scientists and students; his profound and sharp understanding of reality and human nature attract attention of numerous people all over the world. His most well-known theory is related to â€Å"Will of Power†. The notion of the superhuman – Uebermensh – as a key to understanding of the power, every human being is bearing inside, totally confronts the general philosophic approach , where all reasons and questions are investigated only the in the frames of sole truth. These ides are developed in his work â€Å"The Twilight of the Idols†, where the readers find Nietzsche’s strong confrontation of the Socrates’s approach of rationalism. His strongest critic of the Socrates’s views relates to lack of life appreciation and resistance of the human instincts, because he states, that â€Å"Resisting instincts is just a sickness and not at all a way back to virtue or happiness.† (Bailey 2002). Here we are coming closer to the major point of our research, namely to the understanding of morality. One of the most vital concepts of Nietzsche was his suggestion, that morality builds the serious obstacle for enjoying of most of life passions and desires, or how he formulated it – â€Å"morality as anti-nature†. In his work Morality as Anti-Nature Nietzsche is discussing the ways, how religion and morality, spread via religion, are able to change and suppress human nature. Nowadays a lot of people are living according to some biblical rules and precepts. During the times, when Nietzsche lived, the church was considered to be even a stronger mentor for most individuals, who made their choices and selected their life directions only based on the rules, preached by the priests. Nietzsche was absolutely against it; he insisted that religion did not consider the nature of humanity. According to the church all people were to fight against their bad sides, where according to Nietzsche all people were born initially good and they did not need the religious rules to follow them, but rather follow their own desires and  passions. The highest potential in development throughout the whole life can be reached, as Nietzsche stated, only with the help of inside passions, and never the ideals of church. T he church demanded from its followers to suppress all the passions in order to become real Christians. In this way the church was exchanging the natural passions of individuals with morality. The idea of free will was also understood by Nietzsche not in the way as it was presented by the church. The believers were supposed to follow all the God’s rules as he was the most powerful being, at the same time, they were to carry responsibility for their decisions and actions. â€Å"Today we no longer have any pity for the concept of â€Å"free will†: we know only too well what it really is — the foulest of all theologians’ artifices, aimed at making mankind â€Å"responsible† in their sense, that is, dependent upon them. Here I simply supply the psychology of all â€Å"making responsible.† (Bailey 2002). At this point Nietzsche used this theory for explaining his understanding of cause and effect. â€Å"The church’s use of counterfactual causality expands to an imaginary and false perception in the mind, and people ultimately jump to conclusions, giving all the credit to a higher form or being.† (Bailey 2002). Nietzsche a lso criticized the situation when instead of looking for plausible answers. The followers of the church just believed, that the word of God was the only true reason. Thus Christianity, as he wrote, was to bear the responsibility for making its followers closed minded and going against their nature. â€Å"He ultimately believed that religion creates a concept of anti-natural morality which damages our development as humans quite greatly, eventually ending our status and right as individuals once the church gets involved† (Jacobus 13). In Nietzsche’s eyes, it was an attempt to substitute all the intelligence and natural passions, human beings were possessing, with blind and poor spirituality. In this case, he stated, that those, who could invent all such spiritual and moral restrictions, were ill-willed and not able to control their own passions. They themselves were not inclined to further intellectual and moral development, thus they used morality as anti-nature to restrict other individuals in improvement of their lives. Only individuals, who are absolutely not under control of any morality, could be referred to as ideal human beings, because their actions and choices would be based purely upon their natural passions. Their judgments concerning right and wrong things would be under the influence of  their inside passion only. Overall, we have studied the key notions of the Nietzsche’s theory, related to the issues of morality, which according to him is the most serious obstacle in formation of li fe direction, based on the natural instincts and passions. On the one hand, he could be right saying that morality itself is certainly restraining the activities and decisions of people. However, on the other hand our ability to control our emotions and passions is the major feature, which defines us as human beings, not animals. Works cited Bailey, A. First Philosophy: Fundamental Problems and Readings in Philosophy. Broadview Press. 2002 Jacobus L.A. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2013 Hayman, R. Nietzsche: A Critical Life. Oxford University Press (New York), 1980.

Mr. Price

Place your cursor on the area where you wish to enter Information. The box will turn black; begin typing. Title: Content Area: Publisher: Hardware Required: courseware Functions: check all that apply by â€Å"left† mouse clicking In the square. Drill and practice Simulation Instructional gaming Problem solving Tutorial Other Many characteristics should be considered when selecting courseware for use in one's classroom or lab, but the following should be considered essential qualities for ny instructional product on the computer.If courseware does not meet these criteria, It should not be considered for purchase. For each item, check (left mouse click), all that are appropriate for the courseware under review. l. Instructional Design and Pedagogical Soundness Teaching strategy appropriate for student level and based on best-known methods. Presentation on screen contains nothing that misleads or confuses students. Readability and difficulty at an appropriate level for students w ho will use it Comments to students not abusive or insulting Graphics fulfill important purpose (motivation, information) and are not distracting to learners.Criteria specific to drill and practice functions High degree of control over presentation rate (unless the method is timed review). Appropriate feedback for correct answers (none, if timed; not elaborate or time- consuming) Feedback more reinforcing for correct than for incorrect responses. Criteria specific to tutorials High degree of interactivity (not just reading information). High degree of user control (forward and backward movement, branching upon request). omprehensive teaching sequence so Instruction Is self-contained and stand-alone.Adequate answer-judging capabilities for student-constructed answers to questions Criteria specific to simulations Appropriate degree of fidelity (accurate depiction of system being modeled) Good documentation available on how program works. Criteria specific to instructional games: Low q uotient of violence or combat-type activities 1 OF2 Amount 0T pnyslcal aexterlty requlrea approprlate to students Content No grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors on screen. and current No racial, ethnic, or gender stereotypes. no wlll use It. II.All content accurate Sensitive treatment of moral and/or social issues (e. g. , perspectives on war or capital punishment) Ill. User Flexibility User normally has some control of movement within the program (e. g. , can go from screen to screen at desired rate; can read text at desired rate; can exit program when desired). Can turn off sound, if desired ‘V. Technical Soundness Program loads consistently, without error. Program does not break, no matter what the student enters. the screen says it should do. Decision Recommended for purchase Not recommended Comments: Program does what

How to Create Classroom Management Routines

How to Create Classroom Management Routines Over the years, educators have developed many different methods for keeping classrooms under control. Currently, one of the most effective is a  program of classroom management proposed by educator  Harry K. Wong  in his book  The First Days of School. The focus of Wongs program is on creating orderly classroom routines that help children understand what is expected of them each day. It is a highly effective method, one that works well in both special and general education classrooms. Each day, the children from Room 203 line up outside the classroom and wait to be greeted by their teacher. When they enter the room, they place their homework in the basket marked homework, hang up their coats, and empty their back packs. Soon, the class is busy recording the days assignments in their assignment book, and when completed work on the spelling puzzle they found on their desks. The Importance of Routines Every day, the children in room 203 follow the same routines, routines they have learned. Flexibility comes in instruction, in meeting individual needs or challenges as they arise. The beauty of routines is that they are about what we do, not who we are. A child can be reminded that they forgot to complete a routine, and they will not feel hurt, as they probably would if they were told that they broke a rule. Its well worth the extra time required to create routines, since routines help children understand what is expected of them, where to find the resources they need, and how to behave in the classroom. Routines take time to be taught, but eventually, they become second-nature, and students no longer need to be reminded what to do. The best time to establish routines is at the beginning of the school year.  The First Six Weeks of School, a book by educators Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete, lays out six weeks of activities that teach routines and create meaningful ways for students to interact and create community in the classroom. This approach is now trademarked as The Responsive Classroom. Creating Routines The best routines are those that anticipate common challenges in the classroom and find ways to address them. Before creating a routine, teachers should ask themselves the following questions: How will the students enter the classroom?Where will they place their backpacks? Their homework?Who will take attendance? How will the students record their lunch choices?What does a student  do when his or her work is completed?How does a student  record his or her independent reading?How are seats chosen at lunchtime? A resource room teacher will need to ask: How will the students  get from their general education classroom to the resource room?How will the students know when it is time to move from their desks to the teachers table?What role will a classroom aide play in the structure of the classroom?Who keeps track of homework and class assignments? Teachers should have an answer for each of these questions. Children from communities without much structure will need a great deal of structure in their day. On the other hand, children from more orderly communities will not necessarily need as much structure. As a teacher, it is always best to have too many routines and too much structure than too little- you can more easily take away than add. Rules While routines are more effective for managing classrooms, there is still a place for rules. Keep them short and simple. One of the rules in every classroom should be Treat yourself and others with respect. Limit your rules to a maximum of 10 so that students can easily remember them.

