Powerful But Not Immortal Essays - Epic Of Gilgamesh, Enkidu

Powerful But Not Immortal Powerful But Not Immortal The Epic of Gilgamesh still touches people profoundly even after many centuries because it is about issues that are common to all people throughout history - the anguish of death for all human beings. For example, Gilgamesh, the protagonist of The Epic of Gilgamesh, and King Thanh Cat Dai Tu Han (the famous King of China in early 400 B.C.) had tried many ways to find a solution for having everlasting lives; however, the fact was that they were human and would die. This is the absolute difference between gods and humans: gods live forever and humans must die. Consequently, immortality was the solution that both Gilgamesh and Thanh Cat Dai Tu Han sought in order to overcome their fear of death. Gilgamesh, Two third they made him god and one third man. (Gilgamesh 13), was the mythical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the River Euphrates in modern Iraq. He was the greatest king on earth and the strongest man that ever lived. As a young man, Gilgamesh had no compassion for the people of Uruk. He was their king, but not their shepherd; he killed their sons and raped their daughters. But when he met Enkidu, he learned many things: how to love, to have compassion, and to understand the meaning of mortality. He and Enkidu journeyed into the forest to confront the terrible Humbaba because Gilgamesh wanted to set up his name where the names of famous people were written (Gilgamesh 18). When Gilgamesh refused to marry Ishtar, she was furious. She decided to seek revenge by sending the Bull of Heaven to kill Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu succeeded in killing the Bull of Heaven, but Enkidu later died as a result. With the death of his best friend, Gilgamesh was distraught with grief and denial. He despaired the loss of Enkidu but also his own death, which he knew could come some day. Seeking to avoid death, he strived to learn the secret of everlasting life. He came upon the entrance to the land of gods, another world, which would show him the secret to avoiding death. Upon failing the challenges necessary to become immortal, he finally accepted that he was human, and he would have to die as normal people. Gilgamesh's belief in immortality did not exist in human beings. Similarly, Thanh Cat Dai Tu Han, was known as the most brilliant ruler of Mong Co (now known as Nepal). He had helped Mong Co to become the most powerful empire in early 400 B.C. He was successful in conquering many countries, such as Tao (China), Cham (Thai Lan), and Giao (Kampodia). Unlike Gilgamesh, Thanh Cat Dai Tu Han was generous to his people, encouraged them to go to school, and devoted his energies to strengthening his empire. But as he grew older, his personality changed. He became villainous because of his jealousy towards younger people. He wanted to live forever, so he asked his servers to seek a way in which to help him to remain young forever. Unfortunately, his people failed his order, and Thanh Cat Tu Han killed all of them, and even their relatives. The more people he killed, the more afraid he became of dying. He would do anything to become immortal. He asked his people to build a mountain that would touch the sky, so he could climb up to the heavens and ask the go ds for a way to avoid death. As punishment for his immoral behaviors, the gods made him fall when he climbed the mountain. Thus, the search for immortality led to the terrible death of Thanh Cat Dai Tu Han. Both Gilgamesh and Thanh Cat Dai Tu Han were looking forward to finding the way to become immortal. But the fact remains: When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained their own keeping (Gilgamesh 34). No matter how hard both of them tried, they were human and still faced dead. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, I really enjoyed the main character, Gilgamesh, and his fear of death served as a good example for There is no permanence. Do we build a house to stand for ever,

Free Essays on David’s Symbolism Of Florence

Between 1501 and 1504, the Opera del Duomo commissioned Michelangelo to create a sculpture of David to help reclaim the civic imagery in Florence (348 Paoletti, Radke). David was traditionally portrayed after his victory over Goliath. Unlike Donatello’s and Verrochio’s David’s, who are depicted standing over the head of Goliath, Michelangelo depicts David before the battle and as an adolescent close to manhood. David appears ready to fight his enemy with a stone in his right hand and a satchel of rocks hidden behind his left shoulder. Michelangelo portrays a man surrounded by enemies much stronger than him, but David is a cunning victor and a symbol of strength. David and his placement have political implications that mimic the state of Florence as a city that is young, powerful, and ready to fight against outside enemies. Florence was faced with troubling times when French King Charles VIII invaded the city. Without governing power of the Medici to keep Florence together, the city faced duress. The political dilemma that the city faced is the reason Michelangelo constructed David as an adolescent ready to fight instead of as the victor over Goliath. David’s stance and readiness for battle represents the city of Florence, and the political battle it faced to gain control of the city and battle outside armies greater than its own. David’s size and stance also have underlying political implications. â€Å"The colossal size of the figure, nearly three times life size, implies a link with colossal sculptures of antiquity; the greatness of Greece and Rome now is equaled by that of Florence† (Paoletti, Radke 349). The statue represents an idea that Florence can be transformed from â€Å"ordinary into extraordinary by a decisive moment of action. Michelangelo’s placement of David in the contrapposto position â€Å"which was the Greek representation of heroes† can also imply that Florence is a city ready to take on the hero icon... Free Essays on David’s Symbolism Of Florence Free Essays on David’s Symbolism Of Florence Between 1501 and 1504, the Opera del Duomo commissioned Michelangelo to create a sculpture of David to help reclaim the civic imagery in Florence (348 Paoletti, Radke). David was traditionally portrayed after his victory over Goliath. Unlike Donatello’s and Verrochio’s David’s, who are depicted standing over the head of Goliath, Michelangelo depicts David before the battle and as an adolescent close to manhood. David appears ready to fight his enemy with a stone in his right hand and a satchel of rocks hidden behind his left shoulder. Michelangelo portrays a man surrounded by enemies much stronger than him, but David is a cunning victor and a symbol of strength. David and his placement have political implications that mimic the state of Florence as a city that is young, powerful, and ready to fight against outside enemies. Florence was faced with troubling times when French King Charles VIII invaded the city. Without governing power of the Medici to keep Florence together, the city faced duress. The political dilemma that the city faced is the reason Michelangelo constructed David as an adolescent ready to fight instead of as the victor over Goliath. David’s stance and readiness for battle represents the city of Florence, and the political battle it faced to gain control of the city and battle outside armies greater than its own. David’s size and stance also have underlying political implications. â€Å"The colossal size of the figure, nearly three times life size, implies a link with colossal sculptures of antiquity; the greatness of Greece and Rome now is equaled by that of Florence† (Paoletti, Radke 349). The statue represents an idea that Florence can be transformed from â€Å"ordinary into extraordinary by a decisive moment of action. Michelangelo’s placement of David in the contrapposto position â€Å"which was the Greek representation of heroes† can also imply that Florence is a city ready to take on the hero icon...

Business Essay Example for Free (#4)

