Effectice Performance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effectice Performance Management - Essay Example Swann Communications is a global leader in home and business CCTV security industry. The company employs about 65 professionals who do their best to meet organizational objectives and industry requirements. Performance standards applied by Swann Communications help the management to support general activity of organization and its performance: technical support, high morale of employees, conditions of work, etc. The company's performance is based on certain standards which can be described as an expression of planning goals. These standards are based on social corporate responsibility and corporate ethics employed by Swann Communications. Some goals cannot easily be expressed in quantitative form, e.g. morale of a group, and are measured only in a qualitative manner. Group members in Swann Communications have one goal in common, such as to produce and market high quality CCTV surveillance solutions. Communication is essential within each project and members of the group which help to achieve the group task. Expected behavior patterns are developed within each group and these are referred to as norms of Swann Communications. All project teams follow certain stipulated standards of work and behavior which help them to avoid conflict situation and increase work efficiency. The role of managers in Swann Communications is to channel employees into constructive activities that are in the interests of the company. One answer has been to obtain more employee participation in decisions that affect their interests so that group members will not be so much against management. The most important is that performance indicators are used at all organizational levels, from the technical/managerial and institutional level. Swann Communications plays special attention to relationship between all levels and the accreditation process. The quality and nature of the decisions made are influence by the nature of the structure. Based on horizontal structure, Swann Communications is able to develop activities which are competitive with, or directly complementary to, a company's present activities. Swann Communications interprets organization as socio-technical system which concerned with the interactions between the psychological and social factors, as well as structural and technical requirements. The Ways in which Performance is Reviewed Goal theory is used to measure motivation of employees. This is a useful tool which helps to measure behavior at different organizational levels. The systems approach to organization and management also give recognition to the importance of groups in influencing behavior at work. In Swann Communications job evaluation is concerned with intrinsic value. Control is used to measuring performance against standards. Standards and controls are set according to the job performed. Deviations observed by HR department are reported immediately to the management team. In some cases, such information is usually supplied too late to be of immediate use, and can be used only for future planning. Monitoring is used to gather information and certain deviations in order to respond effectively to group changes. Swann Communications management team stipulates and set clear goal and responsibility for work done is well defined. In this situation, monitoring becomes more effective and it is

Learning and Development Practice Essay Example for Free

Learning and Development Practice Essay 1. Directive: Is where the coach offers the coachee solutions, tools and techniques for moving forward. The coachee may like to be offered solutions however the danger is that the solution may not be appropriate for the coachee’s situation and consequently may not feel fully committed to the solution provided. 2. Non-Directive: Is coaching in the true sense of the word where the coach simply asks the coachee questions to allow the coachee to find your own solutions. A non-directive coach will not offer the coachee advice and rarely even give the coachee suggestions, although through skilful questioning they will help the coachee to see their situation from a different perspective, gain clarity, uncover options, challenge inconsistencies and hold the coachee accountable to their actions. ‘Directiveness’ Scale Directive Non-Directive I know how You know how I tell you You tell me You follow instruction- You decide Starr, J. 2008. The Coaching Manual. Person Education LTD. Pg20. Although I have given an idea of what directive and non-directive coaching styles are. These styles can be seen on a sliding scale. A tool for the coach to use, dependent on the situation and where the questioning leads. The coach my not always use one style over another but can slide up and down the scale to enhance the coachee’s answer and gain clarity where needed, or dependent on the experience of the coachee. With the ultimate aim that the coachee leaves empowered to move forward with action points to achieve goals. 1.2 How coaching differs from other LD methods Counselling Counselling a therapeutic intervention usually around a personal deep rooted issue from a person’s past that is affecting a person in the present. Counselling provides intervention strategy’s to cope with the personal issue by delving into the persons past. Coaching although can bring out emotions from the coachee, tends to be forward looking and is based around  performance related issues and not personal. (Beevers, 2010). 1.3 How coaching can meet organisational objectives Coaching can meet organisational objectives by  Staff engage and have a greater awareness of organisations objectives. Implemented agreed actions during coaching process show recorded outcomes which means the organisation has measurable results of learning within staff PDP’s. Shows an organisation has a learning culture – investing in their people. If coach is line manager they will enhance management capabilities within the organisation. 1.4 Coaching roles The Coaches role Establishes the boundaries, e.g. Frequency and length of sessions as well as the session structure. Explains what coaching is and is not, and asks permission to explain when issues go beyond what is permissible in coaching. Helps the coachee set goals through questions. Showing interest, activity listening, being non-judgmental. Shows confidence in coachee to find own solutions. Helps coachee gain insight through questioning, listening and challenging them. Encourages forward movement and thinking. Helps coachee set SMART goals and feedback on those goals. Holds coachee accountable for his/her own progress and does not own the actions. The Coachee role Commits to the coaching process and be an active part. Takes ownership of their progress. Is honest, open and shares information with the coach. Willing to discover more self awareness. Takes ownership and willingness to move forward with agreed actions to achieve goals. Understands that the coach is only human and that mistakes from both the coachee and the coach may be made along the journey. 1.5 The benefits of coaching Individual Increased Confidence and self awareness from developing own solutions and goals (ILM,2007). Dedicated time to discuss own performance and ownership on how to improve it. Better understanding of their contribution within their role related to the organisations objectives. Organisation Motivated staff leading to better staff retention throughout the organisation. Improved communication and relationships between management and staff. Improve business knowledge and skills in specific areas related to the organisation (ILM, 2007). 1.6 How to implement a coaching culture within an organisation Bringing in external coaches would be dependent on cost– External coaches are costly, although may be more dependent and more reliant to complete agreed actions, but are more likely to be used short term and small scale (Beevers, 2010). External coaches are more likely to be brought to coach executive level management (Beevers, 2010), or to train up in-house coaches who can then coach at lower levels of management and/or line managed staff within the organisation as part of the development process (Harrison, 2009). 1.7 Developing in-house coaching Advantages Coach will have existing knowledge of the organisation and understands the organisations objectives. Can be more cost effective when coaching a large workforce in comparison to bring in an external coach. As a manager/coach – can offer immediate coaching to team members when issues arise. Disadvantages Coachee may not be willing to open up to coach about issues, especially is coach is their line manager due to lack of trust of confidentiality. Conflict of interest if coach is a manager – They have their own targets to achieve which might affect the aims or outcome of the coaching session. Costs of training, supervising and time from normal workload to coach if internal employees are trained to become coaches (Harrison 2009). References Beevers, K and Andrew, R., 2010. Learning and Development Practice. CPID. Harrison, R. 2009., Learning and development. 5th edition. CIPD. ILM. May 2011., Creating a coaching culture. ILM. Starr, J. 2008., The Coaching Manual. Person Education Ltd. Advantages and disadvantages of different types of coaching relationship [Online] Available at [Accessed 31/09/13].

A Soldier’s Embrace by Nadine Gordimer :: Nadine Gordimer A Soldier’s Embrace

A Soldier’s Embrace by Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer is a white author who lives in the country of South Africa. She is known for her excellent characters and the vivid details of her books. Her stories are written in the context of her South African experiences. She also writes about the previous challenges of South Africa under apartheid, at a time when society was split by race.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  South Africa’s racial problems began when the white people came and discovered South Africa with its black population. The white people wanted power because there were many fewer whites than blacks. The only way to achieve that was to change the government around so that only white people had political power. The three terms that were used to describe racial groups under the system of apartheid were European, Native and Coloured.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gordimer explains the many aspects of this problem in South Africa with her stories in A Soldier’s Embrace. In her last short story, simply titled, â€Å"Oral History†, she writes about the Europeans finding out that there were Native rebels in a village. The chief of the town wanted to get rid of them, so he asked the white army to do it. The white army bombed the village and killed everyone who was in it, too. When the chief came back and found out what had happened, he hanged himself from a tree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gordimer’s message in this story is that the people who split themselves by race (or by anything else for that matter) will eventually destroy everything for different reasons. One cannot label someone by their race because it can be hard to draw the line in some situations. It is also impossible to make laws about love. In one of Gordimer’s short stories, â€Å"Town and County Lovers†, she wrote about a white man and a black woman in love and the consequences of that relationship for them. European South Africans were selfish, and made the people of other cultures separate from them. The Europeans were also the ones who made the Coloureds and Natives do menial work.