The History of the Thermometer

The History of the Thermometer Thermometers measure temperature, by using materials that change in some way when they are heated or cooled. In a mercury or alcohol thermometer, the liquid expands as it is heated and contracts when it is cooled, so the length of the liquid column is longer or shorter depending on the temperature. Modern thermometers are calibrated in standard temperature units such as Fahrenheit (used in the United States) or Celsius (used in Canada), or Kelvin (used mostly by scientists). What is a Thermoscope? Before there was the thermometer, there was the earlier and closely related thermoscope, best described as a thermometer without a scale. A thermoscope only showed the differences in temperatures, for example, it could show something was getting hotter. However, the thermoscope did not measure all the data that a thermometer could, for example, an exact temperature in degrees. Early History Several inventors invented a version of the thermoscope at the same time. In 1593, Galileo Galilei invented a rudimentary water thermoscope, which for the first time, allowed temperature variations to be measured. Today, Galileos invention is called the Galileo Thermometer, even though by definition it was really a thermoscope. It was a container filled with bulbs of varying mass, each with a temperature marking, the buoyancy of water changes with temperature, some of the bulbs sink while others float, the lowest bulb indicated what temperature it was. In 1612, the Italian inventor Santorio Santorio became the first inventor to put a numerical scale on his thermoscope. It was perhaps the first crude clinical thermometer, as it was designed to be placed in a patients mouth for temperature taking. Neither Galileos nor Santorios instruments were very accurate. In 1654, the first enclosed liquid-in-a-glass thermometer was invented by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II. The Duke used alcohol as his liquid. However, it was still inaccurate and used no standardized scale. Fahrenheit Scale: Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit What can be considered the first modern thermometer, the mercury thermometer with a standardized scale, was invented by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1714. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was the German physicist who invented the alcohol thermometer in 1709, and the mercury thermometer in 1714. In 1724, he introduced the standard temperature scale that bears his name- Fahrenheit Scale- that was used to record changes in temperature in an accurate fashion. The Fahrenheit scale divided the freezing and boiling points of water into 180 degrees. 32 °F was the freezing point of water and 212 °F was the boiling point of water. 0 °F was based on the temperature of an equal mixture of water, ice, and salt. Fahrenheit based his temperature scale on the temperature of the human body. Originally, the human body temperature was 100 ° F on the Fahrenheit scale, but it has since been adjusted to 98.6 °F. Centigrade Scale: Anders Celsius The Celsius temperature scale is also referred to as the centigrade scale. Centigrade means consisting of or divided into 100 degrees. In 1742, the Celsius scale was invented by Swedish Astronomer Anders Celsius. The Celsius scale has 100 degrees between the freezing point (0 °C) and boiling point (100 °C) of pure water at sea level air pressure. The term Celsius was adopted in 1948 by an international conference on weights and measures. Kelvin Scale: Lord Kelvin Lord Kelvin took the whole process one step further with his invention of the Kelvin Scale in 1848. The Kelvin Scale measures the ultimate extremes of hot and cold. Kelvin developed the idea of absolute temperature, what is called the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and developed the dynamical theory of heat. In the 19th century, scientists were researching what was the lowest temperature possible. The Kelvin scale uses the same units as the Celcius scale, but it starts at Absolute Zero, the temperature at which everything including air freezes solid. Absolute zero is 0 K, which is equal to 273 °C degrees Celsius. When a thermometer was used to measure the temperature of a liquid or of air, the thermometer was kept in the liquid or air while a temperature reading was being taken. Obviously, when you take the temperature of the human body you cant do the same thing. The mercury thermometer was adapted so it could be taken out of the body to read the temperature. The clinical or medical thermometer was modified with a sharp bend in its tube that was narrower than the rest of the tube. This narrow bend kept the temperature reading in place after you removed the thermometer from the patient by creating a break in the mercury column. That is why you shake a mercury medical thermometer before and after you use it, to reconnect the mercury and get the thermometer to return to room temperature. Mouth Thermometers In 1612, the Italian inventor  Santorio Santorio  invented  the mouth thermometer  and perhaps the first crude clinical thermometer. However, it was both bulky, inaccurate, and took too long to get a reading. The first doctors to routinely take the temperature of their patients were: Hermann Boerhaave (1668–1738), Gerard L.B. Van Swieten (1700–1772) founder of the Viennese School of Medicine, and Anton De Haen (1704–1776). These doctors found temperature correlated to the progress of an illness, however, few of their contemporaries agreed, and the thermometer was not widely used. First Practical Medical Thermometer English physician, Sir Thomas Allbutt (1836–1925) invented the first practical medical thermometer used for taking the  temperature  of a person in 1867. It was portable, 6 inches in length and able to record a patients temperature in 5 min. Ear Thermometer Pioneering  biodynamicist  and flight surgeon with the Luftwaffe during World War II, Theodore Hannes Benzinger invented the ear thermometer. David Phillips invented the infrared ear thermometer in 1984. Dr. Jacob Fraden, CEO of Advanced Monitors Corporation, invented the worlds  best-selling ear thermometer, the Thermoscan ® Human Ear Thermometer.

Medieval Half-Timbered Construction

Medieval Half-Timbered Construction Half-timbering is a way of constructing wood frame structures with the structural timbers exposed. This medieval method of construction is called timber framing. A half-timbered building wears its wood frame on its sleeve, so to speak. The wooden wall framing - studs, cross beams, and braces - are exposed to the outside, and the spaces between the wooden timbers are filled with plaster, brick, or stone. Originally a common type of building method in the 16th century, half-timbering has become decorative and non-structural in designs for todays homes. A good example of a true half-timbered structure from the 16th century is the Tudor-era manor house known as Little Moreton Hall (c. 1550) in Cheshire, United Kingdom.  In the United States, a Tudor-style home is really a Tudor Revival, which simply takes the look of half-timbering instead of exposing the structural wooden beams on the exterior facade or the interior walls. A well-known example of this effect is the  Nathan G. Moore house in Oak Park, Illinois. It is the house Frank Lloyd Wright hated, although the young architect himself designed this traditional Tudor-influenced American manor home in 1895. Why did Wright hate it? Although Tudor Revival was popular, the house that Wright really wanted to work on was his own original design, an experimental modern home that became known as the Prairie Style. His client, however, wanted a traditionally dignified design of the elite. Tudor Revival styles were extremely popular to a certain upper-middle-class sector of the American population from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Definition The familiar half-timbered was used informally to mean timber-framed construction in the Middle Ages. For economy, cylindrical logs were cut in half, so one log could be used for two (or more) posts. The shaved side was traditionally on the exterior and everyone knew it to be half the timber. The Dictionary of Architecture and Construction defines half-timbered this way: Descriptive of buildings of the 16th and 17th cent. which were built with strong timber foundations, supports, knees, and studs, and whose walls were filled in with plaster or masonry materials such as brick. Construction Method After 1400 A.D., many European houses were masonry on the first floor and half-timbered on the upper floors. This design was originally pragmatic - not only was the first floor seemingly more protected from bands of marauders but like todays foundations a masonry base could well support tall wooden structures. Its a design model that continues with todays revival styles. In the United States, colonists brought these European building methods with them, but the harsh winters made half-timbered construction impractical. The wood expanded and contracted dramatically, and the plaster and masonry filling between the timbers could not keep out cold drafts. Colonial builders began to cover exterior walls with wood clapboards or masonry. The Look Half-timbering was a popular European construction method toward the end of the Middle Ages and into the reign of the Tudors. What we think of as Tudor architecture often has the half-timbered look. Some authors have chosen the word Elizabethan to describe half-timbered structures. Nevertheless, during the late 1800s, it became fashionable to imitate Medieval building techniques. A Tudor Revival house expressed American success, wealth, and dignity. Timbers were applied to exterior wall surfaces as decoration. False half-timbering became a popular type of ornamentation in many nineteenth and twentieth-century house styles, including Queen Anne, Victorian Stick, Swiss Chalet, Medieval Revival (Tudor Revival), and, occasionally, on modern-day Neotraditional houses and commercial buildings. Examples Until the fairly recent invention of rapid transportation, such as the freight train, buildings were constructed with local materials. In areas of the world that are naturally forested, homes made of wood dominated the landscape. Our word timber comes from Germanic words meaning wood and wood structure. Think of yourself in the middle of a land filled with trees - todays Germany, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Switzerland, the mountainous region of Eastern France - and then think about how you can use those trees to build a house for your family. When you cut down each tree, you may yell Timber! to warn people of its impending fall. When you put them together to make a house, you can stack them up horizontally like a log cabin or you can stack them vertically, like a stockade fence. The third way of using wood to construct a house is to build a primitive hut - use the wood to build a frame and then put insulating materials in between the frame. How much and what kinds of material you use will depend on how harsh the weather is where you are building. Throughout Europe, tourists flock to cities and towns that prospered during the Middle Ages. Within the Old Town areas, original half-timbered architecture has been restored and maintained. In France, for example, towns like Strasbourg near the German border and Troyes, about 100 miles southeast of Paris, have wonderful examples of this medieval design. In Germany, Old Town Quedlinburg and the historic town of Goslar are both UNESCO Heritage Site. Remarkably, Goslar is cited not for its medieval architecture but for its mining and water management practices that date back to the Middle Ages. Perhaps most notable to the American tourist are the English towns of Chester and York, two cities in northern England. Despite their Roman origins, York and Chester have a reputation for being  quintessentially British because of the many half-timbered dwellings. Likewise, Shakespeares birthplace and Anne Hathaways Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon are well-known half-timbered houses in the United Kingdom. The writer William Shakespeare lived from 1564 until 1616, so many of the buildings associated with the famous playwright are half-timbered styles from the Tudor era. Sources Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw-Hill, 1975, p. 241Architecture through the Ages by Professor Talbot Hamlin, FAIA, Putnam, Revised 1953American House Styles: A Concise Guide by John Milnes Baker, AIA, Norton, 1994, p. 100