Business Essay A. 1. As I began my journey as a new business owner of a computer company I needed to define my company’s goals, decide which direction I wanted to take the company to and create a mission statement that will best represent my company. Since the company was new I needed to come up with something catchy and promising that would invite potential clients to find out more about the products we offer. Since there were more participants in this game and from my professional experience I learned that staying on the same path and making advancements is more beneficial than trying to change directions every time. In this case I remained focused on the same two groups for the remaining 3 rounds. Instead of changing and adding more products every quarters like most of the other participants I kept my two models (one for each group) and made necessary corrections and modifications based on the market needs. I verified the requirements of each group, the priorities and the price range each client is willing to pay. Since there are no specific techniques used in this part of the business analysis I used my own judgment in making sure that I create the best product with the items that are most important to the potential client group. As stated above I initially created two products (one for each group) and after the first round they both passed 70% but in the scientific group it was not chosen as one of the best. In the second round I was given an option of reviewing products of my competitors and the only difference was the larger monitor and an upgraded keyboard. I added those options to my products and in the next round both products did very well. I had to make sure that in the nest round I keep up with the new upgrades and add them to my products to make sure that I keep up with the new technology. Even after making the upgrades the prices did not change a lot and the two groups still chose my product as one of their choices and my products were receiving 100% in both categories. Out of all the categories my market performance would produce larger results if I was not afraid in estimating more clients and produce more computers in both categories. Every quarter I ended up loosing clients and sales due to shortage in inventory. My market performance, marketing effectiveness and human resource management remained slightly low even though I was very close to my competitors. As far as my salary package I paid my employees the most but I only contributed 2% of their salary versus 5% that everyone else was contributing. I believe that salary is more important than the retirement contribution. I upgraded health benefits but kept the contribution the same. 2.I would not change the targeted markets I have selected because my decision was a success. I wanted to make sure that my company will have balance between high paying clients and not as much demand and those where the profits are not as high but the demand is much higher. My analogy was right on target because with the Mercedes I was making higher profit but the number of machines was not as high as the market for general public where the profit was significantly lower. After being chosen by both markets as a preferred factory I had to make sure that I am keeping up with current technology and by adding extra features the price difference is not too high so that I would loose my lower profit clients. With that business idea I was able to survive my competition and climb up to the top. 3.When it comes to the sales locations I selected I believe that I have done enough research to make a good decision. Since I have chosen Mercedes for scientific computers and general public I wanted to make sure that I cover United States since Mercedes mainly operated in the US and their main headwaters are in Germany. Therefore I chose NY as one of the first offices along with France in Europe. My next choice was Tokyo since they have the most advanced technology and I can use that as my selling point to generate more business. My last choice was South America even though the expenses were not as high but it is less demanding since the poverty is significantly high. As expected, choosing my locations in this order was a success. 4.Marketing research could definitely be improved since I was not as successful as I was hoping to be. Most of my business was coming from direct sales and not as much from other advertising. I did not want to invest large amounts of money on the popular magazines since the fee was very high and I was concentrating on more common papers such as Science Magazines and business papers. Maybe I should have been more adventurous and invest in more popular magazines but I was afraid that I would suffer financially. Also I was not able to come up with a very catchy advertising line to attract potential clients and was scoring somewhat low on the advertising review. B.One of the most important decisions I made was to invest in international markets. Since Mercedes is from Germany and its factories are in the US I felt as investing in a European market would be a good idea simply because I come from Europe and I know that Mercedes is in demand as well as there are a lot of companies in need of a highly developed machine that can make their discoveries and creations a lot easier. I was a little hesitant about opening offices in Tokyo since their technology is very advanced and cost is very high. But because of that I decided to stand with competition face to face and use this to my advantage. By creating same quality machines for a little lesser cost I was able to survive and beat most of my competition. South America had smaller expenses but the demand was not very high considering the high number of less fortunate individuals. If investing in the international markets required large funds I would concentrate on the US market and possibly South America. Unless I discovered high turnaround and my investment would not affect my company’s future I would consider this option. Throughout my entire game I was very cautious and I was afraid of heavy investment simply because my funds were very limited and I did not want to jeopardize my company over greed and quick wealth. After reviewing my financial reports I was able to determine if additional investment is possible and how my this would effect the company overall. Heavy investment would depend on how the financial statements looked, careful review of the international markets and position of the company in the global market. If the company would not be as successful at the end of the 4th quarter as I wanted it to be I would most likely find another route to expand my borders. Business. (2017, Feb 03).

Parties and Democracy in the Eastern European Countries Essay

Parties and Democracy in the Eastern European Countries - Essay Example Parties help fix the newly established democratic governments in a broader community and influence their stability among the numerous processes of quick social and industrial change. Valuable constitutions and the various processes implicated in the rule of law are reinforced by the possibilities parties put forward for the progress of a more active citizenry and the appearance of a strong democratic political way of life. "There are also strong reasons to believe such conditions are conducive to stable processes of economic development and the formation of effective market economies" (ibid, p.2). The concentration on electoral activity and the methods parties use to reach administration office are particularly important. To the extent of post-communist eastern Europe, it can be stated that involvement in competitive elections is a foremost attribute of party identity development and the advancement of such organizations. Party competition is an important characteristic of the contemporary governments that differentiates them from the single party totalitarianism of the communist era and offers at the present moment a real focus of attention. The single-party government that existed within the Soviet dictatorship, and afterwards reached other parts of Europe and the world, had nothing in common with the experience of the democratic competitive party regime. Modern Eastern Europe contains most of the post-communist countries and the main part of former the Soviet Union. Lewis gives the following classification of eastern European countries: "east-central Europe: Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic; the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; the Balkans: Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and the most of the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) former Soviet republics: Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine" (ibid, p.5). 1989 was an important year both for the states of eastern Europe and the growth of a democratic Europe in general. Its most outstanding image can be seen in opening wide of the strongly protected gates set in the Berlin Wall and the enthusiasm with which the inhabitants of Berlin set about its destruction, but consequently it was a process of creation that would do most to resolve how long and in which form this recently received liberty would exist. This probably influenced Velvet revolution in the Baltic states with final fall of the Soviet empire. The main part of the process was the construction of new political organizations and the establishment of a variety of parties competent in expressing the viewpoints and objectives of contemporary population. On the other hand, there was a serious problem faced by the number of post-communist countries - the lack of experience of liberal democracy and the comparative limitation of party development after the countries had gained independ ence. The building of civil society as the main focus of political interest has succeeded during the recent years, since general civil liberties, gained by people, have influenced their outlook and political viewpoints. This is the main characteristic of 'subunits, capable of opposing and countervailing the state' (Gellner, 1991, p.500).  

Identify the primary theories that guide your intergrated theoretical Essay

Identify the primary theories that guide your intergrated theoretical perspective of social work practice - Essay Example A boundary line such as a line, a plane or a point, implies or secures a limit, a periphery, a range, or a barrier. To span â€Å"is to form an arch over, to extend over across† (Kerson, 2002, 1); thus, a boundary-exceeding framework to health-related social work broadens over already penciled in barriers so as to provide social workers a greater range of perceptiveness, greater autonomy in interventions, and greater access to organizations and structures. This paper then will discuss the importance of boundary-exceeding in all areas of social work so that social workers can learn to assist their patients, clients and consumers to achieve their aspirations (ibid). Throughout its years of experience, social work practice in mental health has revised itself by or has been described by several boundaries. Occasionally, the borders have been created for the participants; some times, the restrictions have been designed by the participants themselves. Such limitations have occasionally got in the way of social workers’ capability to comprehend or resolve in the most practical means. Throughout time, even if social workers have drawn the parameters themselves, they have discovered the boundaries too limiting (Meyer, 1988). In response, social workers have had to locate ways to batter down the hindrances, to do the practice tantamount to finding tougher or wider scopes, opening entryways, breaking down walls, or insisting for greater autonomy. This ecological reinterpretation caters to and redefines various existing parameters or boundaries, and this reinterpretation claims that parameters have to be spanned in manners that are less preventing (ibid). The first parameter that should be spanned is the thing that detaches health care from mental health care. Fresh knowledge on the symptomatology, etiology and handling of an array of