Marxist Understanding of Family Essay

Examine the Marxist contribution to our understanding of the family The Marxists society view family through the eyes of capitalism and that the proletariat (the working class) solely benefit the bourgeoisie (the ruling class), whereas a functionalists perspective of family is that they should benefit both society and individual members of the family, however, Marists argue family is simply an instrument of the ruling class. Marxists believe family in today’s society perform key ideological functions for capitalism, a set of ideas/beliefs that justify inequality, a system that persuades the public into accepting this is a fair and natural way to act in society. Capitalism is an economic system in which private ownership controls all of the means of production for profit and exploits the proletariat class, selling their products for more money than paying the working class for their labour. Benefits that the family provide through capitalism include the inheritance of private property, socialisation into acceptance of inequality and a source of profits – all of these which do not benefit the members of the family. Capitalism leads to family playing a major role in profits as they are the market for the sale of consumer goods. Family fulfil this role by persuading families to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ by consuming the latest products, ‘pester power’ which persuades parents to spend more on their children, especially if their child do not have the latest gadgets, clothes etc. nd being mocked because of this. The capitalist system requires nuclear monogamous relationships as it is needed for private ownership, as said by Friedrich Engels. A sociologist, Friedrich Engels, alongside Karl Marx, studied family from a Marxist perspective and traced the changes of family to the mode of production. Engels explains that society has not always been exploited by the bourgeoisie, in fact, the means of production were collectively owned. Engels theorized that as society changed, more restrictions of norms and values in a family were placed on sexual relationships and the production of children. Primitive communism was described as a large promiscuous horde; however, family and marriage have evolved through stages which included polygyny evolving into the monogamous nuclear family. This form of family is believed to have developed to solve the problem of inheritance of private property because there would be no confusion about the paternity of their offspring, whereas a promiscuous horde would have difficulty defining who the father of their offspring was. Gough approves of Engel’s views claiming they have a ‘sound basis’ agreeing that when the means of production is shared tend to be have larger units, however, as the means of production moves towards private ownership, the family size decreases. Nevertheless, criticisms against Engels’ theory by Lewis Henry Morgan claimed Engels’ studies are a ‘figment of his imagination’, due to the fact Morgan found out that monogamous marriages and the nuclear family existed. However, Eli Zaretsky’s view on family is linked to the Marxist view, that they are just a unit of consumption – the ‘major consumer of capitalist products’ – and that the ‘modern capitalist society creates an illusion’ of private family life as the family cannot meet its family’s needs. Zaretsky sees that the family is an apparent ‘safe haven’ due to the fact individuals were alienated at work which built up stress, however, families were unable to provide for the personal needs of its members. Family basically provided satisfactions which were unavailable out in public. Zaretsky argues that the ideology of the private family life is separate from the economy as he also feels the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat for their own gains. Marxists feel that there are many institutions that the capitalist system are maintaining within society such as education – which provides secondary socialisation which prepares children for adult life, working for the bourgeoisie, and institution of healthcare from the NHS who provides free healthcare. This is also seen to benefit the bourgeoisie as free medical care for patients mean they will recover quicker in order to go back to work and serve interests of capitalism. However, these perspectives from a Marxists view of family are highly criticized for being too deterministic, not giving enough credit to individuals, overly emphasizing the importance of the economic system’s effect on family structures. Critics also suggest Marxists are too negative on family, ignoring realistic benefits of the family such as intimacy and mutual support rather than reproduction just to provide the next generation. Also, this perspective on family is proved to be very outdated as the rise of alternative family and types of household have changed within society over the years and the fact that Marxism blame capitalism for lack of responsibility in individuals, even in non-capitalist countries such as Cuba, where do the problems come from there if they do not suffer capitalism? Other opposing perspectives of the Marxist view on family come from Feminists who argue that Marxists emphasize on social class, underestimating the importance of gender inequalities within the family and Functionalists such as Parsons believe that family are not present to serve capitalism. Talcott Parsons believes the family is like a ‘warm bath’ in which family life helps individuals relieves their stresses from work at home. To conclude, the Marxist view of family proves to be quite negative on the concept of family, stating that the proletariat are being exploited by the bourgeoisie as a unit of consumption (said by Zaretsky), and other than that, serve no other purpose but to reproduce for the inheritance of property (said by Engels). Edmund Leach, although not a Marxist, has a consensus view of family, pointing out problems found within the nuclear family, presenting a pessimistic view of the family. Leach says that today’s domestic household is isolated with large amounts of emotional stress in individuals which results into the nuclear family becoming ‘like an overloaded electrical circuit’ causing ‘fuses to blow due to high demands’. Because of this, conflict is present – parents begin to fight and children rebel. Leach’s view is diametrically opposed to the Functionalists as Parsons feels that the nuclear family makes up a supportive unit, whereas Zaretsky thinks that this view is too positive and this ‘happy family’ is an illusion and is a fake impression of reality. However, Engels believe that the nuclear family did not exist in pre-industrial society, but promiscuous hordes did – now in today’s society, that has changed due to serial monogamy being seen as a set norm and inheritance can function for capitalism. Feminists disagree saying that this perspective ignores gender, Morgan stating that Engels has imagined this theory and Functionalists claiming the nuclear family is in fact a natural process, not deliberately changed for the bourgeoisie.

One Source Essay

The purpose of this paper is to argue for and against an organization adopting an ethical approach. This essay will look into the two sides of the argument in depth using relevant theories, examples and case studies. The first part of this essay will look into why an organization adopting an ethical approach to management could ultimately benefit the firm. On the other hand, the essay will look at the case against a firm adopting an ethical approach to management. The essay will then conclude by suggesting that it would be important for organizations to act ethically to a certain extent.One definition suggests that ‘ethics are the moral principles that should underpin decision-making. A decision made on ethics might reject the most profitable solution In favor of one of greater benefit to society as well as the firm' (Marabous, 2003). The key words used in definition are ‘moral principles', so this definition suggests that acting ethically means acting in a moral way. In essence, an ethical approach to management Is generally acting right to benefit the community and the environment not solely concentrating on maximizing profits.It Is also important to define what exactly acting morally is, one good definition suggested that morality is the notion of what is good and bad (McIntyre, 1998). Argument For In arguing for an organization adopting an ethical approach, the benefits that an organization would gain from this behavior Is that it could be used as a USPS (unique selling point). This is evident in a variety of organizations today, for instance, the Body Shop. Body shop sells products that are kind to the environment, and also boast the fact that they are 100% against animal testing.A key point is that, not only does the many strive to Improve the communities In less developed countries, but it publicizes these actions In order to get support from possible consumers. This strategy appeals to customers a great deal, which implies there are plenty o f consumers who choose not to buy products that have been tested on animals so choose to buy products only from the Body Shop. Similarly there are consumers that may not have such strong opinions against animal testing but buy products from the body shop because it seem like the right thing to ad.These ethical approaches to management has seen Body Shop's profits rise over the years, and are now one of the arrest cosmetic retailers in the country as a result. As well as advertising the fact that they are against animal testing. The Body Shop also promotes community trade. Active self esteem, defending of human rights, and the protection of our planet. Organizations will also gain significant public relations advantages from ethical behavior. There are examples of organizations that have not acted ethically, and as a result have received very negative publicity.One key example would be Nestle. A study in the British Medial Journal said that manufacturers of powdered milk, such as Nes tle were breaking international codes by selling their products to West African countries. The Studies were carried out in two West African countries Togo and Burning Fast. Findings from the study showed that Nestle had been Issuing free powdered milk to mothers in these West African countries, officials from Nestle had convinced mothers that powdered milk was actually better for their children than 1 OFF needed to find money in order to purchase this milk.Of course money was not always available so drastic measures were taken, such as over diluting the little dowered milk they had available, or diluting the powdered milk with water that was not very clean. As a result of this children's health in the region was poor due to lack of nutrition and consumption of contaminated water. The result of this study severely affected the reputation of Nestle. Pressure groups and other activists urged consumers to boycott products from the firm because of the way they had acted in Africa. As a r esult of this poor publicity Nestle had operating profits fall significantly.This case study is a prime example of how not acting ethically could seriously image the reputation of the firm, so another advantage of adopting an ethical approach to management is that this sort of situation could be avoided. Another major advantage of an ethical approach to management is that an organization could get more out of their workforce. Employees can expect to respond positively to working for an organization that they trust to be acting morally correct. Employees may feel proud to work for a firm that they know is abiding by ethical and moral guidelines.This would also help motivate the workforce and boost their confidence. As a result this could in turn lead to higher productivity from the workforce and ultimately lead to higher operating profits. A positive ethical approach to management could add to the competition for employment at such a firm. An ethical approach to management would also result in a lower labor turnover, because less employees would be leaving the organization if they felt they were being treated right, subsequently all of these reasons would lead to lower costs for an organization I. . Training and paying redundancies. A survey conducted in 2003 even showed that about 75% of The Body Shop's employees felt ‘proud' to be working for the organization. According to Banyan (1996) the success of the final solution depends on the capacity of managerial techniques to denude individuals of their dignity and deprive them of their humanity. Argument Against One of the main disadvantages that come with an ethical approach to management are the costs involved when managing ethically. A key example would be the exploitation of cheap labor.Sport manufacturing giant Nikkei has been accused of exploiting cheap labor in Asian markets. A report in Vietnam in 1997 showed that Nikkei had been mistreating women that worked in the factories producing shoes. The wo men were being paid about $1. 0 per day which was well below minimum wage in America. It was reported that the workforce was even punished for using verbal communication and were only allowed one toilet break during their period of work. From an ethical point of view this is the opposite of how a firm should act, and thus Nikkei received bad publicity for their actions.Although from Nine's point of view exploiting cheap labor in these Asian markets meant extremely high profits per unit produced, because shoes produced were being sold at around $150. Since the bad publicity and attempted boycotting from pressure groups, Nikkei vowed to act in a ore ethical manner, so paid worker significantly higher wages and also improved working conditions, although this did reduce the amount of bad publicity they were receiving it also meant that Nikkei so their costs soar.Although the company still makes a healthy profit, a more ethical approach to management has meant they are the argument that not all organizations will see a loss in profit for acting more ethically. It will largely depend on what type of organization is in question, for example Marks and Spencer sell organic chocolate and promote the fact that there is air trade between farmers. Although Marks and Spencer do have to pay farmers fairly, they can also charge a premium on their products to maintain profit levels.This way the firm can hit two birds with one stone, because they get positive publicity and a good consumer base, and are able to maintain profit levels. Another Disadvantage of a more ethical approach to management is that it could conflict with existing policies within the organization. A possible restructuring of the organization may need to be done; internal divisions may be created within the business. This of ours is a problem is the workforce is not used to change or does not want change in general. This could lead to lack of motivation of workers which in turn would lead to lower levels of p roductivity.A company could possibly also experience problems in sending a message in an organization which is decentralized. Even though the workforce may be in favor of a more ethical approach to management it would be extremely difficult to implement it, and additional training of the workforce may be required for maximum efficiency. Conclusion Having argued on both sides of the organization approach, it suffices to state that, it s important for firms or organizations to adopt an ethical approach to management as the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages.