Developing a marketing strategy for a multinational company Essay

Developing a marketing strategy for a multinational company - Essay Example Individual branding will elevate the new notepad to reach high market standards. This might trigger customers to try other Lenovo products hence paving way for other products to penetrate the new market (Johansson, 2012). To effectively advertize the new notebook into foreign countries Lenovo will use a global advertising strategy. A Global advertising strategy allows a company to adopt or adjust its advertisement to suit the needs of a foreign country’s citizens while maintaining the global reach. Unlike international advertising, global advertising can modify ads to appeal readily to the locals. The contents of Lenovo advertisement will be amended to suit different foreign countries’ styles. Changing advertisement materials might reduce the adverse impacts brought by cultural differences and language barriers. Benefits associated with using a global advertisement strategy include being able to reach people in multiple countries while maintaining respect for each of their culture. A world advertising strategy maintains consistency in the messages sent across the globe. This can create synergy and a common identity among consumers of Lenovo’s products (Johansson, 2012). Lenovo will be looking to introduce the new notepad in South Africa. To effectively introduce the new notebook into the South African market, it is important to carry out a market segmentation analysis. Doing this will ensure the company better understands the country’s market dynamics and needs. The country is at 30 degrees south and 25 degrees east. South Africa covers 471,000 square miles with a population of 59.98 million as at 2009.The South African population is of youths aged between 18 and 35. They make up almost 60% of the country’s total population. Majority of South African people are computer literate. South Africa has seven international airports meaning that the country is easily accessible by air. The

The Greatest Supply Chain Disasters of All Time Case Study

The Greatest Supply Chain Disasters of All Time - Case Study Example This is a major risk to company operations. Foxmeyer made an assumption that its new system would be highly effective, hence estimated benefits from such efficiency. It started bidding future contracts based on a system that was notyet operational. This can only be considered poor management, which entails poor planning, poor project management, and poor change management. Poor planning is because the company managers did not include certain risks that may have affected the project. This then means there was poor project management. The company’s project manager, in his or her plan, should include risk assessment, which should have the risk of the project not going according to plan. Execution risk should also include the risk of the current company system not integrating smoothly with the new system, and the risk that some required activities may not be recognized in time. This mistake is seen in other companies such as; Boeing, GM, WebVan, Adidas, Denver Airport, Toys RUs.co m, Mattel, Hershey Foods, Cisco, Nike, Apple, Loblaws, Ford, GM, Aris Isotoner, and Chrysler. In Boeing, there is also poor change and stakeholder management. A new system is implemented in the company which requires the cooperation of suppliers. These suppliers are not informed in time, are not informed of the company’s expectations, and the challenges that may come with such speedy and change in the production system. In the end, the suppliers cannot supply the products in time. They may have even produced poor quality products which may have caused the company more loses. An assessment was not done to find out the capability of the company, and the suppliers, to steer the project to completion in time. No consideration was given to the supplier, an important stakeholder in the success of the project. Lack of thorough assessment of a project’s feasibility is also a common problem in almost all the companies in the case study. Most of the companies go ahead with the p rojects, without a thorough assessment of the project’s feasibility and compatibility with the current systems. Almost all the companies ignore the risks that are ahead of them. They only assume that such big projects have to bring profit. There are risks associated with new systems, and these are all ignored. The companies work on expected benefits. In all the companies, big projects failed to meet the expectations. Most of the new projects were IT and system overhaul projects. It only means that any new projects that have no verified results of implementation should not be implemented and managed under traditional methods of steering a project to its completion. Traditional methods of management do not focus on the outcome. They focus on assigning duties to specific skills and departments, and expecting outcomes as described in project expectations. After implementation, that is when a manager realizes that the system was not compatible with the company’s operations, the system needed other sub projects, the system needed more time, and so on. New information Technology systems mean; new operational systems, and new roles and so new skills. All these should be accompanied by effective change management, since they will be accompanied by challenges in change management. The Case of â€Å"Denver Airport Cannot Manage the Luggage† This international airport implemented â€Å"a hugely automated baggage handling system†. This did not work as planned. This was an Underground Railroad network, driven by computers. The system was expected to speed up the delivery of bags to customers, and make the process of baggage handling efficient. It came with problems such as derailed cars, mis-delivered luggage, and jammed tracks.

Summary of thr research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of thr research paper - Essay Example The conceptual framework was specifically disclosed as accurately pinpointing that structures from a supposedly identified array of 3 nanometer diameter vertical pillars, reported on six nanometer pitch can allegedly be fabricated, but clearly classified as unmanufacturable (Kelly, 2011). As expounded: â€Å"the assertion is that the resulting array is not able to be reproduced to give electronic or optical properties that are within a narrow range of pre-specified values† (Kelly, 2011, p. 1). Two evidences were apparently provided in two stages, to wit: â€Å"(a) the intrinsic variability of the cross section of the pillars and then (b) the implications of this variability on the optical and electronic properties† (Kelly, 2011, p. 1). Kelly explained two ways of making the pillars by either â€Å"using metal particle catalyst to grow the pillars or infilling lithographically defined holes in a resist layer† (Kelly, 2011, p. 1). Technical descriptions of expoundi ng on the two processes were provided in detail. As such, the author disclosed that after justifying that the 3 nanometer (nm) diameter vertical pillars could not be manufactured, there were ten enumerated implications of this outcome, as summarized herewith: (3) There were indicated range levels specifying the appropriate interface which considers a structural specification as either manufacturable or unmanufacturable, which was disclosed to be within the 7 nm design rules; (6) â€Å"Arrays of quantum dots, single-electron tunnel junction transistors, split-gate transistors, carbon nanotubes, etc, can always be used for their aggregate or averaged properties, but not as elements in any form of pixelated array† (Kelly, 2011, p.

Economics of Human Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economics of Human Capital - Essay Example he justification for this argument was that essentially the amount of available land for production was believed to be limited due to the fact that land cannot grow at the same pace as capital and labor, consequently, land becomes insufficient, and capital and labor in the end become saturated and less efficient and less profitable (Mauro & Fernandez 68). This essay discusses the role of human capital in economic growth. Nevertheless, these early growth framework took in a fourth variable—knowledge, or technological development, that allowed available capital and labor to generate greater yields on specific amounts of land. The rate and extent of transformation of this fourth variable was viewed as exogenous to the framework—knowledge only grew constantly by itself and not as an outcome of investments or capital constituted within the framework. However, examinations of the potential sources of increases in national productivity over time revealed consistently that this inadequately known and non-quantifiable variable-- technological development-- comprised a substantial portion of overall economic development all over the 20th century (Qadri & Waheed 93). Obviously, economists did not accept the assumption that knowledge expanded without help, and hence several adjustments on this framework enable ‘labor’ input to expand not just by increasing work hours and people, but a lso by hypothesizing that the labor force’s human capital could, successfully, expand by means of training and education. This model is quite subjective, and, according to numerous economists, scarcely better than merely considering technological development as a residual variable that provides explanation of the portion of economic progress that cannot be clarified by expansion in physical or human capital (Becker(b) 57). During the 1980s, economists became fascinated with a modeling framework referred to as ‘New Growth Theory’, which viewed the role of growth in technological and

Boyz in the hood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Boyz in the hood - Essay Example Tre is still being cared for by his father, who continues to guide Tre on the right path of life. This task becomes difficult after Tre’s friend, Ricky, is killed by a rival gang, and Tre is eager to seek revenge with the rest of his friends. However, the words of his father stay with him, and Tre returns home while his friends continue their mission. At the end of the movie, Tre and his friend speculate on the condition of the Hood and how America does not care enough to do anything about the continuing problems in the neighborhood. The film ends with an epilogue that states that, of the three friends, Tre is the only one to live to see out the rest of his successful life. There are numerous things that I understood from watching the movie. The first is that sometimes the most gravest issue is the one receiving the least attention. Instead of programs being implemented to help young people at risk, such as those in dangerous living situations, they simply go ignored until the y disappear. Unfortunately, problems like these will never be entirely gone from the world. There are still many neighborhoods where the percentages of at-risk children and teenagers are incredibly high.