File transfer protocols Essay Example for Free

File transfer protocols Essay File transfer is the process of transmitting complete files from one computer to another. To achieve a successful transfer, both sending and receiving devices must establish the protocol (set of rules) by which they will communicate. Various protocols are commonly recognised but they vary in their performance and suitability for particular tasks. Some examples are described below. FTP File Transfer Protocol (FTP) allows large amounts of information to be transferred between computers very conveniently. FTP originated with the UNIX operating system and was to transfer files of all types between remote computer systems. A popular application of is for the uploading and downloading of Web site pages. ASCII This is only appropriate for text files, which contain no control characters. Thus it cannot be used to transfer files produced with a word processor, spreadsheet or graphics package. Neither can it transfer command (COM) or executable (EXE) files, or files in compressed (ZIP, for ex) form. Apart from this, the protocol is not good at controlling errors. Xmodem A file-transfer protocol used for asynchronous communications. It is commonly used in communications packages. The Xmodem protocol transfers data in blocks of 128 bytes, giving each transmitted frame a sequential block number; this number is used to identify the location of errors. A checksum (see Block Check Characters) is attached to each block to check transmission errors. Its ability to find and correct errors makes it suitable for the transfer of files, which must retain their integrity, such as program files. Zmodem Is one of the most advanced protocols, being much faster than Xmodem. Its error correction controls are absolutely reliable. CCITT V42bis. This protocol includes a data compression (through encoding, data is reduced in volume) technique and error detection and correction. Both the sending and receiving modem must possess the error correction facility. Implementation Top Down implementation is one way to achieve implementation of software. This involves coding, testing and debugging each module in turn starting with the top level and working down. This means that each new module fits naturally into the module hierarchy. Starting with the control module i. e. Songs; we code, test, debug and retest it etc. This involves calling Set_Up, Process_Votes and Menu, even though these have not yet been coded. Therefore, we create test stubs to ensure that we can test that the Songs module achieves its function. A Test Stub can simply consist of a statement which will display a message showing that the module has been called correctly, or it may consist of a set of statements which simulate the operation of the module in order to return results to the calling module which is under test. At this stage, the program would look like this Program Songs(Input, Output); Plan should be constructed which indicates an incremental development where each module is to be tested in turn, with appropriate test stubs. For each test, expected results should be noted. A Test Log indicates the results of each test run, whether the test is successful or not. If a test is successful and an error has been discovered then the code should be redesigned, amending pseudocode, recoded and retested. Total_Votes In 3. Narrative Description No Module Description 0 Songs Calls Set_up to set up the table, Process_Votes to read votes from the keyboard and Menu to offer options. 1 Set_Up Calls, in turn, Initialise and Load. 2 Process_Votes Reads in votes from the keyboard and increment the appropriate total. 3 Menu Displays menu, accept choice, and call appropriate modules Display or Report 1. 1 Initialise Initialises all entries of the table. 1. 2 Load Reads in the song details from the file and store in a table. 3. 1 Display Displays the number of votes for an input song. 3. 2 Report. Displays the percentage votes for each song. Subprogram. Stepwise Refinement is a process which takes an initial solution to a problem and refines each step until the algorithm is detailed enough for implementation in a suitable high level language. Level 0 Level 1 Level 2   Since programs can become very large and consequently can involve a number of programmers in the development process, it is useful to have a way of splitting up a program into components each of which can be handled separately. This uses a facility called a subprogram. The process of developing a solution as a collection of interconnected subprograms is called Modular Design. Each module has a single complete function and is implemented using the particular subprogram facilities of suitable high level languages. Pseudocode Each programmer can be allocated a separate module / group of modules to work on in isolation. Each module may call lower level modules. A module may be called from more than one other nodule. Programmer A Programmer B Programmer C   A subprogram is a way of grouping together statements which havea common purpose i. e.all statements help to produce a singleobjective. They allow a natural way of dividing an algorithm intoparts where each individual part can be handled separately andcarries out a single task for the problem. This is a natural extension of the philosophy of stepwise refinement where subprograms may be executed in sequence, be part of a selection or be iterated. A subprogram can be thought of as a small program which can carry out any of the functions of a program. A subprogram is called when it is needed, executed and then the processor returns control to the place where the subprogram was called from. Although subprograms can be developed in isolation, by separate programmers, they have to communicate with other subprograms in the system, particularly, with regard to the data which is shared between a subprogram and its caller. Subprograms communicate with the calling program through a well-defined interface which specifies the data being shared between the calling program and the subprogram. The interface allows the processor to suspend the calling program, transfer control to the subprogram and pass any data specified down to the subprogram. Once the subprogram finishes executing, then the interface communicates any required data changes back to the calling program and returns control to the main program at the line immediately after the subprogram call. A subprogram may be called any number of times within a program. The subprogram heading specifies the subprogram name, the type of each piece of data which is expected and the nature of each piece of data, i. e. whether it is simply to be passed down in order to aid the function of the subprogram or whether it. is a value which is being changed or calculated as part of the function of the subprogram. A piece of data which is being passed to/from a subprogram is called a parameter. A parameter has an associated data type e. g. integer. A parameter can be specified as either value (reference) or variable depending on whether the subprogram is allowed to change the parameter value permanently. This allows the program to protect certain parameter values against accidental change. e. g. Subprogram Add_Nos(Numl, Num2 : Integer; Var Result : Integer) Here Num1 Num2 are value parameters therefore the subprogram will expect to receive input values for each of these parameters every time the subprogram is called. These values can be supplied either as variable values or constants. e. g. Call Add_Nos Using Numi, Num2, Result Call Add_Nos Using 5, 6, Result Result is a variable parameter and therefore the subprogram will change/calculate a value which is to be returned to the calling program. Thus the subprogram will expect to receive the name of a variable of the required type where it is to store the returning value. The subprogram call must contain a data value (of a suitable type) for each corresponding parameter in the subprogram heading. When a subprogram is called the data values in the subprogram call (actual parameters) are passed down to the corresponding data values in the subprogram heading (formal parameters). Since a subprogram can be used more than once within a system then it is necessary to allow different names to be used for formal and actual parameters. e. g. Call Add Nos Using Nol, No2, Result Exercise Design an algorithm which will input 2 integer values, display a menu, read a choice and call an appropriate subprogram to add, subtract, divide, multiply these numbers returning the result of the calculation. The Systems Development Cycle System Testing and Implementation Implementation is the stage where the system design is converted to a working system. This is arguably the most important stage of systems development, since a well designed system which is poorly implemented may. fail, whereas a badly designed system which is well implemented may survive. The key to success is in planning for the implementation early in the design process, the main issues to be considered being :- ? site preparation ? hardware/software procurement ? system testing ? user education and training ? changeover ? Outcome 6 of the Systems Development 2 Unit includes system testing, user education and training and changeover, and these topics are outlined in the following sections. System Testing System testing ensures that the system works accurately and efficiently before it is put into live operation. All clerical and computer procedures are tested. Programs are tested individually and then in groups to verify program linkages. Hardware and communications links are also tested. The final stages of testing are the system trials involving user staff, this also being part of user training. Test data for program testing should follow the guidelines of the Software Engineering Unit. System trials should be carried out in an operational environment, using test data from earlier time periods, or even parallel runs with the old system using live data. The types of tests which should be considered for a system are as follows Inputs- form design (ease of use) data transmission input validation and correction Files- empty files addition/deletion/update access controls/security Outputs- output documents/screens recipient understanding ComputerProcedures- program linkages operating procedures recovery and security timings Clerical Procedures- effects on other systems user understanding error correction timings User Education and Training The success of a new system is very much dependent on the attitudes of the people who use it. Education aims to convince users of the benefits of the system to themselves, their department and the company. Management policy regarding re-deployment ,redundancy etc should be clearly stated. while casualties may result from the introduction of new systems, there are also many positive aspects such as ? reducing very boring clerical activities? upgrading of skills ? ? improving job satisfaction ? d? Education, therefore, complements and is a pre-requisite to training. e? Training enables users to understand their role in the new system, and prepares them for their own specific tasks. The users and people affected by the new system must be trained, and arrangements for release from normal duties must be made. Many different methods of training are available including f? formal lectures a? ? discussions/seminars ? computer-assisted training (tutorial packages,help facilities etc) ? user manuals/quick reference guides ? Usually a combination of methods will be chosen with an emphasis on hands on experience. Timing and pacing of training is also important, too early and users may forget aspects or become disinterested, too late and users will become flustered. Training does not cease with implementation, but must meet needs of new staff and system changes. changeover Implementation may involve change from a manual system to a computer system or from one computer system to an other. In both cases the system data and procedures require to be changed. A major task prior to changeover is file conversion. The data in existing clerical or computer files must be converted to the new system files, and this can be a massive task involving the preparation of thousands of records using data from a number of different sources. It is also essential that the new system data is accurate or system credibility will suffer. Changeover is the period from the start of live running to the time the DP department withdraws system support, other than for maintenance. ? Methods of changeover depend on the particular circumstances of a system development project, and fall into the following categoriesdirect changeover ? parallel running? pilot running ? Direct changeover is the complete replacement of the old system by the new in one move. This may be appropriate when system testing has been exhaustive and users have complete confidence in the new system. Also if the system is totally new and there is no comparable old system, or if there is no staff available to operate a parallel run. Parallel running is the method of processing current data using the old and new systems at the same time, then cross-checking results. It may be seen as an extension of testing, and generates confidence among users, however it places a strain on resources. Pilot running may be used in two ways, either in retrospective running of data from previous time periods, after results have been obtained from the old system, or as a staged changeover where a complete logical section of records is chosen and committed to the new system without parallel operation in the old system. when this section is operating satisfactorily the remaining records are transferred. The end of the changeover is signified by user acceptance of the new system. System performance must meet acceptance criteria previously established. Acceptance criteria would relate to factors such as response times, degree of reliability and tolerable error rate. Test Narrative An incremental development approach will be taken. This will involve each module being designed, coded and tested in turn before moving onto the next. This Top Down approach will allow newly written modules to fit naturally into the module hierarchy. Test stubs will be used to simulate the calling of modules which have not yet been coded. Menu Tests would be continued until all tests completed amendments logged and retests completed satisfactorily . Interviewing Interviewing is better than questionnaires for gathering certain information because you could see the interviewee facial expressions. Also one other advantage is that in an interview you can hear the response of the interviewee has to say. One disadvantage about the interviewing is that it takes long of time. But couple of things you would gain from the interview is that you would be gaining the trust in the interviewee, you would be making the interviewee feel important and it shows that you are interested. They will be able to give to the interviewer information that will be of value for the new system. If the interviewee says that the current system is unsatisfactory then you will need to look at the weak point of the current system and making sure that you dont make the new system have similar problem as the current system. Interviewing is factual and you would get the answers to know questions right away. Some other problems in a interview is that there isnt enough detail to know whats happening in the job and needs to meet the interviewee to observe the body language. Interview is long but an questionnaire is quicker but it has less information. Questionnaire Questionnaires are useful when you are gathering a small amount of information from a large number of people. But if you are getting a lot of information from people then it will take you a lot of time to process the whole information which will take a lot of time. A questionnaire is quick if it is a small amount of information, it is simple but a questionnaire has a slow response. A questionnaire is quicker than an interview. Questionnaire is one of the best resources to get information from. Like documents they do have information but documents it may not be regularly updated. Examination of documents is factual and has a lot of information but depending on what you are looking for. In a questionnaires you wouldnt get as much information as examination as documents. Some problems in a questionnaire is the person may not be as honest as the person would be in a interview, an questionnaire is too long and boring. Questionnaire is easy to analyze. Study of forms and documents. Procedures manual is an already made source of information so all you got to do is read the information. Examination of documents is the quicker than interviewing and Questionnaires. Records are all factual like all the rest but one of the main things may be bad about is that the information may not be as accurate as a Questionnaire and Interviewing . Input / Formatting / Validation MS Access Input Formatting Symbol. Meaning (space) Display spaces as literal characters.. ABC Display anything inside quotation marks as literal characters. ! Force left alignment instead of right alignment   Fill available space with the next character. Auto Data Types in MS Access Data Type Explanation of Data Type Text Alphanumeric Max 255 alpha-numeric, characters, 50 is the default Memo Alphanumeric Max 64000 alphanumeric characters Number Numeric Numeric values for calculation Five formats Date/Time Dates/Tinies Five date and three time formats Currency Monetary Monetary values up to 15 digits, plus decimal places AutoNumber Unique Value for each record Sequential numbers automatically inserted by access Yes/No Boolean Logical values in Yes/No, on/of for True/False formats OLE Pictures/Graphs or other OLE Object Linking and Embedding items, graphics or binary Hyperlink. Decimal placeholder and thousand date and time separators. (The actual character used depends on the settings in the Regional Settings section of the Windows Control Panel). Causes all characters to be converted to lowercase. Causes all characters to be converted to uppercase. ! Causes the input mask to display from right to left, rather than from left to right, when characters on the left side of the input mask are optional. Characters typed into the mask always fill it from left to right You can include the exclamation point anywhere in the input mask \ Causes the character that follows to be displayed as the literal character. If you create a validation rule for a field Microsoft Access doesnt normally allow a Null value to be stored in the field. If you want to allow a Null value add Is Null to the validation rule as in 8 Or Is Null. Query criteria in MS Access Field Data Field data finds an exact match for a field Smith will find smith Access is not case sensitive wildcards Two wildcards can be used to replace field characters. any single character 0 any characterds values greater than or equal to 01/12/92 Compound Criteria The user can specify more than one example and criteria at any one time.