August Wilsons Fences essays

August Wilsons Fences essays It is easy to make the case that August Wilson's play Fences is a tragedy and that Troy Maxson is its tragic protagonist. Few comedies end with a funeral, and there is no denying that Troy's character and life are the stuff of tragedy. But Wilson's vision is much larger than Troy's heroic side, his deeds and omissions. Troy, for all his strengths, is flawed humanity in need of grace and forgiveness. Such grace and forgiveness are the spirit of true comedy, and a case can be made for viewing Fences as a comedy or, perhaps, a metacomedy. The term is taken from Christopher Isherwood, who took it from Gerald Heard: "I think the full horror of life must be depicted, but in the end there should be a comedy which is beyond both comedy and tragedy. The thing Gerald Heard calls 'metacomedy' [...]" (421). Metacomedy, then, is a vision that transcends the immediately comic or tragic. It is not evasive and it has room for pain, for heartache, for alienation, even for death, because it affirms the values of mercy, forgiveness, and sacrifice, which adversity calls forth. For a religious person, metacomedy is what Christopher Fry called a "narrow escape into faith" and a belief in "a universal cause for delight" (17). Fry's metaphor for life is a book of alternating pages of tragedy and comedy. As we read (that is, live) the book, we are anxious about what the last page will be. The comic vision holds that on the last page all will be resolved in laughter (17). The essence, therefore, of metacomedy is hope, and Fences is a lesson in hope. First there is hope for a better future for African Americans and by extension, for all humankind. If we view Troy's earthly life as an autonomous whole, we are looking at an ultimately tragic book of life. But if we view Troy's life as a page in an ongoing saga, perhaps we can see it not only as a prelude to a happier time but as a success story of itself. George Meredith advises us that to love comedy...

Creative Story Writing Lesson for ESL Students

Creative Story Writing Lesson for ESL Students Helping Students Write a Creative Story Once students have become familiar with the basics of English and have begun communicating, writing can help open up new avenues of expression. These first steps are often difficult as students struggle to combine simple sentences into more complex structures. This guided writing lesson is intended to help bridge the gap from simply writing sentences to developing a larger structure. During the course of the lesson students become familiar with the sentence connectors so and because. Aim: Guided Writing - learning to use the sentence connectors so and because Activity: Sentence combination exercise followed by guided writing exercise Level: lower intermediate Outline: Write a sentence with so and a sentence with because on the board: Example: We needed some food so I went to the supermarket. | He studied all night because he had a difficult test the next day.Ask students which sentence expresses a reason (because) and which sentence expresses a consequence (so).Now, write these variations of the sentences on the board: Example: I went to the supermarket because we needed some food. | He had a difficult test so he studied all night.Ask students to explain what has changed in the sentences. Check the students understanding of the differences between so and because.Give the students the sentence matching exercise. Students should match the two sentences that logically go together.Once students have completed this exercise, ask them to combine the two sentences in each pair using so or because. Check their answers as a class.Read the example story to the class as a listening exercise which also sets the tone for the follow Story:A young Swedish man na med Lars met a beautiful young French woman named Lise. They met in a cafe in Amsterdam during the afternoon. As soon as Lars saw Lise, he fell hopelessly in love because she was so beautiful and sophisticated. He wanted to meet her, so he introduced himself and asked her if he could speak to her. Soon, they were talking about their two countries and having a wonderful time. They decided to continue their discussion that evening so they made a date to have dinner in a wonderful restaurant. They continued to see each other every day because they had such a wonderful time together. Five months later, Lars moved to France and they married and lived happily ever after. Have students write a similar story using the guided writing prompts provided on their worksheet. Tell them they should be a creative as possible as that will make their story all the more enjoyable.Circulate around the room helping students with their short compositions.As a follow-up listening exercise which can be a lot of fun, have students read their stories aloud to the class. Results and Reasons I had to get up early.Im hungry.She wants to speak Spanish.We needed a vacation.Theyre going to visit us soon.I went for a walk.Jack won the lottery.They bought a CD.I needed some fresh air.She takes evening courses.Their friend had a birthday.We went to the seaside.I had an early meeting at work.He bought a new house.We havent seen them in a long time.Im cooking dinner. Writing A Short Story Quickly answer the questions below and then use the information to write your short story. Use your imagination to make the story as enjoyable as possible! Which man? (nationality, age)Loved who? (nationality, age)Where did they meet? (place, when, situation)Why did the man fall in love?What did he do next?What did the two do together that day?What did they do after that day?Why did they continue to see each other?How does the story end? Do they get married, do they separate?Is your story a sad or happy story?