Growth and Development of Vegetarian Raised Children Essay

Growth and Development of Vegetarian Raised Children - Essay Example The study shows that there are controversial results, as to the benefits of vegetarian raised children. For example, in the so-called Farm Study (a vegetarian commune in Tennessee) O’Connell and cool. found that the body height of children up to 10 years of age, raised in a vegetarian commune, was consistently below the US reference values. Because of the scarcity of data on physical growth, pubertal development and physical fitness of vegetarian children, adolescents and young adults, we designed a study to assess the average daily dietary intakes of food energy in a total of 82 children (Group A: 6-10 year-old girls and 6-12 year-old boys), adolescents (Group B: 10-16 year-old girls and 12-18 year-old boys), and young adults (Group C: 16-30 year-old-girls and 18-30 year-old boys).† In contrast, in two studies in children of Seventh-Day Adventists (SDA) communities, who largely follow a vegetarian lifestyle, no significant differences in height were found, with the exception of SDA school boys who were significantly taller. After controlling for height differences, boys and girls in the SDA School were found to be leaner than their public school peers (Marcel, 1997). These studies show little significant benefits of vegetarian meals over nonvegetarian meals. However, when it comes to their learning responses in class, the SDA children were seen to perform better than the children from non-SDA homes. This was after considering more than 100 children both from SDA and not SDA families.

Boyz in the hood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Boyz in the hood - Essay Example Tre is still being cared for by his father, who continues to guide Tre on the right path of life. This task becomes difficult after Tre’s friend, Ricky, is killed by a rival gang, and Tre is eager to seek revenge with the rest of his friends. However, the words of his father stay with him, and Tre returns home while his friends continue their mission. At the end of the movie, Tre and his friend speculate on the condition of the Hood and how America does not care enough to do anything about the continuing problems in the neighborhood. The film ends with an epilogue that states that, of the three friends, Tre is the only one to live to see out the rest of his successful life. There are numerous things that I understood from watching the movie. The first is that sometimes the most gravest issue is the one receiving the least attention. Instead of programs being implemented to help young people at risk, such as those in dangerous living situations, they simply go ignored until the y disappear. Unfortunately, problems like these will never be entirely gone from the world. There are still many neighborhoods where the percentages of at-risk children and teenagers are incredibly high.

Big Problem Management in Tex-mark Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Big Problem Management in Tex-mark - Essay Example It can be argued that language posed a great barrier to project success. Erick seemed to be well informed about how unqualified or incompetent employees may contribute to delay in implementing projects. His intentions were to ensure that there was no a repeat of what had happened in Mexico and china. He argues that a projected aimed at being completed in a shot duration took longer time than expected. An example of such an occurrence is the one cited about what happened in India. It is argued that an eight moth research assignment consumed three years, and this according to Eric was as a result of incompetent employees. Fred’s Selfishness could not allow him to train locals and employ them to undertake some duties. He was unable to work in harmony with authorities in the country, and this hindered operations of the research assignment, thus leading to delay in its completion. Alternative solutions However, the company may still get back on its track if Eric can make some effor ts to solve problems facing the company. He should first lay down all the problems facing the company, and enumerate the best possible solutions to them. Such issue should be raised before the higher authorities on a regular basis. Persistence is important when it comes to such matters of concern, not forgetting the enormous challenge facing them especially now that they are about to venture in to a more challenging zone: China. Any company that fails to advance in its human resource capacity is always faced by constant problems in its operations and managerial matters. Some of the ways through which such advances are achieved is through attending workshops and seminars on various fields, instituting training programs, or advancing education levels. Therefore, Eric should take stand and insist on the training program for not only employees sent abroad, but also to the rest of the employees. The program should be planned in a manner that it deals with the current problems, and foreca sts on the future requirements that would be catered for by the program. Underperforming and or expatriate employees may not add value to any organization. In fact, the company should ensure that all its employees are subjected to a performance measure contract, which evaluates the performance of all employees. This way, there would be no reason to continue keeping employees who fail to perform. They are considered to be liabilities rather than assets to the company, and over continued to being in the company increases costs, thus reducing the profit margin of the company. It is necessary for the company to add a policy of employing locals of foreign countries in order to minimize some costs such as training and exportation of employees who would require extra compensation and allowances during their stay in other countries. In fact, the company should look for ways of having affiliate or subsidiary companies in foreign countries of interest. This way, the company will enjoy the ben efit accrued from being locally known company in those foreign countries. Budgetary concerns As long as the there is efficiency in handling international assignments, and that they become cost effective, then the proposed solutions to the problems facing the company can be argued to be fine. Proposed solutions should also include reevaluation of how the consulting firm may help the company oversee smooth running of its assignment in the foreign markets. In this regard, the consulting firm should be made to understand that charging Tex-Mark higher fees for training jeopardizes the profit margins of the company. There

Critics of the immigration law Essay Example for Free

Critics of the immigration law Essay The topic I have chosen is â€Å"Illegal Migration on the U. S. Border† since this is currently a significant issue as reflected by the heavy media coverage depicting the allegedly alarming rate by which the number of illegal immigrants has risen in the United States since 2004. The Washington Post, for instance, reports that approximately half a million immigrants have poured in last year, outnumbering the number of legal immigrants. (Cohn A13) The concern over illegal immigration has therefore drawn out varied responses and put immense pressure on the Government, including President Bush who is reported to be proposing granting temporary working visas to foreigners as part of the legal remedies to the situation apart from the proposed wall to be built in the borders between the U. S. and Mexico and heavy personnel enforcement in patrolling the borders. (BBC News) Its nearest neighbor, Mexico is logically the foremost source of both legal and illegal immigrants in the country. I have so far been able to check online sources of information such as the news networks mentioned above. I would like to peruse additional materials such as previous studies on the issue and other materials such as those printed by the advocates and critics of the immigration law in order to gain a deeper understanding of the topic mentioned. From my perspective, there is indeed a clear need to strictly enforce the immigration laws to address concerns on homeland security and other threats posed by illegal immigration, including the syndicate groups that have obviously been taking advantage of both the laxity of the State in patrolling its borders and the desperation of Mexicans and other nationals who are after the supposedly greener pastures offered by the United States. I therefore see no harm in the President’s proposal for the issuance of temporary work visas to immigrants. On the contrary, it would help make the monitoring easier for immigration officers and therefore also help control the influx of illegal immigrants in the country. Works Cited: Cohn, D’Vera. â€Å"Report Details Growth in Illegal Migration. † Washington Post. 28 Sept. 2005:A13 â€Å"Viewpoints: U. S. Illegal Migration. † 23 May 2006. BBC News Online. 1 July 2007. http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/americas/4989248. stm

my dog Trooper :: essays research papers

Trooper Two memories stand out from when I was a kid. One was the day the Nintendo Entertainment System hit the shelves. The other was the day â€Å"a boy’s best friend† came into my world. Who would have thought that this day would become one of the happiest days of my life? It was in the middle of spring on a nice sunny day. I had just finished my last game from my recreational basketball league. Our team lost, but I put in my two points, along with two solid quarters of bench warming. I was never much of an athlete, but rather a â€Å"mathlete†. Regardless, I still had a lot of fun playing sports. On our way home from the game, my dad and I stopped at several pet stores. I was very confused. He neglected to tell me what we were doing, but I gladly played along. All together we must have stopped at four or five different pet stores. We bought a pack of dog bones, a dog collar and leash, dog shampoo, dog food, and a dog cage. Now I am not the kind of person to jump to conclusions, but I think I was catching on to something. We proceeded home after spending a near 200 dollars on dog supplies. Once we got home, my dad asked, "Joe, What do you want to do today?" I could tell by the sound of his voice that he had asked a rhetorical question. Although at the age of eight I had no idea what a rhetorical question was, I knew he was telling me that we were on our way to the animal shelter. My parents and I jumped into our 1989 blue Aerostar van. My brother was away on a camping trip, so it was just the three of us. The 20-minute drive felt like two hours, and I can remember every second of it. We drove up to the shelter on a smooth paved road that went up to a hill. An empty pasture was on our left side and an old cemetery was on our right. The shelter looked like a small prison. It stood alone in the middle of an open field, surrounded by fence. We jumped out of our van and headed up the walkway. As we walked through the front door, we were forced to look at the cats. Walking through the cat section was the only way to get to the dog kennel part.