Analysis of Cooper Industries :: Cooper Industries Business Management Essays

Analysis of Cooper Industries OVERVIEW: Cooper Industries is a broadly diversified manufacturer of electrical and general industrial products, and energy related machinery and equipment. The company operates in three different business segments with 21 separate profit centers. These segments include electrical and electronic, commercial and industrial, compression, drilling and energy equipment. The product line is consisted of cheap fuses to $3 million compressor tribune sets along with products such as hand tools and light fixtures. The company bid a $21-a-share tender offer to acquire Champion Spark Plug, manufacturer of auto spark plugs, as a counter offer for the Dana Corp.'s $17.50-a-share bid. Also, in the mean time, Cooper Industries was considering a $700 million bid for Cameron Iron Works. Even though purchasing either or both companies will give operational and organizational advantages, there were high financial risks involved. Undertaking both acquisitions would result in a 55% to 60% debt to capitalization ratio. ANALYSIS: Cooper Industries acquired more than 60 manufacturing companies over a thirty year span in order to increase the size and the scope of the company. Most of the acquired companies made it possible for Cooper to be independent of the outside environment and giving full control of the manufacturing process concerning their business while avoiding anti-trust allegations. Cooper basically purchased every company that is vital to its energy industry and all the side industries that effect it. From tools to fuses to cables to the drilling equipment was manufactured and distributed by the corporation's divisions. Each acquisition is decided from a wish list that was closely examined and studied. At the time of the take over, the Management Development & Planning division would implement the corporate strategy in a period of three to five years. This involves diversification and elimination of the products that are poor sellers. In some cases the production plant is relocated and the staff is reorganized for the best efficient set up. In time all these companies are turned into profit centers. RECOMMENDATIONS: One of my first suggestions will be to consider Cameron Iron Works first since all the valves and other natural gas and petroleum products will be more beneficiary. Apparently there is more demand for Cameron's products than the Champions. Little adjustments in the production process along with the 'Cooperization' adjustment will have make the company efficient in a short period of time. In contrast, Champion is considered to have 1950's production techniques and only one product line, spark plugs, which will require tremendous changes within the company. The other option may be to purchase both of the companies, regardless of

Britain And Australia, The Fall Of Singapore And The Great Betrayal In 1942 And Onwards