How To Communicate Effectively With Your Blog Readers

How To Communicate Effectively With Your Blog Readers How about writing your blog posts in a language the majority of your readers dont speak or understand? Yet thats what we bloggers do, sometimes. We write in a way that doesnt communicate well with our readers. Its understandable, really. A  huge communication barrier writers face is that they cant tap into the power of non-verbal communication. We use tone of voice, gestures, and facial expressions to evaluate the meaning behind the words. We can tell if someone is being sarcastic, or is disinterested. But when the only communication tool you have is the written word, you have to learn to pull extra weight. Writers must learn to communicate clearly with their blog readers. Thats especially true if they want to keep their blog readers, and want those readers to do something. How To Communicate Effectively With Your #Blog Readers via @JulieNeidlinger1. Don't Assume People Understand Acronyms And Initialisms One of the more helpful habits I picked up as a newspaper reporter was the practice of always writing out the words that make up an acronym before referring to it only with the acronym in the rest of the article. You would include the acronym after the words, in parentheses, alerting the reader that from here on out, you'll just be using the acronym. Example: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Content marketing copy can be full of acronyms. SEO, CTA- heck, I often stumble on a few that I don't know the meaning of. The field is changing so quickly, and buzzwords and phrases develop at a similar rate. I find if I'm not constantly reading blog posts on the topic, I am soon out of the loop. We've had readers who have asked, in the comments, what an acronym meant. They shouldn't have to do that. Even if you're certain your readers know what the acronym is, try to write it out the first mention so they don't have to feel stupid for not knowing. Don't make your readers guess what your acronyms mean. #blogging2. Don't Make Your Reader Feel Stupid I mention the importance of defining acronyms because they are a part of the way we make our readers feel stupid. This is not a good thing. We can make blog readers feel stupid by assuming they have the backstory, the background knowledge- it's being in a group and realizing you're the only one who doesn't get the inside joke. Don't assume your #blog readers know your backstory. It can alienate them from reading your content.You can help your blog reader avoid feeling stupid without having to re-explain yourself every time you blog by providing links to past posts that will help provide better background. We often include "recommended reading" or "for further reading" boxes in posts at appropriate places in the content. This way,  the reader has a kind of organized guided tour of the content that will bring them up to speed. Recommended Reading: The Communication Barriers You Put In Front Of Your Reader Whatever you can do to make your blog reader feel safe about asking or finding the information to fill in the blank spots will help you retain the reader in the long run. 3. Stop Over-Communicating For some of us, the fear of not communicating causes us to over-communicate. Why tell a story in five sentences when you can tell it in five paragraphs? I know this problem well, believe me. When trying to make a point, I want to be sure I hammer it home, and instead of using one concise example, I figure about ten will do. Sometimes explaining isn't necessary and weighs down the message. Over-explaining isn't necessary nearly every time. This can be true in both your blog copy as well as your responses on social media or in blog comments. Never complain. Never explain. - Katharine Hepburn The Brains On Fire blog shared a few tips to avoid over-communicating and, true to the point, they did not mince words: Wait. Don't respond immediately if you're involved in a conversation. Sleep on it. Time provides a new perspective. Figure out your one thing. If you were only allowed to say one thing, what would it be? Embrace silence. Silence is only uncomfortable for those who have not taken the time to understand it. Breathe. Don't fill the air with talking and noise. Don't fill the screen with meaningless words. Allow you and your reader to breathe. 4. Use Imagery That Has A  Purpose Content marketers know the drill: Have a hero image with all content because images will get noticed and shared more. Unfortunately, that can lead to sloppy image choices just to have an image. Ask yourself if the image or images you are going to use serve a purpose: Does the image contradict the message of the content in any way? Does the image help illustrate the message of the content? Am I using too many images in my copy? Images that contradict what the post is about are like clickbait headlines. They lie. They annoy readers. Your images should support your copy without distracting and making it difficult to read. Images should support your content  without distracting. #blogging5. Emotion Is For The Reader To Feel Because you do not have the ability to show your reader the emotion you are feeling through your facial expressions or tone of voice, you have a bit more work to do to get them to feel the emotion you want from them. Think of a movie or show that makes you tear up. The music, the dialogue, the way the characters are behaving- these all help cue up sad feelings. When I write this post, I can tell you up and down that there's a soundtrack in a minor key playing, but it won't help. So I have to use words that trigger particular feelings. In the March 25, 2015, edition of the Wall Street Journal, an article highlighted how the words used on restaurant menus were aimed at attracting male or female diners. "The word 'hearty' is not a good thing for a woman," she says, "but it's a great thing for a man." Meanwhile, a dish described as "delicate" is likely to be a turnoff to a man craving meat. If a menu describes a meat entree by naming specific animal parts, it is apt to sound gory and unappetizing to many women, Dr. Capaldi Phillips says. Like a space-starved tweet on Twitter, the restaurant menus have to find the words that stir the emotion in the diner. They can't waste space and time telling the diner how they will feel if they eat it. You can tell your blog reader she should feel really good and excited about  your blog post, but telling people how to feel is the best way to get them to feel... nothing. Even if you feel excited, your copy won't necessarily translate that well without work. The reader feels the emotion, not you. Don't tell her how to feel. #bloggingThe reader feels the emotion, not you. Don't tell her how to feel. 6.  Approach  Your Thesis Honestly In most cases, your blog posts begin with a thesis or problem, and then the rest sets about solving or supporting that thesis. Lack of research and logical fallacies can become a problem in some posts that  are contentiously asserting a strong opinion or plan of action. Logical fallacies crop up everywhere online, particularly in heated discussions among random people. When you have a lot riding on proving your point, it's easy to take any shot you can, even if it's a low shot. Frankly, I slip into logical fallacies all the time. Periodically reading about them and practicing the identification of them is helpful to me in my own writing as well as spotting them elsewhere. There are so many of these logical fallacies, and they are so common online and on TV (just watch any episode of The Daily Show) that we are used to hearing them to the point that they become a way we think. They often sound clever and we struggle to contradict or disprove them. When you set out to state a theory and prove a point, be honest about it. If you cannot prove your theory with great research or reasoning, it doesn't mean you can't still write. You simply must write in a way that doesn't try to insinuate and insist that your theory is solid. Avoid logical fallacies to build credible content. #bloggingThe more concrete data you have to back up your thesis  (and the ability to interpret that data accurately), the better. If you're not a data junkie, though, you can still write. The difference will be in the ability to say "green is the best color" or "green is the color I prefer". 7. Clarity Is For More Than Just Diamonds Clarity is the god of writing. Clearly stating your goal. Clearly stating your thesis. Clearly telling your reader what to do. Clearly proving a point. Clearly summing up research and outside links for the reader who decides to trust and not verify. Do you know what the best indicator is for a blog post that won't get to the point? It's a blog post where you don't actually know the point. One of the nice things about using as a team is that there is the ability to discuss and comment on the idea of the post before it actually goes into draft. That way, I know before I write where I am headed. Sometimes it veers. Sometimes I can make that work. But I always have an end goal in mind to work toward. "I'm gonna write about writing" is not a useful thought to have in mind when headed into a 2,000 word blog post. Clarity is achieved through great editing, great language- all of the usual suspects- but it's also heavily reliant on a close-ended idea. You know where you want to go. You write in that direction. You get there. 8. Think Of Reader's Digest Reader's Digest has been popular for more than  80 years. While it might not make prestigious lists, this little magazine has made its way into homes for almost a century and has brought with it stories and articles of all types. I grew up in a house that received Reader's Digest, and I would read it cover to cover, from when I was young until I was an adult. How did this magazine communicate so well across such a broad range of readers? According to Internet Evangelism Today, you can break down their success as follows: It is written at the level of a 13-year-old, but does not talk down to adults. It has a high percentage of stories that are about people. These stories are told dramatically, and use plenty of quoted speech. It addresses practical problems (felt needs), helping improve people's lives. There is humor mixed in with serious articles. How can you use this in your own blog content? Can you add people into your posts through testimonials or anecdotes? Are you addressing practical problems? Do you have a little humor mixed in? People like people. People like solutions to problems. People like to laugh. Simple as that. How Will You Communicate Better With Your Blog Readers? This is by no means the end-all list of how to communicate with readers in your writing, and you might not even put all of them to use in one post. I'm willing to bet many of you have your own tricks and tips. What do you consider to be the most problematic writing technique that keeps readers from latching onto content? And, what do you think is the best way to communicate with your blog readers? As a reader myself, I choke on posts that seem too similar or too salesy. I want to feel that what I am reading is genuine and not contrived for my benefit. I don't want to feel stupid and, consequently, excluded. I want to feel like I'm reading a blog where I belong, where the author is talking to people like me. These tips are just a few ways I try to do that in my own writing.

St. Augustines Role in the Development of Christianity Essay

St. Augustines Role in the Development of Christianity - Essay Example St. Augustine’s Role in the Development of Christianity The name of St. Augustine is also among such courageous and dauntless personalities, who devoted their life for the uplift of Christianity in his surroundings without displaying any irresoluteness in the face of hardships. St. Augustine of Hippo enjoys very respectable status in the list of the Christian saints, who had rendered exceptional services for the growth and development of the contemporary world’s largest religion i.e. Christianity. He not only dedicated his entire life for the development of Christianity, but also introduced, interpreted and elaborated the fundamental concepts of the belief in order to convey the Christ’s true message to the masses during the era when adopting and supporting Christian teachings served as taboo and forbidden act in the eyes of law and society at large. The Christians were persecuted, tortured and even killed at the hands of pagans and Jews in Africa and Rome respectively. â€Å"Christians posed a problem for Roman rulers beca use Christians refused to worship Roman gods. This refusal was seen as opposition to Roman rule. Some Roman rulers also used Christians as scapegoats for political and economic troubles.† (mmoloneyiths.com) Augustine was born in Numidia, North Africa in 354 A.D. It was the time when Christian faith was in its budding in the entire region. The paganism prevailed all over Africa, and the people, converted to this new faith, were looked upon with extreme suspicion and abhorrence. Being the son of a pagan father, Patricia, and devout Christian mother, Monica, the young Augustine had least interest in Christianity in his early youth. Being an energetic and carefree youth, he spent most of his time in dissipation and revelry making. Hence, he was neither interested in paganism, nor did he display any inclination towards her mother’s conversion. However, he had developed great taste for philosophy and maintained aptitude for reading. â€Å"After a rather unremarkable childhoo d, Augustine drifted through several philosophical systems before converting to Christianity at the age of thirty-one. At the age of nineteen, Augustine read Cicero's Hortensius, an experience that led him into the fascination with philosophical questions and methods that would remain with him throughout his life.† (ccel.org) Since St. Monica, his mother, had dedicated her life for the cause of her religion, she vehemently lamented over Augustine’s sticking to the pagan faith. Somehow, the circumstances observed astounding change, and Augustine started abhorring dissipation; eventually his social life was confined to reading and brooding. The remarkable mysterious call, inviting him to adopt the path of virtue and glory was too powerful to resist. Consequently, he embraced Manichaean faith viewing it as the right path to be followed. Somehow, his discussions with his friend Simplicianus and his mother’s insisting forced him to study the new religious doctrine. St . Ambrose of Milan played decisive role in his conversion, and he adopted Christianity not just to imitate others; rather, he entered the faith on the concrete foundations of his deep study, meditative examination and thorough analysis of the Christian teachings. Augustine has recorded the account of his conversion in his wonderful â€Å"The Confessions.† After conversion, Augustine dedicated himself for the cause of Christianity. He declared his conversion to Christianity as the outcome of countless bounties of his Lord upon him. He studied, taught and spread the basic philosophy of religion, and

What Is Variance Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

What Is Variance Analysis - Assignment Example But it is of prime importance that management; especially the supervisors acquire full explanations of the reasons for these variances otherwise such variance analysis would be no good for control purposes. Variances are of two types, favourable and unfavourable. The favourable variance means that the budgeted and the actual costs and revenues are the same as forecasted by the budgeting department of the company, whereas unfavourable means the opposite of it. In any manufacturing concern, the variable cost comprises of direct material, direct labour and variable production overhead cost. The responsibility of material price variance lies with the purchasing department. If the material price variance is unfavourable, then it should be an indication for the managers the prices of the raw materials have increased or the purchasing department has carelessly overstocked the inventory level during the current operational year. The adverse material price variance could also be due to change in material standard. The managers while analyzing the budgeted and actual profit should take care of the aforementioned factors. On the other hand, material usage variance usually occurs due to defective material and excessive waste of the material during the production. It has also been observed generally that material usage variance also occurs due to fault in an allocation of materials to jobs. The managers should ensure that materials of higher quality a re used during the production process and allocation of materials to all the jobs is done prudently. Another important direct cost is the direct labour cost. Labour rate variances tend to be fairly minor because usually the labour rates are agreed with the labour unions and there is a minor chance that these rates changes after the agreement is entered into. [Accountingtools.com. "What is variance  analysis? ] Labor rate variance, however, may occur because of the use of a single average rate for a department, operations, or craft, while several different rates exist for the individual workers.     