A Tale of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays

Free A Tale of Two Cities Essays  - Sydney Carton and Charles Darney   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sydney Carton and Charles Darney were alike in certain ways but completely different in other ways.   Some of their characteristics were very similar while others were unlike.   Carton was an attorney’s assistant who lived in Paris while Darney was a teacher who lived in London.   They both had intangibles about them that you just couldn’t put your finger on.   These similarities and differences helped develop Dickens’s theme.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though there were some similarities between Sydney and Charles there were not that many.   The few there were in the book helped Build symmetry.   These two people both had a love for lucie though carton had a hard time expressing it.   These two people had a stunning resemblance in their physical features.   This helped acquit Darney the first time as carton pointed out their resemblance a said no one could tell them apart.   This also helped at the end of the story. These two people are both very smart, even though they don’t know it at times.   They come up with brilliant ideas between them.   These two people may look similar and have a few similar qualities they have many more differences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The differences between Carton and Darney were overwhelming.   While Carton was a disheveled, insolent, indifferent and rude man, Darney was a handsome, gentle successful, responsible human being.   When carton sees Darney he realizes what he could have done with his life.   Carton realizes he is not good enough for lucie.   Darney is rather flat and predictable, while Carton is exciting throughout the book.   Though Carton is less likeable, he is witty, entertaining and has many levels.   In the end, while Darney stays a very respectable person, Carton digs himself out of dismal, indifferent existence to become the hero of this novel.   These differences between Charles and Sydney supported his themes of resurrection and revolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The way Dickens’s used symmetry to develop was quite interesting.   He showed that two things can be similar, but never exactly alike.   He used the symmetry to show revolution, as carton and Darney became more alike as the story went along.   Dickens’s used it also to develop resurrection.   The symmetry symbolized resurrection, as Carton resurrected Darney two times.   The first was in the trial as he convinced the jury not to kill him and proved he was innocent.   The second was when he took Darney's place at the execution because he realized Darney had everything and he had nothing.

Englisg Language Yesterday, Today and Tomarrow

GO ANYWHERE. This expression reminds us how importance of English for human life is. As global or universal language, English is not only enables us to communicate†¦ Premium If You Given An Opportunity To Run a 3 Days Training On Excellent Public Speaking. How Would You Implement†¦ World and one of the most important language in the World is English. Currently, English language is at number three on the most speaking language in the World. Even†¦ Premium Important Of English Language learning to communicate in English is important to enter and ultimately succeed in mainstream America.Working knowledge of the English language can create many†¦ Premium Importance Of English Language 512 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page). [pic] More Information View The English Language Study Pack 96 Alternative Definitions Search Results†¦ Premium Importance Of English Language ? Many of us wonder about the importance of knowing English in today's world. But such pr oblems are faced by people who cannot speak the language fluently. The need†¦ Premium Importance Of English Language greatest possible flexibility, and better-off members must make extra efforts to lower import barriers on least developed countries exports.Developing countries†¦ Premium Importance Of English Language To The Students American football, known in the United States simply as football and sometimes as gridiron outside the United States and Canada,[1][2] is a sport played between two†¦ Premium Importance Of English Language SPELLING RULES 1. For a single syllable word, ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel double the consonant: swim; swimmer; swimming rob†¦ Premium Cultural Effects On English Language Collocation As Foreign Language and lexical collocation.For people who regard the English language as a foreign language or second language, its so difficult to express it as perfect. This mini†¦ Premium Importance Of English least will be understandable. There are various reasons for the importance of English language. They are listed below. 1. Travel: When a person travels to another†¦ Premium Oral Communication In English Language as their medium of study and not their local language. This will again shows the importance of English language. English language will certainly improve Malaysians†¦ Premium Importance Of English Education orld of globalization. English language is a common language and is spoken in many countries. No one denies the importance of English language in the present time†¦ Premium Investigating The English Language Needs Previous research in the field of engineering showed that English language is of paramount importance in the academic and professional lives of engineering students†¦ Premium Importance Of English of media, trade and science. In Pakistan, the importance of English language is growing and now English language is compulsory in mostly all schools and c olleges†¦ PremiumImportance Of English and luxurious because without the presence of English dialect things is impossible to happen. So we should consider the importance of English language in daily life†¦ Premium Importance Of English leaders of various countries is mostly in English. This linking factor also tells of the importance of English language. 5. Internet: In spite of the growth of†¦ Premium Importance Of English In India IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE NATIONAL LIFE OF INDIA TODAY From 26 January 1965 Hindi has been declared the official language of India. But along with it†¦ Premium