One of the important characteristics of international relationship is the ability of one country to trust the word of their partners that their partners would look after the best interest of their partners, especially after mutual action plan is being executed and undertaken. There is the proverbial thought about how political bed partners involved in global country alliances are expected scratch each other’s backs.The failure of a partner to look after and protect the interests of the other partner is a very strong incident that easily breaks the trust that binds countries together in friendship, cooperation and alliance. One of the significant setbacks of Australia during the Second World War was the fall of Singapore after the British forces, which Australia trusted to protect this Asian country from being overrun by the enemy. The prevailing feeling that surfaced after the incident was made public was the feeling of betrayal among Australians towards Britain and the Britis h army.Even disregarding the fact that Singapore is an important foothold in the Australian dominion, Australia felt betrayed because they were sent to fight in another location under Britain’s bidding to salvage an important British interest with the guarantee that British forces will look after Australian interests in the Asia-Pacific Region. It was something which they failed to do in a manner that did not provide the British with even a semblance of consolation, just mere indignation over what happened.Britain’s surrender at Singapore in February 1942 can be considered as tantamount to the Great Betrayal of Australia’s Empire because many critics and historians believe that Britain simply betrayed Australia when the British forces surrendered at Singapore at during the Second World War, considering that the same level of justification of the idea of betrayal was attributed to the concept of the â€Å"Great Betrayal of Australia’s Empire†.Karl H ack provided a scathing verdict on the Singapore 1942 issue between Australia and Britain, supporting the belief of political analysts and historians who believe that Britain’s action in Singapore in 1942 was indeed an act of betrayal towards its ally Australia. â€Å"In one sense the fall of Singapore had represented a betrayal of Australia, and so catapulted Australia into an American embrace . Hack’s position in this issue was that the British act of betrayal towards Australia’s dominion in 1942 is the contribution towards the loss of one of Australia’s important foothold in the Asian region. This is because the British poorly and inadequately attended to the military concerns involving the defense of Singapore, explaining that â€Å"Britain had encouraged Australia to commit forces to the Mediterranean, and then provided inadequate defences for Singapore . †Gerhard Weinberg made the same observation about the question of British betrayal of Au stralia, explaining that the betrayal is found in the inability of the British to come to the aid of the country which is its ally in its time of need, especially with the fact that there was an understanding between the two nations about the providing of support and assistance; Australia can help the British military strategy and at the same time provide ample and sufficient forces that can protect Australia as well as Australia’s other footholds and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. In both Australia and New Zealand, the war had somewhat similar repercussions.Both felt deserted by the home country in their hour of greatest danger; it may be an exaggeration, but not a completely unjustified one . † Singapore fell on February 1942, but as early as January, the Australian government has already impressed upon its British allies that they would consider the fall of Singapore, which was under their watch, as an â€Å"inexcusable betrayal. The telegram that travelled from Australia to London indicated how Australia was hoping that Britain would indeed hold true to its promises and â€Å"all the assurance we have been given ,† including an solid fortress that will wait for the arrival of the British fleet that will support land efforts to defend Singapore . This telegram was received by Winston Churchill, the contents of which something that Churchill was not very happy or appreciative to read or be the recipient of such note.The reported efforts of the British to save Singapore from falling (including the sending in of the 18th Division) was later regarded as a wrong move for the British, definitely unmindful and not caring anymore about the idea of betrayal that Australia might feel. â€Å"The phrase ‘inexcusable betrayal’ greatly annoyed Churchill, and he could not easily forget it.The minutes of the British War Cabinet’s meeting, which reviewed events the day after Singapore's surrender recorded that it now seemed a pity that Britain had sent the 18th Division to Singapore . † With this information, can it be now assumed that the British leaders during the war indeed betrayed Australia by showing very little consideration or little cause of concern for the interest of Australia and were just focused on winning their own goal?If this was true, then the Singapore debacle was similar to the Great Betrayal of Australia’s empire, since in both occasions, the similar idea was that Australia was abandoned by its ally Britain and left close to being helpless, defenseless and alone. This is because it trusted an ally that was not sincerely looking and protecting the interests of its allies which it relied for help during the height of the battles in the Asia Pacific Theater of Operation during the Second World War.Churchill’s oversight in what was poor defences set up in Singapore one month prior to the fall of Singapore and the planning to evacuate and not fortify the defences we re also pointing to the fact that the British was not planning on holding on to Singapore, not even for the sake of the country’s alliance with Australia, to which Singapore and its defense is important. â€Å"At this late stage, Churchill now gave urgent consideration to the evacuation of all the Allied troops at Singapore to prevent what could now be foreseen as widespread disaster†¦Any evacuation of Singapore would have appalled Australians; indeed it would be difficult to exaggerate the effect to national morale of such an apparent betrayal . † The idea of selfishness and being self centered by the British military operation in the Asia Pacific during World War II that resulted to the idea of Britain’s betrayal of Australia in Singapore and in the whole of the Asian WWII conflict was also supported by other instances that saw Britain manipulating Australia and its resources without any consideration to the Australian government, the Australian sovereign ty and the Australian interests.Hamill talked about the incident wherein the returning Australian divisions from the Middle East was redirected, without approval from Australia, to Rangoon where Britain was hoping to save its interests in Burma, which was foiled since Australian Prime Minister Curtin directed the troopship to head straight for Australia instead . The presence of the sense of betrayal by Britain of Australia as a consequence of the 1942 Singapore debacleThe justification of the feeling of betrayal of Australia by Britain can be found in how analysts try to put together actions of both countries in international organizations involving the two. Most of the time, analysts point to the reason that Australia cannot again fully trust Britain especially when concerns involve security and military owing to the presumed betrayal by the British of its Australian allies in Singapore in 1942. For Australia’s resort to the 1951 ANZUS Pact has sometimes been seen as a deci sive turning away from Britain, the result of British betrayal at Singapore . † Critics believe that actions particularly that of Australia was always towards the minimalization of dependency on other countries, or forging alliances with countries except Britain. â€Å"ANZUS symbolised Australia's new-found willingness to enter agreements which excluded Britain . †The feeling of betrayal by Britain of Australia has an effect that rippled all the way across towards the more contemporary times. While some believed that the memory of the betrayal of Britain of Australia and its territorial interests in the global stage, there are also those who used the idea and feeling of betrayal of Britain of Australia as a rallying point for Australia to justify the movements that it is making today, pointing to a decision making paradigm that highlights important historical notes as a guide towards future political actions.One of which is the lesson of the betrayal and what Australia seeks to gain, and lose, when it trusts Britain again. The betrayal somewhat became an important cornerstone towards the growth of Australian nationalism in the country, among its people and its political leaders. â€Å"Keating’s parliamentary speech accusing Britain of betraying Australia at Singapore in 1942 displayed with dramatic clarity the influence of Jack Lang's aggressive Australianism . Oddly, when the news of how the Australian prime minister poked at the British government fifty years later about the betrayal in 1942 during the visit of the Queen of Britain, the focus of the news content was about how the Queen was treated disrespectfully, the news hardly making effort to defend the country from the accusations and was merely outraged by the scandalous treatment of their Queen. â€Å"The London tabloids are in a frenzy over Mr.Keating's charge that Britain abandoned Australia during World War II ,† while others took the instance to make political appraisal of Paul Keating, saying that â€Å"In his seemingly off-hand remarks about the monarchy and his tilt at Britain’s alleged betrayal of Australia in 1942, Paul Keating is moving to place himself firmly in the tradition of the great Labor Party nationalists†¦ nor has he forgotten Britain’s alleged sins of 1942 . †While some historians do not actually support Britain when it comes to the issue of the Singapore debacle in 1942, these writers also try to put into consideration the contribution of Australian forces defending Singapore, particularly the aspect of Australian desertions at the height of the efforts to save Singapore from Japanese forces and the number of surrendering Australian soldiers who easily surrendered and gave up the defense of Singapore.â€Å"Some British historians questioned the performance of Australian troops in Singapore†¦ hether Singapore could have been saved as late as 15 February, and whether Australian desertions accelerated the final surrender . † But some historians believed that the emotional repercussion resulting from the collapse of Singapore, particularly the feeling of betrayal, was not a very important issue at all, since the most important concern of Australia was not really the fall of Singapore but the fact that the Japanese forces are inching closer and closer to Australia. â€Å"Though these incidents created great ill-feeling at the time, the lasting damage done to Anglo-Australian relations was small.The differing reactions of Australia and New Zealand to the collapse of the Singapore strategy stemmed in part from the more immediate danger which the Japanese line of advance appeared to present to the Australians . † CONCLUSION Was Britain’s action in Singapore an act of betrayal tantamount to the concept of Great Betrayal of Australia’s Empire? It looks like this is just the one and only time that the Australian government felt they were betrayed by Britain th at resulted to the loss of their former empire.If such was the case, then it can be argued that the Singapore collapse by Britain was indeed tantamount to the Great Betrayal of Australia’s Empire. But as what information from related literary sources reveal, historians and politicians chose to attack Britain solely for the Singapore oversight and misdeed. It was rarely pointed as the turning point for the crumbling of the empire, or was the action synonymous to such similar vein of thought or idea.But at some degree, the proposition of similarity in the aspect of betrayal can be accepted, and can also be argued against as well. The act of betrayal by one country towards another country especially in time of dire need, like in times of war, is something which maybe heavily discussed and analysed in many different history books. But this does not mean that it makes it easy to identify if there was indeed an act of betrayal and which country was guilty of such act of betrayal.Fo r one, the concept of betrayal is very subjective and is very difficult to objectify since it is difficult to define a socially accepted concept of betrayal, given the existing situation. The resources and options available and the considerations that decision makers have to make upon reaching the decision which was to be the root of the controversy on the act betrayal. Secondly, the aspect of ethnocentricity will often eclipse or seriously affect the objectivity of historians and book authors tackling about this particular World War II issue.There will be Australian writers and historians who will insist that their country was indeed betrayed at Singapore in 1942 and that the action was tantamount to the Great Betrayal of Australia’s Empire. While on the other hand, there will be British historians and writers who will say otherwise, that the British military action in Singapore in 1942 happened as it is after careful consideration of important priorities that somehow superc eded whatever it is that other people felt was left high and dry during this particular episode in the relationship of Australia and Britain.There will also be comments, analysis, comments and discussions about Britain’s actions in Singapore in 1942 and the possible interpretation of such action and how it is similar and leading to the Great Betrayal of Australia’s Empire coming from historians and writers who are neither British nor Australian, attacking the issue from a neutral standpoint sans the impact and effect of the sense of national pride or indignity and social justification.These were reflected earlier in the paper, as the paper, in the effort to discuss the different important sides of this issue, provided several different ideas about the issue lifted from related and credible literature. In hindsight, what can be deduced is that there was no shared opinion about how this particular event would be assessed and remembered.The split in the opinion about the presence of the act of betrayal hinged largely on the fact that neither the British nor the Australians would yield with regards to this particular issue, each country standing firm about its position that it did everything that was necessary to preserve a much greater goal and to achieve a more important objective.