Intercultural Humour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Intercultural Humour - Essay Example One of the challenges of understanding the place and value of humour within the multi-cultural environment is that it is not entirely translatable. In usual cases, humour is culturally-specific. A speech act with some content of humour may not apply across the cultural spectrum. In other cases, humour relates to the context and the personality of an individual. This would imply that an idea or phrase with humorous content may not be understood easily or may be distorted in the process of translating into another language or culture. Findings Case reviews have shown that humour could be used to bridge cultures by identifying some mutual linkages within the discourse of communication (Holliday, Kullman & Hyde, 2012). Andrew (2010) distinguished between humour and laughter by identifying some of the problematic areas, which define the essence of humour. In his effort, he established that humour does not necessarily translate into laughter. He sought to establish the theoretical basis on which humour is founded. In his study, Andrew identified three theories as fundamental to the understanding of humour. These include incongruity theory, relief theory, and superiority theory. He explains incongruity theory as being informed by a reaction to a logical impossibility, or to an ambiguity. This kind of humour is associated with the thinking of Kant and Kierkegaard particularly due to its drift from the conventional flow of logic. Superiority theory, according to Andrew (2010) arises out of a feeling of euphoria, which basically comes to the surface when the person making the humorous statement relates to the audience from a real or presumed higher level of seniority. Superiority theory is defended in the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato (Andrew, 2010). A third theory, which is embraced within the Freudian conception of humour, argues that the release of repressed feelings often translates in the form of humour. These theories put together provide a comprehensive fram ework that could be relied upon to furnish deeper connections between the element of humour and inter-cultural connections. The theories have helped in the establishment of important linkages that define life in terms of meanings and underlying meanings of words. Evidence adduced from multiple studies has established that a proper understanding of the structure of humour provides a resourceful entry point into the inner details of any given culture (Holliday, Kullman & Hyde, 2012). Humour should be understood within certain contexts, situations, origin, and other factors that situate it within some specific categories of identification. The element of humour manifests an entire corpus of ideals that are buried beneath the substance of any given culture. As such, it becomes necessary to conceptualize such evidence in light of some of the issues that attend to the general beliefs, practices, and cultural assumptions of that particular culture. Humour provides the framework of understa nding the worldview of a given culture. Broadly, the study of humour involves an investigation into the various connecting points of the different genres that fall under the umbrella name. According to Andrew (2010) some of the genres that are included within the corpus of humour are satire, sight gags, stand up comedy, sarcasm, bending joke, irony, variety shows and word play. These aspects of humour usually involve various issues that work together to form a comprehensive understanding of

Risk Reflection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Reflection - Coursework Example This quotation is mentioned just below the title of the news; so that readers get persuaded into reading further. The news also reports the exact quotation of the Muslim woman. The fact that the report explicitly mentioned the comment of the Muslim woman where she has expressed that she no longer feels like being a Canadian citizen indicates that challenging or criticizing the religious practices of an individual tarnishes the image of the country as a whole. It is a short news report mostly filled with quotations nicely selected to convey the crux of the problem. For the rest of the content, phrases are highlighted in quotation marks to emphasize their importance e.g. â€Å"feel afraid†, â€Å"a human being†, and â€Å"suitable dress†. The communicator focuses on these phrases because they project how challenging the dress code makes a religious person feel. The communication could have been improved by not highlighting specific phrases so that readers could form their independent opinion. Specifically, choosing the phrase, â€Å"†¦I felt that Im not Canadian anymore† (El-Alloul cited in â€Å"Canada court denies†) generalizes the threat for Muslims all across Canada. Reading this report makes Muslims feel unsafe and threatened in Canada as a whole, although Quebec has its own distinct culture and laws within Canada and incidents happening in Quebec cannot be generalized for the liberal and democratic Canadian society as a whole. Fact of the matter is; when a person in Quebec is treated like this Muslim woman, his/her confidence in the whole of Canada is shattered. This can be explained in light of the ‘mental noise’ and ‘negative dominance’ theoretical model of risk communication. The mental noise model implies, â€Å"when people are in a state of high concern because they perceive a significant threat, their ability to process information effectively and efficiently is severely impaired† (Baron et al., cited in Infanti et al. 6). Also, the

Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Buddhism in China, Korea and Japan - Assignment Example . The parable is about a father whose three young sons are inside a house on fire. The sons are too indulged in playing with each other to notice the danger posed by the fire. Rather than drawing their attention toward the fear and inculcating fear in them, the father lures his sons out by promising to each of them that if they come out, they would get the sort of cart desired by each of them individually. The father gives them the same type of cart once they come out of the house. In spite of his deviation in the fulfillment of his promise as he had originally made, his act is considered to be skillful and not deceitful because what he did saved the lives of his sons. The universal motif or theme the parable touches upon is that it is acceptable and not ethically or morally questionable to rationalize or not be entirely truthful about something if it serves a good purpose for the betterment of mankind. Sometimes, an individual has to make the best choice out of a number of unwanted options. In such circumstances, the individual should look for the greater good and accept to proceed with the option that produces minimal inconvenience and maximal good at the same time.

Risk Reflection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Reflection - Coursework Example This quotation is mentioned just below the title of the news; so that readers get persuaded into reading further. The news also reports the exact quotation of the Muslim woman. The fact that the report explicitly mentioned the comment of the Muslim woman where she has expressed that she no longer feels like being a Canadian citizen indicates that challenging or criticizing the religious practices of an individual tarnishes the image of the country as a whole. It is a short news report mostly filled with quotations nicely selected to convey the crux of the problem. For the rest of the content, phrases are highlighted in quotation marks to emphasize their importance e.g. â€Å"feel afraid†, â€Å"a human being†, and â€Å"suitable dress†. The communicator focuses on these phrases because they project how challenging the dress code makes a religious person feel. The communication could have been improved by not highlighting specific phrases so that readers could form their independent opinion. Specifically, choosing the phrase, â€Å"†¦I felt that Im not Canadian anymore† (El-Alloul cited in â€Å"Canada court denies†) generalizes the threat for Muslims all across Canada. Reading this report makes Muslims feel unsafe and threatened in Canada as a whole, although Quebec has its own distinct culture and laws within Canada and incidents happening in Quebec cannot be generalized for the liberal and democratic Canadian society as a whole. Fact of the matter is; when a person in Quebec is treated like this Muslim woman, his/her confidence in the whole of Canada is shattered. This can be explained in light of the ‘mental noise’ and ‘negative dominance’ theoretical model of risk communication. The mental noise model implies, â€Å"when people are in a state of high concern because they perceive a significant threat, their ability to process information effectively and efficiently is severely impaired† (Baron et al., cited in Infanti et al. 6). Also, the

Case Analysis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Analysis paper - Essay Example Mentally healthy people experience social heath, biological heath and good normal human characters during interaction and when dealing with various situations. Mentally sick people need to see psychiatrist, who may either be a nurse or a doctor. In the case of a nurse handling a case of a mentally sick patient, the nurses face many cases of dilemma. Quigley 2007 stated that nurses frequently find themselves in a position of making decisions which are not solely medical or nursing, but of a moral or ethical nature. At this point, the nurse will have to depict professional accountability with patient involvement to address this critical issue. Nurses working in the care of the mentally ill or psychiatric patients face dilemmas concerning respect of autonomy versus paternalistic behavior. Questions arise at various incidences, like when the patients do not what to take their medication, refuses treatment that should be administered to them or suffer from delusions. In closed wards, the nurses are required to participate in decision making concerning the use of forced seclusion or the separation of the affected patients. The situation creates a gap of information between the nurses or the doctors and the relatives of the patient. Often, there is variation in the perspective of what is good for the patient. The opinions of the relatives may differ from that of the relatives or guardians of the affected patient. For that case, there is involvement of the patient-in the case of a mild mental illness, the nurses and the relatives of the patient. In absence of the relatives, guardians may be involved in the decision making process. It is also professionally responsible for the nurse to participate in decision making. The whole decision does not only affect the patient. Its impacts are felt cross the participants, inconclusive