Change Management in Nursing Essay

Leadership is defined as influencing people to achieve a purpose or set of goals, but differentiating it from management causes confusion in many instances (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004; Senior and Fleming, 2006; Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2009). Leaders can be managers but not all managers can be effective leaders, making leadership an important aspect of effective management (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004). Several attempts have been made over the years to explain the characteristics of an effective leader. Trait, behavioural/style, situational-contingency and transformational theories are some of the theories that have been proposed to explain these characteristics (Yoder-Wise, 2003; Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004; Senior and Fleming, 2006). Goleman (2000) also used competencies of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills) to explain these characteristics. Nevertheless, none of these theories seem to adequately explain the characteristics that make an individual an effective leader. Yoder-Wise (2003) recognises followership as attitudes exhibited by individuals that the leader comes into contact with and explains that followers collaborate and act with the leader. Mahoney (2001) states that all nurses must acquire leadership skills since nursing leadership ranges from the staff nurse caring for a patient to a nurse in charge of a hospital. Nurses in clinical leadership positions collaborate with other leaders in the healthcare system to promote positive change (Touati et al., 2006). However, Antrobus and Kitson (1999) criticise nursing leadership for its lack of external focus (socio-political impact on health policies). They recommend that, in addition to the knowledge on issues related to nursing practice, potential leaders of nursing should familiarise themselves with social and health policies, management and research. Sutherland and Dodd (2008) identify that a lot of changes are occurring within the healthcare system, driving the need for leadership development. As a clinical leader in the making, a sound understanding of strategies for change management would prepare me as an effective leader. This is a reflective essay on how I set up a personal development plan to gain much insight on strategies for change management. The reflection is guided by Gibbs’s reflective cycle (1988 cited by Jasper, 2003). Although Cotton (2001) sees reflective practice in nursing as a problem, Durgahee (1996) identifies that nurses are able to perfect their actions when they examine their experiences through reflection and, consequently, become conscious of how different elements of care inform total professional nursing practice. The essay begins with a brief introduction of my background, and a description of issues that led me to focus on change management strategies in my personal development plan. It, then, follows with a reflection on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that I have and how these would influence my career in the future. The plan is presented, beginning with my learning objective and actions that I hope to take to meet my learning objective. The literature is then reviewed, followed by an appraisal of my organisation and how I plan to implement change. The last section describes my progress. Professional Background I graduated with a BSc. Nursing degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana in 2008. I practised at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), also in Ghana, as a general nurse for one year before enrolling at the University of Nottingham for MSc. Advanced Nursing. My responsibilities, as stated by the Ghana Health Service (2005), are to: Assess care needs of patients, develop and implement plans of nursing care accordingly Formulate, initiate and revise patient care as condition warrants Participate in ward rounds Allocate tasks based on skill of staff Supervise staff and students in the ward Evaluate nursing care and ensure continuity of care In the third year of my undergraduate course, I was one of three students selected for a twelve-week exchange programme in the United States of America. The goal was for us to experience healthcare system and nursing practice in the USA and effect positive changes in nursing and healthcare at KATH. Generally, students who participate in such programs develop themselves, learn differences between cultures, and are able to compare healthcare systems and nursing in the respective countries (Scholes and Moore, 2000; Button, Green, Tengnah et al, 2005). Judging from the exposure I had in the USA, I felt I could make a major impact on my colleagues upon my return. Exchange students, whether short-term (1 – 4 weeks) or long-term (more than 4 weeks), expect to have a positive influence upon their return to their home countries (Button et al, 2005; Carty et al, 2002). I developed myself, to an extent, as a result of participating in the exchange programme. This was confirmed by some of my colleagues. I, also, learnt some of the similarities and differences in culture, nursing practice and healthcare between the USA and Ghana. Notwithstanding, the overall purpose of having positive impact on my colleagues was not realised. I believe that lack of a strategy to effect the proposed changes as well as failure to collaborate with the other exchange students were the major reasons for the failure. I expect to develop a teaching package to delay the progression of chronic kidney disease among patients with diabetes as my Advanced Nursing Practice module project and implement it at KATH. I, also, hope to gain new ideas on patient care while I am in the United Kingdom. Upon my return to Ghana, I aspire to assume a nurse-educator role. This job would give me some influence over the training of nurses at KNUST and KATH. All these have led me to focus on change management in my personal development plan so as to make positive changes in nursing at KATH. I should be able to reflect on my strengths, weaknesses, any opportunities and threats that may influence my aspiration to effect some changes at KATH and Pearce (2007) suggests that using SWOT framework is a good way to do this. Therefore, using the SWOT analysis framework, I identified the following: Strengths I am committed to what I do I am good at motivating others I have good interpersonal skills I have good presentation skills Weaknesses I attempt to please everybody I am too lenient Opportunities I am studying with colleagues from different parts of the world I have other experience from abroad I am likely to become a nurse-educator at KNUST Threat Majority of the staff may see me as young and inexperienced to lead them Pearce (2007) suggests that once threats have been identified, there should be a way to handle them. By confidently demonstrating the experience gained, developing good interpersonal relationships and clearly presenting shared visions, majority of the staff are likely to collaborate with me (Martin, 2006). THE PLAN Learning Objective Needs assessment assists individuals to set clear learning objectives for their personal development plan (Holloway, 2000). Reflection on the exchange program reveals that I lack ideas on strategies and skills required to lead change within an organisation. Therefore, it is my primary objective to use this personal development plan to learn and develop strategies to lead change in the institution that I work in. Actions to Meet the Objective The Management Standards Centre (2004a) suggests that leaders must possess three kinds of knowledge and understanding to be able to lead change successfully. These are general knowledge and understanding (example is knowledge on models and methods for leading organisational change, their strengths as well as their weaknesses), sector-specific knowledge and understanding (example is knowledge on emerging developments in the health sector) and context-specific knowledge and understanding (example is knowledge on areas within the organisation that need change, with reasons and priorities). To lead change successfully, leaders must, also, be able to describe the change process within the organisation and how it affects the people within (Mott, 1996). Considering these, actions that I consider as appropriate for me to meet my objective are as follows; Review literature on change management within organisations; Perform an appraisal of the organisation that I work in; and Plan the implementation of the change. Main resources that are needed to undertake these actions are time and literature on leadership and change management within organisations. I should be able to achieve my objective within seven months and the outcome measure for me would be my ability to identify change management strategies that would best fit my organisational context. LITERATURE REVIEW Change Management within Organisations Change in organisations is inevitable (reactive) and desirable but, usually, complex and difficult to bring about (Sturdy and Grey, 2003; Bellman, 2003; Boshoff, 2005; Dzik-Jurasz, 2006). Yet, there are many a time when change is proactive (planned) – organisations make changes due to opportunities that they have to improve the workplace or their output (Dzik-Jurasz, 2006), and is also described as innovation. Change is very vital for healthcare institutions that seek to deliver quality and patient-centred care to its clientele, and nursing leadership is regarded as a linchpin for such changes to be successful (Dzik-Jurasz, 2006; Sutherland and Dodd, 2008). As a nurse aspiring to be a clinical leader, understanding the processes of change is, therefore, indispensable. Pettigrew, McKee and Ferlie (1988) state that leaders of change should focus on the content, the process, the context of the change as well as the successful regulation of the relationship between the three. They explain content as the specific areas where the change is expected to occur, and processes as the activities, expected reactions and interactions between the groups that seek to bring about the change. Context, as they explain, refer to internal and external factors that have influence over activities within the organisation. Lewin (1951 cited by Senior and Fleming, 2006) identifies three stages; unfreezing, moving and refreezing. At the stage of unfreezing, problems, needs or opportunities for change are identified, and the stage where new strategies or ideas are implemented causes individuals within the organisation to experience the change (moving). Finally, the stage of refreezing is reached when the change has been well integrated into the organisation (Yoder-Wise, 2003; Boshoff, 2005). Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead (2004), also, identify that change process is in four phases; description of the change, planning the implementation of the change, implementing the change, and integrating the change. Change starts when awareness of the need for it is created and ends when a complete evaluation of its expected effects has been done after the implementation (ibid). Lewin (1951 cited by Baulcomb, 2003) states that change is associated with certain forces that either facilitate or resist it; success would result when the forces facilitating the change exceed those that are resisting it within the context. Personnel within the organisation may be one of such forces. People resist change on the grounds of their psychosocial needs, the appropriateness of the change and, also, how the change affects their position and power (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004). Therefore, they should be taken into consideration and be actively involved in the change process (Boshoff, 2005). Bennis et al. (1985 cited by Bellman, 2003) identify three strategies of change and these are rational-empirical, power-coercive and normative-re-educative strategies. Rational-empirical and power-coercive strategies both use top-down approaches while normative-re-educative approach employs a bottom-up approach. Top-down approach involves senior management generating the idea, planning and directly implementing the change while the bottom-up approach directly indulges the employees in the change process (Ryan, 2008). However, Ryan (2008) adds that top-down strategy alone is not effective for managing change at all times although it is very common under transformational leadership. Other strategies are education and communication; participation and involvement; facilitation and support; negotiation and agreement; and manipulation, cooptation, and coercion; and, dependent on the situation, these strategies may be used alone or in combination (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1979 cited by Yoder-Wise, 2003). It appears that the kind of strategy used would influence how the content of the change would be communicated to the parties involved. Action research is another change strategy and the process is said to begin when change is considered necessary (Bellman, 2003). Relevant data is collected systematically and reported to individuals who must act on it, after which plans are collaboratively formulated and the necessary actions undertaken – research and action combined (Senior and Fleming, 2006). The process is in five stages (diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action and evaluation) and is described as problem-focussed, and able to reduce staff resistance because of their active involvement in the process (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2009). Organisational Appraisal Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is the second largest teaching hospital in Ghana, training many doctors, nurses and other paramedics in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is an autonomous service delivery agent under the Ministry of Health of Ghana (MOH, 2009a). In addition to training many of the health personnel in the Ashanti Region, many people within and outside the Ashanti Region seek healthcare there. As a result, provision of quality healthcare has always been the focus. An organisation that recognises the need for change, weighs costs and benefits, and plans for the change when the benefits outweigh the costs is ready for a change (Dalton and Gottlieb, 2003). KATH is, therefore, ready for change because some of its employees are sent overseas or to other parts of the country, whenever there is the need for a new skill or knowledge to be gained, to bring about a positive change within the hospital. This may be a factor that would facilitate my agenda to implement lead change within the institution upon my return. However, Ghana, as a country is underdeveloped (CIA, 2008). Therefore, financial support, many a time, becomes a difficulty. Another challenge may be the fewer nursing staff. The Ministry of Health (2009b) estimates that there was a nurse-to-population ratio of 1:2024 in Ashanti Region and 1:1451 for the entire country in year 2007. Planning the Implementation of the Change This is the second stage of the change process, as was identified by Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead (2004), and it involves identifying possible resistant forces to the proposed change and identifying strategies to prevent or overcome them. The change strategies to adopt as well as how to communicate the need for change are considered at this stage (Management Standards Centre, 2004b). Bellman (2003) suggests that the normative-re-educative (bottom-up) strategy is suitable for changing practice within nursing. As it appears in my case, the need for change would be driven from bottom (an employee) to top (management) and is likely to be supported by the nurses since it is coming from their colleague. Nevertheless, others may resist the change because they might not see the need for it (Baulcomb, 2003). But Martin (2006) suggests that a clear presentation of the vision and need for change may cause a majority of the staff to support it. Flower and Guillaume (2002) suggest that unfreezing stakeholders of healthcare is a necessity to unfreezing the institution. Stakeholders at KATH for my project include the Director of Nursing Services (DNS), the Deputy Director of Nursing Services (DDNS) for the medical directorate, and the head of the diabetic clinic. When these key people are made to recognise the need for a change, then hospital management is likely to support the proposed change. In times like these when evidence-based practice is being advocated for (McEwen, 2007), I should be able to use evidence to justify the need for a change. I, therefore, plan to undertake a study that would compare the teaching package that I hope to introduce with the current approach used at KATH. If the new teaching package proves to be relatively successful, then majority of the staff are likely to appreciate the need for it. Progress Reflecting on the exchange program, I realise that the idea of bringing about change in practice was not clearly communicated. None of the processes of change, as has been identified now, were known at that time neither was there a strategy or a plan for the change. Some changes are unsuccessful because they are not clearly defined (Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004) and that is exactly what happened. Although I am still working on developing the teaching package that may be different from what is already present at KATH, I now realise that its purpose and effectiveness should be well communicated to other colleagues and management before the idea would be supported. I have discussed my ideas with the Director of Nursing Service of KATH and the Deputy Director of Nursing Services for the medical directorate and both of them seem excited about my idea. However, I have come to understand that all kinds of change are likely to face some form of resistance from the people (Baulcomb, 2003; Tappen, Weiss and Whitehead, 2004). I therefore, hope to apply the normative-re-educative (bottom-up) strategy because it has been identified as suitable for changing practice within nursing (Bellman2003). I also believe that such a strategy would let my colleagues feel actively involved in the change process and, hence, support it. Moreover, I hope to gain new insights from my visits to some hospitals and my interactions with some specialist nurses while developing the project. I, therefore, hope to modify my plans and strategies, when the need arises, in order to become an effective change agent within my organisation. Conclusion Personal development plans assist individuals to focus on specific needs and steps to take to achieve their objectives (Floodgate and Nixon, 1994). This essay has assisted me to reflect on my practice and roles as a leader. Whenever there is reflection, there must be a change in perspective (Atkins and Murphy, 1993). Development of change management strategies was identified as my learning objective. Actions to meet this objective were identified and pursued. Gibbs’s reflective cycle (1988) was used as a guide. Consequently, I have become familiar with different strategies that could be employed to effect and lead change successfully, and plans to implement these in my institution have been proposed, although they are subject to change when new insights are gained.