Bullying at Workplace

The use of harmful communication at workplace is of international concern. In various European countries and Australia, legislators have ratified and enforced laws that warn employers against using relationships that causes suffering and discomfort in the workplace (Namie & Namie, 2003). In England and the United States, laws have been propagated in an effort to afford just, safe and secure work conditions. These regulations are enforced through associations and groups responsible for safety and health of employees and agencies liable for defending against intolerance.In the U. S.,  for example regulations have been passed in the majority of states protecting workers from harassment, assault, sexual harassment, discrimination, annoyance and stalking. (Vega & Comer, 2005) At the same time, a number of recent studies suggest that exposure to moral harassment at work is a serious international problem. It is known by different names in different places, bullying in England, murahachib u or ijime in Japan and mobbing in the USA. Differing concepts have been in use in different European countries, such as, ‘moral harassment', ‘psychological terror' and ‘victimisation'.(Einarsen et al. , 2002) Though, they all seem to refer to the same phenomenon, specifically the â€Å"systematic mistreatment of a subordinate, a colleague, or a superior, which, if continued, may cause severe social, psychological and psychosomatic problems in the victim. Exposure to such treatment has been claimed to be a more crippling and devastating problem for employees than all other kinds of work-related stress put together, and is seen by many researchers and targets alike as an extreme type of social stress at work† (Einarsen et al., 2002, p. 3) Nevertheless, workers still complain that they are intimidated, abused verbally, and, on the whole, made to feel inadequate (Daniel, 2002). Circumstances in which workers are subjected to oral assaults and to intimidating an d harassing behaviours take place regularly in organizations (Namie & Namie, 2003). Confrontations that have non-fatal consequences leave workers irritated; some quit their employments or develop foremost problems with health.Scholars who recently began investigating these behaviours at workplace infer that the constant and deliberate verbal violence coupled with scorn or threatening and harassing strategies cause physical and psychological harm which they consider as a complicated phenomenon—workplace bullying (Davenport et al. , 2002). It is estimated that as many as 8-10% of European employees may suffer from exposure to bullying and harassment at work. It prevails in both private and public organisations and finds its victims among men and women alike.Studies also show that exposure to bullying at work is a severe source of stress at work and may be a crippling and devastating problem for those exposed. (Tehrani, 2001) A victim of bullying at work seems to produce severe emotional reactions such as fear, anxiety, helplessness, depression and shock. It appears to alter the victims’ perceptions of their work-environment to one of threat, danger, insecurity, and self-questioning, which may result in pervasive emotional, psychosomatic and psychiatric problems.Moral harassment also has negative effects on the organisation and lowers productivity in the workplace. (Vega & Comer, 2005) Researchers implemented the term â€Å"workplace bullying† from their counterparts in Europe, England, Australia, Canada, and other states worldwide where research has led to legislative and legal intrusions to prevent and highlight workplace bullying. Though, American and Japanese researchers have been slower than their colleagues worldwide to examine the nature of workplace bullying.Although research into psychological and emotional problems at workplace in Japan and America has led to legislative and legal acts to manage aggression, stalking, sexual harassme nt, and discrimination, workplace bullying has not been accepted in America and Japan as a special phenomenon. Consequently, legislative field in these countries concerning workplace abuse issues are underdeveloped. (Vogel, 2002) There are numerous definitions of workplace bullying; the one used at this point is â€Å"unwanted, offensive, humiliating, undermining behaviour towards an individual or groups of employees.Such persistently malicious attacks on personal or professional performance are typically unpredictable, irrational, and unfair. This abuse of power or position can cause such chronic stress and anxiety that people gradually lose belief in themselves, suffering physical ill health and mental distress as a result† (Rayner, et al. , 2002, p. xi). Bullying refers to all situations where one or more people feel subjected to negative behaviour from others at work over a period of time and in situations where, for different reasons, they are unable to defend themselves against these actions.Typically, a victim is constantly teased, pursued, badgered and insulted and perceives that he or she has little recourse to retaliate in kind. (The Mobbing Encyclopaedia, 2006) We may distinguish between work-related bullying such as being exposed to unreasonable deadlines, unmanageable workloads or other kinds of behaviour that make the work situation difficult for the victim, and bullying that is primarily related to the person, such as insulting remarks, excessive teasing, gossip and rumours, social isolation and exclusion. This kind of behaviour is common and has been experienced by most people at work from time to time.As a single episode in a positive social climate, such actions may even be taken to be harmless. However, when behaviour that is perceived as unwanted by the recipient, is systematically and continually aimed at a particular person, and especially in a situation were the victim feels defenceless against the actions or the people performing them, it becomes an act of moral harassment. (The Mobbing Encyclopaedia, 2006) In the recent past three countries in the EU – Sweden, Belgium and France have enacted legislation to counter the incidence of moral harassment and more countries are expected to follow their lead.In this research assignment, the reasons and incidence of moral harassment are examined in different cultures, countries and legal systems to assess the current scenario, measures currently in place as well as those proposed to counter the problem, both within and outside the legal framework and possible solutions and measure, which could help in countering the issue. The countries chosen for the assignment are Britain, Sweden, France and Japan. All of these countries are developed and industrialised nations with democratic political systems, strong legal frameworks, emancipated work cultures and progressive thinking.Two of the chosen countries, namely Sweden and France have decided to introduce legislat ion to check the menace whereas the other two have not, possibly feeling it more appropriate to term it a social issue that can be solved through awareness, dialogue and discussion. Again Japan has a tradition and work culture very different from the other three and this contributes to dissimilarities in both origin and response to the issue of harassment in the workplace. It is hoped that this paper will succeed in examining the issue in detail and throw some fresh and engaging perspectives on this annoying social malaise.Background, Definitions and Legal Overview Background Moral harassment in the workplace is a global problem and exists in some form or other in all workplaces across continents and nationalities. The problem was considered commonplace even in 70’s and it was only at the initiative of Scandinavian countries like Sweden and Norway, that the matter started receiving international attention. The British call the phenomenon bullying, a rather innocuous term hist orically linked to students in public schools being asked to run errands for their seniors.The problem is however not restricted to schools any longer. (Tehrani, 2001) In the United States it is known as mobbing, again a very unrepresentative and confusing term. Persecutors do join up sometimes to harass in groups or â€Å"mobs†, but harassment also happens in many one to one situations. The ramifications of moral harassment are thus far more extensive and represent a serious and vexing social problem, which needs eradication from civilised society. (Olweus, 2003) Workplace bullying has yet to become a regularly utilized term in the U. S.workplace or as a form of mistreatment from which American statutory law provides worker protection (Yamada, 2000). Unlike sexual harassment, which is defined by statutory and case law (Dougherty & Smythe, 2004), bullying is without a specific, unified vernacular and is often relegated to the schoolyard (Olweus, 2003). The connection to schoo lyard bullying can be stigmatising through association with childishness or weakness. Since people organize, structure, and create their experiences, interactions and realities through language (Spender, 1984), the absence of agreed upon terminology frustrates U.S. workers' efforts to name and make sense of these experiences and may contribute to their reported sense of feeling â€Å"crazy† (Tracy et al. , 2004). Workplace bullying, as a unique phenomenon, is also referred to as mobbing (Davenport et al. , 2002), harassment (Bjorkqvist et al. , 1994), psychological terror (Leymann, 1996), emotional abuse (Keashly, 2001), and victimization (Einarsen & Raknes, 1997). Mobbing, a term originating in Swedish research (Leymann, 1990), initially denoted numerous bullies singling out one person, but this distinction has since fallen away (Davenport et al., 2002). Over time, the two central terms bullying and mobbing have come to indicate virtually the same phenomenon. In actual fact workplace harassment is an omnibus list of unfair and uncalled for persecution in the workplace that can take many forms in its expression and execution. It is not limited to sexual harassment, per se, though sexual harassment is a major component of the harassment that goes on in offices and other establishments, worldwide. It could relate to and be caused because of sex, religion, creed, ethnicity, physical appearance or just plain dislike.It is a form of offensive treatment or behaviour, which to a reasonable person creates an intimidating, hostile or abusive work environment. It may be sexual, racial, based on gender, national origin, age, disability, religion or a