Child Abuse Prevention and Control Essay Example for Free

Child Abuse Prevention and Control Essay Child abuse is a serious and widespread problem throughout the world. It can take the form of sexual abuse, physical or psychological mistreatment , or child neglect. Can child abuse be prevented? Can the child abuser be rehabilitated? What can be done within your own home or community to prevent or control child abuse? Once discovered, child abuse can be addressed, but how does one report child abuse, and what are the legal requirements for reporting the abuse? Are you aware of the effect that the abuse has on other family members, or what the long term effects of child abuse can be? Learn how you can be part of the solution to the tragic problem of child abuse. Child abuse, regardless of what form it takes, is extremely damaging to the child, the family, and society. Approximately eighty percent of twenty-one year olds that have survived childhood abuse have at least one psychological disorder, and about thirty percent of abused or exploited children become abusers themselves as adults. Statistics tell us that five or more abused children die every day in America alone, not including the many abuse-related deaths that go unrecorded. Child abuse is a worldwide occurrence which crosses all boundaries. No financial, racial, religious, cultural or other situation has been found to preclude child abuse. Reporting child abuse United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico are among several areas of the world that have mandatory reporting laws. In these areas, any person who suspects or observes child abuse of any type must report the situation to the legal authorities. There are several professions in which the mandate to report is even more thoroughly enforced. Traditional authority positions such as school teacher, law enforcement, and physician are a few examples. The importance of reporting the abuse cannot be stressed enough. The younger the child is when the abuse is stopped, the better the chances of healing the psychological and/or physical damage inflicted. The longer the abuse is allowed to continue, the more damage is done, and healing becomes progressively more difficult. Studies show that children who simply witness abuse within the family are just as negatively affected as the subject of the abuse, further demonstrating the scope and gravity of this type of situation, and the importance of early intervention. Preventing child abuse The following are some ways that we can attempt to prevent the abuse before it even starts. If you are a parent, be sure you are able to de-stress in a healthy way instead of directing your frustrations toward your child. Physical activity, meditation, or involvement in a support group outside the home and away from the children are all excellent ways of positively redirecting anger or frustration. If you believe that you, or someone in your family is at risk of losing control or becoming abusive, do not ignore the issue or delay taking action. The person on the verge of losing control must get help before the abuse ever occurs. If you notice a parent clearly struggling under a lot of stress, try sympathizing, and perhaps offer to babysit, or even trade babysitting services to give the adults some down time. Donate, volunteer, or become otherwise actively involved in raising awareness about, or assisting, families and children in crisis. Controlling child abuse already occuring in the home It is no simple task to rehabilitate a child abuser. Generally, it is a long term process, involving not just the abuser, but the entire family unit. Each family member must be willing to cooperate in the rehabilitation program. Mental or psychological instability or illness, and/or substance abuse often contribute to the abusive behavior, complicating matters even more, and and making rehabilitation much more difficult. If the abuse violation is considered low level, the abuser may possibly be permitted to remain within the home while treatment takes place, as long as steady improvement is observed and no further abuse occurs. This is normally decided on a case by case basis. The definition of low level varies according to local laws, but one example would be mild incidences of neglect, as opposed to actual physical or sexual abuse or exploitation, or more severe cases of neglect. Instances in which the abuse has become more serious usually require removal and temporary relocation of the child, or removal of the abuser, until such time as the offender is determined to be rehabilitated. Requirements vary depending on locale, but in all instances, there are specific conditions that must be satisfied before the family is reunited.

Reviewing Types Of Civil Engineering Projects Construction Essay

Reviewing Types Of Civil Engineering Projects Construction Essay The purpose of this essay is to find out what the needs for civil engineering project are and what input which a civil engineer would have into a project. Also the essay has asked to find a suitable project which has a significant size and have sufficient complexity to require civil engineering input throughout the design and construction.    The chosen project is Strait of Gibraltar crossing which is a tunnel or bridge project that would connect Spain to Morocco. The project has been proposed to Spain and Moroccan government to investigate the possibly of the project. The Strait of Gibraltar crossing could be one of biggest civil engineering project which linking the two continents and bring people closer to one another. The Strait of Gibraltar crossing tunnelling project is more suitable than bridge project because of deepness of the sea level. Bridge project is not suitable is deep sea area. The tunnelling idea came from The Channel Tunnel project which was discussed in lecture and similar idea could possible to use for the Strait of Gibraltar underwater tunnel project. But the area under the Strait is less stable than that under the English Channel due to an active major geologic concern and some severe earthquakes have occurred in that area. This has caused civil engineering to face problems because of the two very d eep Quaternary clay channels in the middle of the Strait sea and that makes the construction becomes complex.    The project was estimated 24 miles the length and 980 ft below sea level which is deeper than The Channel tunnel which makes it difficult for civil engineer to tackle the issue but with today technology anything can be solved. The tunnelling project could take least 20 years to complete because of the deepness of the sea and the problem which engineers facing. The project is underwater railway tunnel and also two railway terminals were proposed with this project as well. The tunnel is only used by electrical train. It was estimated that train can carry 9 million passengers from both countries through underwater tunnel. Also the tunnel can be use Freight vehicle shuttle to carry cars or buses, shipment and other product from Europe to Africa which would be benefit for both country and international countries. This tunnelling project will boost the economy and tourist attraction for both countries.    The advantage of the tunnel would be that it will allow shipping to pass easily. Although low bridge would be need to be an opening or swing bridge to allow shipping to pass otherwise it can cause traffic congestion. Bridges can be close for road and rail network due to the harsh weather such as high winds and therefore engineer prefer bridges than tunnel. Apart from tunnelling construction , civil engineering need to design a railway terminal for Spain and morocco and build highways and railway network to connect other countries . An engineer needs to build railway terminal need to allow passengers travel through the country. The terminal should have the high security to stop emigration coming into Europe .Also they need to think about the ventilation plant to allow the air inside the underwater tunnel escape. Ventilation is big problems from engineers because of the deepness of the sea level.   They also need to find solution how they are going to dig underground and how may bori ng machine need for the this kind of tunnel.   In every project all the civil engineer has big part of the project which every of them will be doing key roles which bring all together to complete the project successfully. For this particular underwater tunnel project, there are some roles which civil engineers have to do to complete the project.   These are five main roles which civil engineer will do in this Strait of Gibraltar underwater tunnel project:   Surveying This role is one of the main part of the civil engineering project process where civil engineer have to analysis the ground conditions of the Strait of Gibraltar underwater tunnel project where they have to collect soil samples from both Spain and Morocco lands from boreholes and by other geophysical techniques. Then engineer will make a best choice for the machinery and methods for excavation and ground support. This will reduces the risk of unexpected ground conditions. They also will have to measure the distance of the underwater tunnel. The surveying process takes lot of time until it is safe to build tunnel which is challenging to civil engineer. When the ground condition examined by surveyor then they have to measure the ground deepness and find out what kind nature of rock is available on the ground. Surveying role will help civil engineer to insure two halves of the tunnel met up at the same point when the engineer using boring machine for the digging process. The advantage of surveying is that it will insure the engineer that the Strait of Gibraltar underwater tunnel project will be safe and successful. So surveying always needed in every engineering project.   Design designing tunnel is one of the most important and big parts of what civil engineers will do need in Strait of Gibraltar underwater tunnel project. In this project civil engineer will have to design similar design of The Channel tunnel or The Seikan Tunnel which both of them has similar design. The design of the underwater tunnel should be two main tunnels where one line is for Spain to Morocco and other line is Morocco to Spain, a service to tunnel for emergency services and a tunnel which connects both main tunnels for air circulation. Civil engineers most design the tunnelling project very carefully , the designer has to design station location for emergency services , maximum gradients for the trains using the tunnels, minimum curve radius of the trains and the location of obstructions such as tube lines, building foundations, sewers and other tunnels. These are the mains things which designers have to design it before the construction start. Also apart from designing unde rwater tunnels, they will have to design the railway terminals for the passengers. The terminal design should be modern and unique and also designer should design a border immigration building to stop the immigration. The advantage of completed design is that the civil engineer will be able to start the construction of the underwater tunnel by looking at the design.   Construction civil engineers will be more involved in the construction which is the main part of the tunnelling process. Civil engineering will dig the underwater tunnel by boring machine where they have to pass from soft clay to hard rock. They will use different method tunnel construction   to dig underwater tunnel depends on the ground conditions, the ground water conditions, the length and diameter of the tunnel drive, the depth of the tunnel , the logistics of supporting the tunnel excavation, the final use and shape of the tunnel and appropriate risk management. There will be many engineers involves in underwater tunnel construction where they will follow the designer to make sure everything going as a plan and the design. In the construction there are two types of roles, those roles are planning and site supervision of the construction. Engineer will need to plan the construction where they have to sort out how long is going to take the tunnel to be completed, also as well as planning there is management of the construction which controls the timetable of the construction .Site supervision is a role which engineers will be on the site to make sure everything has done properly, they also need to deal with any problems which they face in underwater tunnel. Also engineers need to construct international highways for both countries to help passenger travel through the country and also connect the highways to other countries as well.    Service / Maintenance service, and maintenance is another role which civil engineering will need to think about it. Civil engineers will be involved in inspecting it and recommending maintenance throughout the life of the structure of the underwater tunnel. One thing that engineers need to think is ventilation plant for the tunnel. They need two ventilation plants to help them clear the air inside the undersea tunnel. The main job of servicing tunnel is to keep clean and secured the underwater tunnel and also on service tunnels they should have a bus or car for an emergency accident to help the passenger to travel to the surface.   Contractor this is another role which engineers need to consider in civil engineering project. Contractor role is to looking after the construction site and managing the vendors and trades. Contractors have to estimate the cost of the project after investigating the construction site. Contractor is in charge of affording all the tunnelling materials, paying the engineers and workers , buying or renting constructions equipment such as construction machines and tools and also necessary services for the construction of the underwater tunnel project .   Every civil engineer will do their own specific roles which they enjoy. From those main five roles, I mostly enjoy three of the roles, which are surveying, design and construction. The reason why I have chosen those three roles are that of the way these roles challenging me and the skills which improve my ability. Surveying is the practice of measuring angles and distances on the ground which requires maths skill to calculate the distance, designing a project will need a good IT skill which I have and its also challenging me as well and finally construction works are mainly to do with communication and management skills, these two are not my strongest skills but as I said that I like something challenge me and this encourage me to improve those weakest skills. From those three roles I can be able to perform Surveying and design role well enough. The other two roles service/ maintenance and contractor are not my specific roles which I enjoy because they are not challenging to me.   From those top three I only one of I can be able to perform strongly which is surveying role. Surveying role is more suited to the skill and enthusiasms I have got .Maths skill is one of the main skill which needed for surveying to calculate the distance among two places and solve problems and the maths skill to me is the strongest skill. I find the surveying more enjoyable and I have an enthusiasm toward it.   Conclusion   To sum up the essay, this has shown that every civil engineering project needs some major roles to complete the project successfully and by the time. All the roles require specific skill and commitment toward the project. Tunnelling project is the hardest project in civil engineering field because of the amount of the time that surveyor has to investigate in tunnelling project. But with today technology surveyor can investigates the project in less amount of time. The Strait of Gibraltar underwater tunnel project is always needed a surveyor to investigate the ground conditions because of the geological issue in both lands. Therefore surveying is main key of any particular project. However design and construction roles are also part of the project but both links to surveyor which decides whether to start the project.  