Management Info Systems Midterm

Jacqueline Soto Midterm Information Systems I 1) A 2) A 3) B 4) A 5) A 6) C 7) D 8) C 9) C 10) C 11) B 12) D 13) D 14) B 15) A 16) A 17) C 18) D 19) A 20) D 21) B 22) C 23) B 24) B 25) A Essay Questions 26. You work for an auto manufacturer and distributor. How could you use information systems to achieve greater customer intimacy? You could create a website that allows customers to built their car to their satisfaction.You could also implement a forum where customers could communicate with other customers about any questions or concerns they may have and also talk to support personnel. You could also create an automated system that reminds customers about scheduled maintenance routines and such. 31. What do you consider to be the primary ethical, social, and political issues regarding information system quality? Privacy, Accuracy, Property & Accessibility. 32. How do you think our government should handle the political issue of Internet decency and access limitations?In my opinion, the Internet is way too extensive to try and manage or regulate. There are always going to be ways to share copyright information and breach access limitations. The Internet has definitely gotten way out of hand when it comes to music videos, music, software, ect. I think they should just stop trying to limit the users because they will find one way or another to share new material. 33. What are the functions of management? Briefly ExplainFunctions of management are to make decisions and to formulate actions plans to solve organizational problems. They also have to make sure the company is efficient. 34. What is the difference between a risk and an issue? A risk is a future event that may have an impact on budget, scope, and schedule. An issue is a current problem that is not a risk because it has already happened and has influenced the budget, scope, and schedule. Bonus Question What are the keys to managerial effectiveness and how does IT support them?Give an example of each. Effi ciency – Doing the right things. IT supports by automating routine tasks. (Scheduling a backup of exchange on the server every Monday at 6:00pm) Effectiveness – Doing the right things right. IT helps managers identify opportunities. (Make sure the backup ran properly and test to see if the backup is complete) Transformation – Using IT to change the way you do business. Transforming the product or service being delivered. (You can do the testing remotely by using rdp)

Bio 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bio 3 - Essay Example Two fundamental studies carried out in 1951 and 1952 guaranteed him the first Nobel Prize in 1958. Nevertheless, the real glory and recognition as one of the greatest chemists of the era was brought to him through findings in the field of the DNA molecule sequencing. Frederick`s Group started to work with the genome of the single-stranded DNA bacteriophage φX174 and was the first one who decipher the 5000 combinations of φX174 proteins and the first who also established the structure of 5S ribosomal RNA molecule. However, the greatest contribution to modern science Frederick Sanger made by discovering the method of decoding the primary structure of DNA - the so-called "Sanger sequencing". This method brought to Frederick even greater glory and a second Nobel Prize in 1980. This technique is still widely used and only in the last decade methods that use laser scanning and digital technology have arisen, but they are based on the Sanger idea anyway (Cheong and Caramins). Cheong, Pak Leng, and Melody Caramins. â€Å"Approaches for Classifying DNA Variants Found by Sanger Sequencing in a Medical Genetics Laboratory.† Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) 1168 (2014): 227–50. Web. 15 Feb.

A reflection of Being and Nothingness and Woman as the Other Essay - 1

A reflection of Being and Nothingness and Woman as the Other - Essay Example In that literature, Jean-Paul Sartre tries to elucidate an issue which many philosophers overlooked. There is a relation between being and nothingness. And when Sartre posited that â€Å"I am a waiter in the mode of being what I am not† (Sartre 388), he somehow implied that anyone who has attended social gatherings, for example a conference, is aware of the fact that competing interests and various levels of understanding of events often subsist. Sartre, therefore, implies that if anything to do with â€Å"temporality† of an event gives precedence to duration. Additionally, that, though, duration may attract different interpretations, it must involve "an organizing activity, which in this case is what the subject awaits but is not interested in. Nonetheless, Kant did not perceive a processing of a variety and the planning event. At stake, for organization concepts, is the channel of â€Å"common† memory, which Sartre argues may not represent all the thinking of t he attendants following an event. In Sartre's concept of temporality and planning, being content with the prevailing events. And this encompasses his philosophies and multiple contributions regarding Being and Nothingness. Sartre’s philosophies highlight the nature of human souls, the social habits such as leisurely activities, work, and grooming, to the styling of human way of life. The â€Å"waiter† aspect of the quote is a philosophical word that he uses to imply to a participant in a social event, who does not fully enjoy the happenings.

Research and prepare a report about how the application of Essay

Research and prepare a report about how the application of gravitational concepts has helped astronomers - Essay Example and even how to calculate the mass of the sun without travelling to them but through application of gravitational laws (Topper, 2012).They have discovered gravitation lensing and even determined the mass of galaxies. More to this is the discovery of Massive Compact Hallo Objects (MACHOs), primarily recognized as brown dwarf stars while some are regarded as black holes (Kyle, 2010). These and others are examples of discoveries that the astronomers have aided by the application of the gravitational concepts. Through gravitational concepts, astronomers have been able to discover the cosmic microwaves whereby in 2002, a team led by Dr. Kovac discovered the polarization of these microwave radiations (Kyle, 2010). Gravitational waves that are produced as a result of moving masses like those of stars or black holes normally described as ‘ripples in space-time’ have been discovered by the astronomers by the use of interferometers which detects these slight changes in space-time (Topper, 2012). Understanding the gravitational waves has helped the astronomers in explaining certain events such as the birth of black holes and the death of stars. They can therefore be able to tell how the universe began as well as what the future holds for us. This has been aided by application of gravitation concepts by astronomers (Longair, 1986) Gravitation lensing is another thing that astronomers have discovered as a result of understanding the gravitational concepts. This is bending of the light rays by a mass object extending far in the sky, which causes these light rays to be focused somewhere else through its gravitational field (Morison, 2008). According to the research done, the greater the quantity of the body, the sturdier the gravitational field created and thus the greater the bending of these light rays will be. Lensing has been useful in verifying the existence of dark matter which is the determinant of how clusters and galaxies form and develop. Astronomers have

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 38

English - Essay Example We aim to acquire, collect and present to our customer the finest works of art available on the market scene in a variety of media and concepts as well as supplying art materials to our customers.† â€Å"Our vision is to expand our business into promoting a strong arts education and arts appreciation for our customers, the general public and educational institutions with interest in art. We aim to develop and integrate our brand (ABCs) into a household name in the art market.† The aim of the company is to gain a considerable market share through a differentiation strategy, maintain healthy terms with the Artists working for the company to ensure long term relationships and to create and sustain an effective and aggressive marketing, which will be the main key to the company’s success. ABC also aims at providing a fully interactive and real time website to be developed gradually from the basic eCommerce website. This is the basic plan for the set of up of a new business in the field of art. Hence this is a very effective and positive business plan which has been well thought out and planned and can be implemented with a lot of