person's sexual orientation. It may also encompass other forms of hostile, intimidating, threatening, humiliating or violent behaviour, which are offensive or intimidatory in nature. The central characteristics that differentiate workplace bullying from other negative social interactions at work are persistence (Mikke lsen & Einarsen, 2001), patterned negative acts (Einarsen et al., 2002), widespread harm (Davenport et al. , 2002), and escalation (Lutgen-Sandvik, 2003). Furthermore, bullying is linked to extremely hostile work environments (Salin, 2003); these environments are most likely both the medium and the outcome of bullying. That is, bullying is more likely to emerge in hostile work environments and also contributes to such environments (Crawford, 2001). Many researchers seek to differentiate workplace bullying from sexual and racial harassment (Leymann, 1996).Adams and Crawford (1992) expressly state that â€Å"although some people will insist otherwise, bullying at work is separate from the recognised problems of sexual harassment or racism† (p. 10). Others claim that the key legal issues that â€Å"distinguishes sexual harassment from bullying is that†¦ harassment is somehow based on gender†¦ and that men and women are treated differently† (Pryor & Fitzgerald, 2 003, p. 80). On the other hand, researchers may seek legitimacy for the construct of workplace bullying by closely linking it to racial or sexual harassment (Randall, 2001).For example, Einarsen and colleagues (1994) argue that, â€Å"sexual and racial harassment represent different aspects of the same problem† (Lee, 2001, p. 208). Lee (2001) argues â€Å"however, if sexual harassment and racial harassment are defined as only types of bullying, this might undermine the specificity and visibility of sexual and racial harassment† (p. 209). Interactions exist between sexual harassment, racial harassment, and workplace bullying; nevertheless, it seems important not to conflate types of harassment in a way that obscures the distinctive features of each (Lee, 2001). DefinitionsDefinitions of workplace bullying (or mobbing) vary by author, country and academic discipline, and there is no universally agreed-upon definition. There are, however, more similarities than difference s in present definitions of bullying as a unique phenomenon. This is a partial rendering of researchers who study workplace bullying, but provides the ways in which the foundational scholars and professionals have framed and defined the issue. Other researchers generally adopt one or more elements of following definitions. Consequently providing a more extensive list would potentially be more repetitive than revealing.European Parliament defines bullying as, â€Å"A lack of humanity at the workplace, personal experiences of bullying at work, a feeling of exclusion from the social community there, encountering irreconcilable demands at work and not having the wherewithal to meet these demands. † On the other hand, International Labour Office definition states that bullying is qualified as: â€Å"Offensive behaviour through vindictive, cruel, malicious or humiliating attempts to undermine an individual or groups of employees †¦ It involves ganging up on or ‘mobbingà ¢â‚¬â„¢ a targeted employee and subjecting that person to psychological harassment.It includes constant negative remarks or criticisms, isolating a person from social contacts and gossiping or spreading false information. † Rayner et al. (2002) state that bullying is â€Å"unwanted, offensive, humiliating, undermining behaviour towards an individual or groups of employees. Persistent malicious attacks on personal or professional performance that are typically unpredictable, irrational and often unfair. This abuse of power can cause such chronic stress and anxiety that people gradually lose belief in themselves, suffering physical ill health and mental distress as a result† (Rayner et al., 2002, p. xi) They also argue that bullying is â€Å"a situation where one or several individuals persistently over a period of time perceive themselves to be on the receiving end of negative actions from one or several persons, in a situation where the target of bullying has difficult y defending him or herself against these actions. We will not refer to a one-off incident as bullying† (Rayner et al. , 2002, p. 24) Some researchers find workplace bullying in a huge number of harmful conditions arising out of nonverbal and verbal contact.Ramsey (2002) believe, that workplace bullying is: â€Å"Any behaviour that frightens, threatens or intimidates another person qualifies as bullying. Besides physical force, the most common types of bullying include: verbal abuse, written, spoken or implied threats, name-calling and racial slurs, vandalism, put-downs. † (p. 2) Randall (2001) argues that bullying is â€Å"the aggressive behaviour arising from the deliberate intent to cause physical and psychological distress to others† (p. 9)Australian researchers like, O’Hagan (2002) believe that workplace bullying is â€Å"workplace behaviour that is inappropriate, unreasonable, humiliating, denigrating, that offends and intimidates, and affects health , well-being and undermines productivity. † (p. 1) However, American researchers define workplace bullying as â€Å"emotional assault that begins when an individual becomes a target of disrespectful and harmful behaviours, innuendo, rumours, and public discrediting; a hostile environment is created in which one individual gathers others to willingly, or unwillingly, participate in continuous malevolent actions to force a person out†¦The individual experiences increasing distress, illness and social misery. † (Davenport et al. , 2002, p. 33) Scandinavian researchers argue that bullying lies in â€Å"harassing, offending, socially excluding someone or negatively affecting someone's work tasks. In order for the label bullying (or mobbing) to be applied to a particular activity, interaction or process it has to occur repeatedly and regularly (i. e. , weekly) and over a period of time (i. e. , about six months).Bullying is an escalating process in the course of which t he person confronted ends up in an inferior position and becomes the target of systematic negative social acts. A conflict cannot be called bullying if the incident is an isolated event or if two parties of approximately equal ‘strength' are in conflict’ (Einarsen et al. , 2003, p. 15) British researcher Glendinning (2001) posits that workplace bullying is â€Å"a management style that uses â€Å"repeated aggressive behaviour that deliberately causes physical or psychological torment† (pp. 3-4).He adds that it is also, â€Å"the repeated, less favourable treatment of a person by another in the workplace, which may be considered unreasonable and inappropriate workplace practice. It includes behaviour that intimidates, offends, degrades, or humiliates a worker, possibly in front of co-workers, clients or customers (pp. 3-4). Most literature uses the term bullying to label this extreme, persistent form of workplace abuse. Despite the common terminology in internat ional research, the term workplace bullying has yet to become widely used by American and Japanese academics (Lutgen-Sandvik, 2005).The following definition is a essence of the aforementioned body of work: Workplace bullying is a pattern of persistent, offensive, intimidating, malicious, insulting, or exclusionary discursive and non-discursive behaviours that targets perceive as intentional efforts to harm, control, or drive them from the workplace. Bullying is often escalatory in nature and linked to hostile work environments. The principal effects are damage or impairment to targets and workgroups and obstruction of organizational goals and processes. Legal OverviewWorkplace bullying erodes interpersonal relationships outside of work (Davenport et al. , 2002), and evidence â€Å"points to the potential for damage to those who have witnessed bullying at work† (Rayner et al. , 2002, p. 189). Co-workers are secondary targets of workplace bullying, similar to persons who witnes s and are psychologically marked by acts of workplace violence and murder (Barling, 1996). When co-workers witness others being bullied, they make the quite logical assumption that they could be targeted in a similar fashion and hypervigilance becomes a permanent feature of work life (Lockhart, 1997).Fear, emotional exhaustion, and guilt increase the likelihood of staff turnover. Furthermore, witnesses report higher stress levels and intentions to leave than do non-observers (Vartia, 2001). Given the destructive results of bullying, many find it difficult to believe this behaviour is unintentional. Even the detailed list of examples of harassment is not exhaustive and perpetrators can constantly think up new ways of tormenting their victims.Harassment can occur in numerous ways, some of which will be obvious but there will be others, quite subtle and difficult to explain. Further examples of harassment are the withholding of information which can affect the victim’s performan ce, ignoring views and opinions, setting unreasonable/impossible deadlines, giving unmanageable workloads, humiliating staff in front of others, being shouted at or being the target of spontaneous rage. As such, harassment can take a variety of shapes and forms and can manifest itself in the unlikeliest of situations.(Tehrani, 2001) In the UK, it is important to specify and identify harassment separately as, unlike bullying, many forms of discrimination are outlawed by specific legislation to which a victim can turn for recourse. The Health and Safety Executive of the United Kingdom states that bullying at work is a cause of stress. They state that â€Å"stress at work can be triggered or made worse where ‘there is prolonged conflict between individuals, including †¦ bullying or where staff are treated with contempt or indifference. † (Unison, 2003)Persistent exposure to bullying is also likely to lead to behavioural and attitudinal problems among workers. It can l ead to an increase in accidents, lack of concentration and increased use of alcohol and tobacco consumption. Exposure to persistent and regular bullying may also make it difficult for workers to cope with daily tasks. Other symptoms of bullying include anxiety, headaches, nausea, ulcers, various illnesses of organs such as the kidney, contemplating suicide, sleeplessness, skin rashes, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, bursting into tears and loss of self-confidence.