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Learning and Personal Growth :: Kill Mockingbird essays

Learning and Personal Growth in To Kill a Mockingbird Conflict is an inevitable part of life. In many cases, these conflicts are between two individuals debating over one specific subject. It is often hard to declare a winner when both people consider their argument to be the correct one. Scout and Jem learn the tools necessary to overcome conflict through personal experience as well as the experiences of other characters in the novel. As a person grows older, conflicts in life become a more regular and more real occurrence. Through experience, knowledge, and bravery any situation can be controlled and overcome as seen in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. As life goes on, a child gains a great deal of experience through her own doings and those of others. With each new situation, this child is able to better carry his or her way through life. Scout grows up in a small Alabama town, and she contains herself between two houses in her neighborhood: Mrs. Dubose's house (2 doors north) and the Radley place (3 doors south). She and her young playmates start off as clean slates, so they act out other people's experiences to compensate for the lack of their own. "He (Dill, an out of town friend) played the character parts normally thrust upon me--the ape in Tarzan, Mr. Crabtree in The Rover Boys, Mr. Damon in Tom Swift" (Lee 8). This game playing becomes the first sign in the novel that Scout is ready to enter the world of the adult. Scout's first learning experience away from home is at school. "I never deliberately learned to read, but somehow I had been wallowing illicitly in the daily papers,..., reading was something that just came to me " (Lee 17). She is a smart child and has no trouble with the educational learning involved with school, but for the first time, she experiences conflict through the differences in her classmates. As Scout grows older she becomes more curious. She even go so far as to enter the world of the Negro and to go to church with Calpurnia. "First Purchase African M.E. Church was in the quarters outside the southern town limits" (Lee 118). Calpurnia's church is a long way from their original neighborhood barriers, but thanks to Scout's new experience, she will not contain the prejudices held by many of the white townspeople.

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” in social context

Jamaica Candid's â€Å"Girl† in Social Context Jamaica Candid short story â€Å"Girl† was the first fiction work, which she has written. 650 words of prose poem Is a mother teaching her daughter how she should behave and to do everything that Antigen women do. There Is no Introduction, no action, no character description and no composition seen, only two voices, which at the end appears to be the mother and the daughter. Antigen, was the place, were Candid grew up during ass's and ass's.When she escaped from her family, Jamaica changed her name and started to write. The mother in the story seems to have full control of setting her daughter for her teenage years. While, the girl is kind of poor one, because she has to put up with the very intense rules that she gets from her mother. A mother gives commands to her daughter with a firm tone of voice, while daughter interrupts her mother twice: to protect herself and to ask the question.Jamaica Candid, using only two voices , is able to open the major Issues: felicity, social classes and traditions. In like manner, despite the makeup and high heels, femininity is hard org If to mention cleaning the house and looking remarkable while doing It. In â€Å"Girl† woman seems to be Identified with the looking after the house and Its Inhabitants. It Is not surprising that In order to malignant their luxury and decent lady card, girls must obey the motherly advice.In the following quote expressed by the mother of the girl, where she is giving commands for her daughter in order to teach her to be decent lady, femininity is one of the main clauses about the problem if to speak about being successful lady in the family. â€Å"Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them n the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry' (1-2). This is the first commandment of a long list, that girl, in order to be honorable lady, must follow.The commandment begins with the cleaning of clothing – and, in particular, this concerns the correct cleaning, to avoid the blending of colors. Commandments like this, always seems hard to accomplish. Generally speaking, Candid represents, that both the mother and the girl are controlled by the rules of fervently. Additionally, class and social standing have already been lassie back when someone had clearly more shiny stones than the other. In â€Å"Girl† it was not only just shiny stones, but also girl's skin color, her table coating quality and smoothness of her seams.In a colonial Antigen, where British culture is seen as a native, African descent Antigens as Candid and, as I think, also a girl, already are at the top of the hierarchy. In â€Å"Girl† it seems that the dead person can easily lose their social standing, and it is much more difficult to pick it up once you lose it. In the following quote expressed by the mother of the girl, where she is giving commands or her daughter in order to teac h her to be decent lady; interaction with negligent boys and girls is forbidden, in order to be a respectful lady. You mustn't speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give Some people are so removed from society that they are not even treated as people; they are rats. Whereas slovenly men and women are even In lower social standing than the black people from Antigen, absolutely no one Is talking with them. As shown above, Candid stated that society Is based on policing behavior. In â€Å"Girl†, there is someone who is always watching. E keep our balance; it helps us to know how to narrate the whole world, that it makes matter a lot of easier, it can, of course, also be oppressive, archaic, and Just stupid.In â€Å"Girl† the mother teaches her daughter traditions for several reasons; tradition can help the daughter to become a respected lady, retains lady successful life with no bad luck. In the following quote expressed by the mother of the girl, where she is giving comma nds for her daughter in order to teach her to be decent lady; the daughter is bound to keep up with tradition, in order to live a successful and fulfilling lady life. Soak salt fish overnight before you cook it†(7). Salted fish is fish that have been salted and dried to keep it not using the refrigerator.The fish is very salty, so, in order to eat it, lady has to steep it very carefully. In a word, food is the most important part of the tradition, as it is associated with femininity lessons, whose have been thought by the mother. The British traditions are as important as the African ones in the â€Å"Girl†. Both are important details of the cultural heritage of the girl. In the final analysis, Jamaica Candid, using only two voices, is able to open he major issues: femininity, social classes and traditions.The mother gives commands to her daughter in order to prepare her for the fulfilling and respectful lady life. Although we believe that the girl is helpless at the be ginning, because she speaks only twice; trying to defend himself, but the motive of Candid gives all the power to the girl. This prose poem is a mother teaching her daughter how she should behave and to do everything that Antigen women do. There is no introduction, no action, no appears to be the mother and the daughter.