Economics for Business and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Economics for Business and Management - Essay Example At price P2, buyers are willing to buy thus creating excess demand in the market which in turn pushes the prices up to P where quantity demanded is equal to quantity supplied thus clearing the market. . Excess demand Fig. 1.0 Price Mechanism by Adams and Periton 2009 Resource Allocation The allocation of resources in a country is determined by the economic system in place. The pure market system has many sellers and buyers and sellers act as price takers. The consumers and producers act based on self interest and have perfect knowledge of the market conditions. The products sold are homogenous thus there is no non-price competition or control over market prices. Firms enter freely in the market and the factors of production are privately owned (Anderton, 2000). Profits act as a sign for producers to increase supply and in effect they employ the best combination of resources that can give them maximum profits (Myers, 2004). Low prices acts as a signal for consumers to buy. Lipsey and Chrystal (2007) argue that when demand is more than supply, the prices rises and falls when supply is more than demand. Allocation of resources is though supply and demand forces. The pure command market is run by one producer selling unique products. There is no competition hence the producer determines the price. The producer can decide whether to raise prices by decreasing the supply in the market or operate at supernormal profits. Entrance to the market is restricted by scarcity of resources, government regulations, and monopolist anti competitive behaviour. The consumer choice is restricted as the government provides what it deems fit for the population. The factors of production are owned by the state hence resource allocation is the duty of the state through a planning process (Anderton, 2000). Arguments in Favour of Free Market The free market economy is considered as the most efficient in allocation of resources. The welfare of the society is maximised when demand equals su pply or social marginal benefits equals social marginal costs (Gillespie, 2007). All individuals are driven by self interest and thus the consumers determine the demand for products, the sellers produce the goods to satisfy the demand driven by profit motive and thus combine factors of production in an efficient way to achieve the goal or be pushed out of the market. This results in low cost production and provision of high quality goods at a low price to the consumer. There are no barriers to entry in a free market thereby allowing competition between sellers. If the sellers earn abnormal profits, this acts as an incentive for competitors to enter the market thus sharing the profit and pushing the prices down (Baumol, 2002). As supply becomes more than demand and the many sellers have to attract customers by selling at low price since consumers are guided by the law of demand; the lower the price, the higher the demand. The consumers also have a variety of alternatives to choose fr om due to presence of many sellers. Baumol (2002) argues that a free market is engaged in a continuous process of innovation. Competition leads sellers to engage in research and development so as to come up with new ways of producing a product which are efficient and differentiate it from other competitors. This leads to innovations of technology and more advanced

General Motors Essay Example for Free

General Motors Essay General Motors Company, known as GM, was founded in 1908 in Flint, Michigan by William C. Durant and Charles Stewart Mott. The present chairman and CEO is Daniel Akerson. Akerson joined GMs board in 2009 as the company went through a bankruptcy reorganization. He became CEO Sept. 1, 2010, and led GMs 2010 return to the stock market — at the time the largest initial public offering in U.S. history (Detroit Free Press, 2013). The headquarters for GM is presently located in Detroit, Michigan. GM specializes in designing, manufacturing, marketing and distributing cars, trucks and vehicle parts. The brands under GM include Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun, Holden, Isuzu, Jie Fang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM employs over 200,000 people and has 396 facilities on six continents. GM is divided into five business segments: GM North America, GM Europe, GM International Operations, GM South America and GM Financial. The two biggest markets for GM are the U.S. and China. According to Dan Akerson they continually do well in both markets and are making further progress in their European business (General Motors, 2013). In July, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy. Later that year, GM emerged from a government backed Chapter 11 reorganization. Then in 2010 GM made an initial public offering (IPO) that was one of the world’s largest and helped them to return to making a profit later that year. An IPO is a type of public offering where shares of stock in a company are sold to the general public. Through this process GM, a private company, became a public company. Because of t he bankruptcy GM had to start from the beginning and figure out what caused them to go under previously and what they needed to do to become a top organization again. With the start of the â€Å"new† General Motors they were starting over so they created a new clearer vision and a new business model. As of 2012, GM was ranked among one of the world’s largest automakers. The company’s total worldwide vehicle sales were 9.3 million (The New York Times, 2013). GMs net revenue in the second quarter of 2013 was $39.1 billion up from $37.6 billion in the second quarter of 2012 (General Motors, 2013). Since their bankruptcy GM has been reporting record profits and has steadily climbed back up the ladder with customer satisfaction and productivity. Akerson said, So, here we are four years out of bankruptcy and weve made $25 billion (before taxes and interest). I think thats more than the companys ever made in a four-year period (Detroit Free Press, 2013). The company’s progress is indicative of a new business model that begins and ends with great vehicles. GM leveraged their resources to maintain stringent cost management while taking advantage of growth and revenue opportunities around the world, to ultimately deliver sustainable results for all of their stakeholders (General Motors 2010). Being one of the biggest markets for GM, General Motors North America (GMNA) has been a key contributor in bringing in a profit for the whole organization. They currently have 5,000 dealerships, 34 plants and employs over 68,000 people. The profits reported for GMNA for the second quarter was an adjusted EBIT of $1,976 million compared to $1,891 million for the same period a year ago. Total net sales and revenue was $23,495 million compared to $21,552 million for the same period a year ago. For the six months, the company reported adjusted EBIT of $3,390 million compared to $3,533 million for the same period year ago. Total net sales and revenue was $46,474 million compared to $44,727 million for the same period year ago (Bloomsburg Businessweek, 2013). The current president, Mark Reuss, of GMNA has recently revamped the organization. Attached is a copy of the previous organizational structure and the new structure. The old GMNA consisted of a vertical structure which is a hierarchical structure with many levels of authority and the jobs were grouped by function into departments. They were divided into different in dependent automakers. Each independent automaker was operated differently and competing with each other. The competition among its own independent automakers and lack of centralization was costly. When they restructured after the bankruptcy, GMNA adopted a flatter structure where accountability is key. The new structure is centralized and unified; a team versus several individuals working towards common goals. With this structure GMNA is running in a more streamlined manner and it’s a more cost effective way of running there organization. GM has a diverse listing of employment opportunities. The positions range from engineering and manufacturing positions to Human Resources and Research positions. According to several employees, past and present, GM provides great pay and hours. GM promotes employees to further their education and training. The work environment was fun, friendly and like working with family. Working in the plants many of the employees had to do shift work and heavy manual labor this didn’t seem like a deterrent they still enjoyed the job and the coworkers. The environment appears to be open when it comes to management and employee interaction. The CEO Akerson is a strong believer in management by walking around. Everywhere hes been you see pictures of him with employees. Hes a reminder that management is a contact sport, Merten says (Detroit Free Press, 2013). The reviews were mostly all positive. The only negative things that seemed to keep popping up were the long hours and the stress to meet deadlines. GM has enlisted their customers and employ ees to send them ideas to help improve vehicles, sales, marketing, etc. and they act on the ones that will improve their ability to serve the customers better. GM has come a long way since 2009. With the reorganization changes they have become quicker and more decisive so the customers’ needs are met and they are producing reliable vehicles. It seems like GM really is getting back into what they are best at; building vehicles and serving their customer’s needs. References Detroit Free Press. (August 5, 2013). General Motors CEO Dan Akerson Shares Top 9 Leadership Lessons. Retrieved August 21, 2013. http://www.freep.com/article/20130805/BUSINESS0101/308050088/dan-akerson-GM-CEO-leadership-lessons Jones, Gareth R. George, Jennifer M. (2013). Essentials of Contemporary Management. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. General Motors. (July 25, 2013). Investors: Earnings Releases. GM Reports Second Quarter Net Income of $1.2 Billion. Retrieved August 21, 2013. http://www.gm.com/content/gmcom/home/company/investors/earning-releases.conte nt_pages_news_emergency_news_072513-q2-earnings.~content~gmcom~home~company~investors~earning-releases.html General Motors. (2010). General Motors Company 2010 Annual Report. Retrieved August 21, 2013. http://www.gm.com/content/dam/gmcom/COMPANY/Investors/Corporate_Governance/PDFs/StockholderInformationPDFs/Annual-Report.pdf Indeed. (2013). GM Employer Reviews. Retrieved August 21, 2013. http://www.indeed.com/cmp/GM/reviews Bloomsburg Businessweek. (July 25, 2013). General Motors North America, Inc. Announces Earnings Results for the Second Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2013. Retrieved on August 22, 2013. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=24368349 The New York Times. (August 21, 2013). General Motors. Retrieved August 21, 2013. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/general_motors_corporation/index.html?offset=20s=newest