Free Essays on Soviet Collapse

Momentous events in history are often looked in hindsight as having been inevitable. An example of this is the collapse of the Soviet empire in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This event, utterly unimaginable just a few years earlier, was immediately greeted with a flood of literature arguing that it was obviously preordained. In fact, it was recently written that â€Å"The end of the Soviet Union was predetermined when Khrushchev began a process of de-Stalinization.† This statement, while very concise, makes enormous assertions about the very nature of the Soviet political structure. If we are to accept this statement, we must also implicitly accept that the system was not able to sustain itself without a constant use of power and that it was so very rigid that it was destined to collapse if any reforms at all were implemented without the use of deadly force. This is completely untrue. During its relatively short post-Stalinist history, the Soviet system underwent an impressive amount of political, economic, and social transformation quite successfully. None of these changes threatened the viability of the system in any way. Since de-Stalinization is a multidimensional phenomenon, it is now necessary to examine the reforms implemented by Krushchev and attempt to pinpoint their effects on the system as a whole. Upon coming into power in 1953, Khrushchev proceeded to dismantle Stalin’s personality cult. He denounced Stalin’s crimes against his own people and proceeded to undo some of their effects. He also implemented tremendous economic changes which fundamentally altered the relationship between the state and its citizens. The end of the Stalin era was a complex event with enormous repercussions. Had Stalin been a dictator who took power by rallying military support and staging a coup d’etat, his death would have certainly meant the beginning of the end for the system which he had created. However, this ... Free Essays on Soviet Collapse Free Essays on Soviet Collapse Momentous events in history are often looked in hindsight as having been inevitable. An example of this is the collapse of the Soviet empire in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This event, utterly unimaginable just a few years earlier, was immediately greeted with a flood of literature arguing that it was obviously preordained. In fact, it was recently written that â€Å"The end of the Soviet Union was predetermined when Khrushchev began a process of de-Stalinization.† This statement, while very concise, makes enormous assertions about the very nature of the Soviet political structure. If we are to accept this statement, we must also implicitly accept that the system was not able to sustain itself without a constant use of power and that it was so very rigid that it was destined to collapse if any reforms at all were implemented without the use of deadly force. This is completely untrue. During its relatively short post-Stalinist history, the Soviet system underwent an impressive amount of political, economic, and social transformation quite successfully. None of these changes threatened the viability of the system in any way. Since de-Stalinization is a multidimensional phenomenon, it is now necessary to examine the reforms implemented by Krushchev and attempt to pinpoint their effects on the system as a whole. Upon coming into power in 1953, Khrushchev proceeded to dismantle Stalin’s personality cult. He denounced Stalin’s crimes against his own people and proceeded to undo some of their effects. He also implemented tremendous economic changes which fundamentally altered the relationship between the state and its citizens. The end of the Stalin era was a complex event with enormous repercussions. Had Stalin been a dictator who took power by rallying military support and staging a coup d’etat, his death would have certainly meant the beginning of the end for the system which he had created. However, this ...

Becton Dickinsonproposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Becton Dickinsonproposal - Essay Example The primary concern of all these people at HMC is reducing the budget deficit through price reduction and Joanne is charged with a specific task. She will make all efforts to reduce prices without considering other factors. The other divisions report rapport with end-users but the key persons at HMC are obviously Stan Delaney and Judy Koski who have the authority and capacity to look beyond mere prices and weigh the value of services offered by BD. Ted Barber, of City Surgical, has worked at HMC and is today has a 'strong lock' on supplies to HMC, supplying 80% of their requirements of medical supplies. Though he is out of the organization he wields considerable influence on HMC. His concern, naturally, is the good of his own distribution company. Becton Dickinson (BD) is faced with the threat of global competition and must change to meet it. Ed Haire was wrong; the competitor is no fly-by-night organization. Terumo products were being used earlier and the needles and syringes have also been approved. Terumo has a product portfolio of more than 1000 products and has 28% share of the overall world market and 33 % share of the market in syringes and needles. They have recently begun production in the US any misgivings the customers have will be allayed through a product manufactured in the US. BD shall also have to compete in the international market, especially once the Singapore plant commences production. Driving this change has to be the CEO, Raymond Gilmartin. The chief of Supply Chain Management, Alfred Battaglia, is one of the few people in BD who has hands-on experience of the advantages of consolidation of marketing, sales and distribution and will be vital for forming new policy and help to convince other personnel of the advantages of multidivisional marketing. Any change in marketing structure has to involve Mark Thordahl who is charged corporate planning. Noah Gresham and his team of Deelo and Gormally who handle national and key customers will be the key players in change implementation. Bette Weber, Corporate Marketing Manager and Naz Bhimji shall also have important roles to play since they head the 'largest opportunity' areas. The primary concern of this guiding team has to be the challenge BD faces in adapting to the changing market scenario. Smaller players will continue to emerge and compete against individual divisions through price reductions and other marketing efforts. The divisions will find these situations difficult to handle by themselves. HMC is just one case that reminds the management of the urgency of the situation. Giving a price reduction to HMC is an exercise in fire fighting; BD must strategize its options to stay ahead of the competition. BD has correctly identified the path - multidivisional marketing. However, BD needs to retain HMC in its customer portfolio. BD must prepare an overall plan based on its range of products and advantages accruing from multi-division marketing where HMC has to be demonstrated the advantages of buying BD products. Given HMC's financial position the advantage has to be measurable in money terms and must be shown to be much more than the 15% discount offered by Terumo. Expertise for making such a presentation exists in the company and 10 days is adequate. Question 3 A tremendous marketing opportunity presents itself to BD. It can use this chance to improve its market share and profitability.

Comparing the Windows 2003 Server and Windows 2008 Server Operating Essay

Comparing the Windows 2003 Server and Windows 2008 Server Operating System - Essay Example Windows server also manages domain and its client’s creation, maintenance and security. Domain of windows refer to the notion of network center where all requests for accessing data and information from peer connections on network are received and processed. The entire data of the domain is stored within the server giving physical protection and control of the users, their activities, authority, rights, positions and privileges. Windows servers come in various editions such as Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition and Web Edition. Each type of editions has different purpose and price and the user should select the edition that fits his budget and meets his needs. (Microsoft) It uses .NET technologies which is very powerful state of the art truly object oriented technology. Figure 1 below shows summary of its features, news about updates, requirements, compatibility, interface, installation, variants (editions), and versions. (Theosfiles) The family of Windows Server 2008 includes Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Windows Web Server 2008 R2 each one has its own long list of cost and benefits which can be studied separately at Microsoft Website. As a case study, features of Standard Edition are presented here in Figure 3 which includes news, summary, requirements, compatibility, editions and versions, etc. (Theosfiles) Any decision of migration from Windows Server 2003 to 2008 requires critical planning of users account and their rights and data. Complete analysis of compatibility of hardware and software is also required by way of investigating whether each and every inventory item of hardware and software is operational and compatible with Windows Server 2008. Costs of new device drivers, software upgrades and hardware are collected for accurate working. Cost and benefit analysis of upgrading must