Successful implementation of ERP Systems: issues and obstacles

Introduction: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are packaged (but customizable) software applications, which manage data from various organizational activities and provide a fully integrated solution to major organizational data management problems. It integrates all data and processes of an organization into one single and centralized system. These systems comprise of many components of hardware and software, in order to achieve integration from various departments in the organization. With the development of new technologies it’s an essential part of their long-term competitive strategy. ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, purchase, inventory, interacting with suppliers, customer relationship management service, and order tracking.Discussion: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) packages touch many aspects of a company’s internal and external operations. Consequently, successful deployment and use of ERP systems are critical to org anizational performance and survival. This paper presents the results of a study of the problems and outcomes in ERP, a project which was conducted under the sponsorship of an ERP systems vendor. Enterprise systems (or enterprise resource planning systems – ERP) have been instrumental in advancing efficiency in organizations throughout  the world.However, David Hebert of the Hackett Group stated, â€Å"Only a select few companies have gotten value out of their ERP implementations, and those are world-class companies†. Many companies are radically changing their information technology strategies to maintain a competitive advantage, become more responsive to change markets, and deliver better service at lower cost by purchasing off-the-shelf integrated ERP software instead of developing IT systems in-house. [1][2][3]ERP System: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are software packages that use relational database technology to integrate various units of an organ ization's information system. ERP systems provide several separate, but integrated modules, which can be installed as a package for any organization [4]. Many large corporations use several different and separate information systems, often because they have merged with and/or acquired other companies with varied systems. An ERP system integrates these separate information systems and results in improved data reliability and processing efficiency.ERP systems quickly became popular with large corporations that needed a seamless integration of their business, but are now frequently used by small to mid-sized companies. The excellent ability of ERP systems to simplify business transaction processing, eliminate work that adds little or no value, and simultaneously improve customer service are the main reasons for the outstanding success and popularity of these systems [5] ERP Model:Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are off-the-shelf software packages that support most of the key functions of an enterprise, such as logistics, sales, and financial management. These systems are generic, and the functionality they provide can serve a large variety of enterprises. ERP is a critical strategic tool to achieve business goals. However, ERP adoption is not always successful despite using substantial amount of time and human and material resources. To prevent ERP failures, proper adoption processes and selection criteria should be considered to minimize possible losses. To explain the ERP Fig: Modelin an easily understandable format you have to know about the 4ps marketing  model. Usually the 4Ps marketing model was a general marketing model where the 4Ps originally stood for people, product, promotion and price [6]. Over the years, this model has been changed to become a business model and was modified by replacing promotion and price with process and performance [7]. The modified 4P business model was created to architect the ERP Conceptual model because several people working in management are familiar with the concept of the 4Ps.The ERP model is made of 4 components that are implemented through a methodology. This figure demonstrates the integration between the components. Methodology encircles all four of the components to illustrate that each component is addressed and implemented in an integrated manner. [7] [8]ERP System implementation: With the development of new technologies many companies now consider technological improvements an essential part of their long-term competitive strategy, and consequently try to apply these technologies. Computer technology has brought about many benefits in helping the construction industry meet increasingly complex challenges. It has achieved a wide range of successful applications at the project level such as engineering design, project estimating, scheduling, planning and control, and integrated project management.H. Klaus and G. Gable analyzed the concept of ERP, in order to explain its origin. T hey consider that the designation is not related to the role and characteristics of this system. The integrated system of type ERP is not focused on the resource management and it is not very developed within planning area, as its name may suggest it. It is rather focused on the integration of all organization departments, functions and processes within a single computer informational system, capable of supporting all these areas, with their individual and specific requirements. [8]Design of Evaluation Model for ERP System: ERP allows employees to share information, query data, and run reports. This eliminates the need to store duplicate information in more than one place and reduces the amount of work necessary to gather and analyze information  [9]. ERP systems increase efficiency by freeing employees from performing time consuming, manual work. For example, legacy systems often require hours or days to run reports. With ERP, reports can be produced in seconds. These efficiencie s allow employees to spend time on other tasks; reducing operating expenses. Here’s a proposed evaluation design model for ERP system-The proposed ERP evaluation model [8]Issues in Implementing ERP: A Case Study: Information technology/systems play a major role in improving the competitiveness of organizations. There are numerous enterprise information software packages available in the market. One of them is enterprise resource planning (ERP). ERP can provide signiï ¬ cant improvements in eï ¬Æ'ciency across a company, but only when implemented correctly. Otherwise, an ERP system could be a curse and drag the whole enterprise into spiraling ineï ¬Æ'ciency.Planning for ERP systems and their implementations requires an integrated approach to meet the requirements of various functional areas. With a brief overview of ERP implementations, this paper describes some experiences of an ERP implementation in a water corporation. The case study reveals some of the intricacies duri ng the planning and implementation stages that may occur in any company in any part of the world. Suggestions are oï ¬â‚¬ered in resolving the issues of implementing ERP.The criteria for success (and failure): Whether a system is branded as a success or a failure is a judgment, usually made at some point in time by one or more people with the benefit of hindsight. Most people, for example, consider that the new system at Heathrow airport’s Terminal 5 was a failure when it opened in 2008. Now, however, that same system (more accurately, system of systems) is operating successfully with few reported problems on a day-to-day basis.[10] The judgment of whether a project has ‘failed’ is not a simple yes/no decision. It is common for systems that initially did not live up to expectations to evolve over time to deliver useful services. However, management usually regard a project tends as a success if it meets three high-level criteria:It should be delivered on time It should be delivered within budget It should deliver the expected functionalityIn addition to these should be added the considerations of the users, to make sure that the system fits in with their everyday working: It should be acceptable to the users (and hence used).If a project fails to satisfy one or more of these criteria when it is deployed, it is likely to be labeled a failure. If we closely examine the causes of system failures, we see that most of them are not attributable to failures of the technology. Instead, they are failures of the socio-technical system, often arising because the social and organizational aspects either have not been appropriately considered, or have been separated from the technological aspects.It is important that the social and technical aspects of the overall system are developed in parallel, because they are often interdependent. If they are developed separately, any mismatches may not be detected until late in the project when they are invariabl y expensive and time-consuming to correct, and can even lead to the project being abandoned.The most important problems of ERP system implementation: There are several studies dealing with difficulties in enterprise system implementation. The researchers use different concepts, which have various scopes and meanings. As a result, comparing and integrating their findings is difficult. The number of recognized categories of problems and issues experienced by companies adopting ERP system varies from two through three to five. The identified groups cover issues of various nature and scope, e.g., technical, operational, legal, business/economic, organizational, managerial etc. The respondents opinions regarding the problems observed in ERP system, divided into the described categories, are presented in Table 1. Within each category, various difficulties are listed together with a short description. [11]Table: Problems occurring during ERP system implementation [11] ProblemDetailsOrganiz ational problems: Project goalsLack of clearly defined goals of the implementation project; incorrectly defined goals; lack of prioritiesCompany’s conditionPoor company organization; unclear organizational procedures; unclear strategyCommunication Problems with communication and information flow; different understanding of the same ideas by different departmentsDecision makingProblems with decision making (e.g., regarding personnel); indecisiveness of company representativesPersonnel availabilityKey employees unavailable; workers’ lack of timeConflicts Conflicts between a company’s departments; conflicts during organizational changeImplementationMistakes in project management; lack of risk management; lack of implementation tasks’ coordinationmanagementOrganizational and ownership changes during the project; changes in requirements;Changes in a companychanges in company organizational structure imposed by the introduced systemTrainingInadequate training p hase of a project; cutting trainingSocial problems: Employees’ knowledge and educationLack of management competence; lack of personnel computer literacy; lack of knowledge about company operations, enterprise systems and their implementationTop managementLack of top management support and involvement; lack of project understanding by top managementImplementation teamLack of implementation team members’ commitment; inadequate composition of implementation team (e.g., too few people, people not empowered to make decisions)MotivationLack of employees’ motivation to perform implementation tasks and learn new skillsResistance to new systemResistance of middle management, IT staff, and system users; people avoiding implementation dutiesResistance to changePeople highly accustomed to existing solutions and unwilling to changeProject managerLack of a project manager; inadequate person appointed as a project manager; necessity of sharing time between implementation tasks and organizational dutiesSystem provider’s competenceConsultants lacking competence, knowledge, and experience; problems with the availability of system provider’s servicesProject acceptancePeople not convinced about the project; lack of general acceptance for the project; problem with project acceptance by people not involved in implementation dutiesPersonnel’s fearFear about possible consequences of implementation project: loss of job, position, and statusUsers’ responsibility Lack of responsibility and care among people entering data into the systemTechnical problems: DataProblems with completing and organizing system data; problems with transferring data from legacy systems to ERP systemSystem efficiencyUsers unable to enter data on-line; problems with customer and provider order handlingSystem drawbacksImplementers unaware of program’s errors and shortcomings; lack of efficient application testing;Economic problems: High costsInadequate finan cial budget for the project; loss of financial resources; lack of financial flexibility and resource allocationThe problems discovered in Table 1 refer to practically all stakeholders involved in the project: employees, implementation team members (who are functional departments’ managers in enterprise X), and top management representatives. Next, the organizations suffered from the high costs involved and problems connected with goals definition.Conclusion: There is no silver bullet that can be used to kill off the potential for failure of ERP system development projects. The proportion of failures remains stubbornly high, even though several of the factors that are associated with failures appear to be known. A quick look at several of the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Top 10† style lists of factors associated with failures (and successes) reveals that no two lists are identical, although there are several factors that recur on many lists.The lack of agreement suggests that the analyses of the reasons for failure may be overgeneralising, by treating all failures as being more or less the same, whereas there are really different types of failure that arise through different combinations of factors. Reference 1. Markus. L. â€Å"learning from adopters’ experiences with ERP: problems encountered & success achieved†, online journal , available at- http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.farrell-associates.com.au%2FBPI%2FPapers%2FERP%2520Research.pdf&ei=fWEdUPOyGIWIrAez_oGwAg&usg=AFQjCNFh8bwBuLBbiHMbCVvoLWoej1TJOQ&sig2=Oe695TrVDvjagLr3jWUNbA , accessed on 26th July 2012. 2. Marnewick. C. and Labuschagne. L. (2005),†A conceptual model for enterprise resource planning (ERP)†,Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 13 Iss: 2 pp. 144 – 155, available at- http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09685220510589325 , accessed on 1st aug 2012 . 3. Hooks, A. (2002), â€Å"Change management: how to reduce the risk of change†, available at: www.internext-group.com 4. Bae. B. 2004. â€Å"Implemantation of ERP Systems† Journal. 5. Gibbs, Jeff. â€Å"The power of enterprise computing.† Internal Auditor . Feb. 1997. 6. Alexandrou, M. (2002), â€Å"Supply chain management (SCM) definition†, available at: www.marialexadrou.com/glossary/scm.sp 7. Marnewick, C. and Labuschagne, L. (2005),†A conceptual model for enterprise resource planning (ERP)†,Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 13 Iss: 2 pp. 144 – 155 8. Bryson, K. amd William E. Sullivan, (2003),†Designing effective incentive-oriented contracts for application service provider hosting of ERP systems†, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 9 Iss: 6 pp. 705 – 721. Available at- http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14637150310506648. Accessed on- 25th july 2012. 9. D.P. Goyal, Gurbinder Randhawa, (2007),†Design of evaluation model for ERP systems: an empirical study of Indian Industry†, Journal of Advances in Management Research, Vol. 4 Iss: 1 pp. 63 – 73 available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/972798108000125. Accessed on 28th july 2012 10. Kakouris, A.P. and Polychronopoulos.G, (2005),†Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System: An Effective Tool for Production Management†, Management Research News, Vol. 28 Iss: 6 pp. 66 – 78 11. Joseph R. Muscatello, Michael H. Small, Injazz J. Chen, (2003),†Implementing enterprise resource planning(ERP) systems in small and midsize manufacturing firms†, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 23 Iss: 8 pp. 850 – 871