Quality Indicators Relevant to Early Childhood Education

There are various significant practices which promote health and safety in early childhood centres to take in to account. This essay focuses on nutrition across the early years, providing a safe environment and identifying and responding to childhood illness and how teachers can encourage and promote these practices to the children. Auckland Regional Public Health Service (2008) states that during early childhood, children form lifelong eating habits, therefore it is important to have a focus on nutrition across the early years in order to foster a healthy eating culture and enable children to develop healthy behaviours in relation to food.A teacher has an important role in helping children develop these behaviours and can promote healthy eating and healthy food choices in a number of ways. Teachers can promote good nutrition by including children in the cooking process or growing fruits and vegetables within the centre environment. These experiences provide ample opportunities for t he discussion of nutrition and what is healthy and unhealthy. The Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2008) asserts that children must be served food at appropriate times and that it is to meet the nutritional needs of each child.It explains that all food provided during the hours a service is open must be recorded. These records must show the type of food provided and be kept for three months after the serving date. Promoting food safety to the children is also an important aspect of nutrition, this includes role modelling the careful storage of food, hygienic preparation and use of tongs when serving food. Providing a safe environment gives children a better place to play and allows them the freedom to explore their environment without the risk of injury.MoE (2008) declares that ample and changeable indoor and outdoor equipment, resources and furniture must be provided for the children and that it also needs to be appropr iate for the varying abilities of the children using it. Teachers are able to promote a safe environment by encouraging children to play safely. This includes sharing, gentle hands, walking feet, sun safety and water safety. The MoE (2008) is aware an area cannot be completely hazard free so requires a â€Å"hazard identification and management system† and uggests that all realistic steps are taken to minimise risks, be this by redirecting the children or limiting their access to areas where hazards may be. Another important way teachers can promote a safe environment is through active supervision and setting up engaging and appropriate activities for the children to be involved with. One of the most significant practices in promoting health, wellbeing and a safe environment is being able to identify and respond to childhood illness. Teachers need to be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of illness and be able to administer the appropriate first aid.The MoE (2008) decla res that children who become poorly while at a service must be kept at a safe distance away from the other children in order to reduce the risk of contamination and the spread of illness. It is the teachers’ responsibility that this happens to protect not only the children but the teachers and whanau too. Healthy Messages (Ministry of Education, 1997) suggests that early childhood centres develop and change policies so that they promote a safe and healthy environment and that these policies are a good way to introduce children to healthy messages.For example, how to avoid the spread of infectious illness through personal hygiene procedures, washing of soiled children procedures and hygienic laundering and cleaning procedures. As discussed above, encouraging healthy eating and good nutrition, providing a safe environment and recognising and responding to childhood illnesses are all important practices to foster. Teachers have an important role in promoting these practices and by effectively performing them, they will be promoting good health and safety in an early childhood setting.Reference List: Auckland Regional Public Health Service. (2008). Food For Under 5's: A practical guide to food and nutrition for early childhood education services. Retrieved 17th August 2012, from http://www. arphs. govt. nz/Portals/0/Health%20Information/HealthyEnvironments/Early%20childhood%20education%20centres/ECEC%20Food%20for%20under%205s/Food%20for%20under%205s%202008/Food%20For%20Under%205's%20ECE%20resource%20Final%20Jun e%202008-1. pdf Ministry of Education. (2008).Licensing Criteria for Early Childhood Education and Care Centres 2008 And Early Childhood Education Curriculum Framework. Wellington: New Zealand Government. Retrieved 17th August 2012, from http://www. lead. ece. govt. nz/ServiceTypes/CentreBasedECEServices. aspx Ministry of Health. (1997). Nga kupu oranga: Healthy messages. Wellington: Ministry of Health. Republished on the web:  Ã‚   November 2003. Retrieved 25th August 2012, from http://www. arphs. govt. nz/Portals/0/Health%20Information/HealthyEnvironments/Early%20childhood%20education%20centres/Nga%20Kupu%20Oranga%20HealthyMessages. pdf

Has the raise in the tuition-fees rule affected student’s degree choices?

Introduction The underlying aim of this research is to identify the impact of the changes suggested and implemented as part of Brown Review of Funding, in 2010, and to establish whether this has changed the overall funding approach to be taken by higher educational establishments, while also approving the raising of the fees’ cap up to a maximum of ?9,000. The previous maximum was ?3,375; therefore, the increase in tuition fees was potentially going to have a dramatic impact on the overall desirability for higher education and the degree choices that are made by students. This research paper aims to ascertain the decisions made by students and the impact that these fees have had on the industry, as a whole. Literature Review Issues relating to the funding policy of education, with the fees charged to students arguably being one of the more high-profile elements of the policy, are many and complex. Existing literature in this area has therefore looked at various different aspects of the funding policy, all of which may be relevant when it comes to determining how the student body is likely to react to the changes, at ground level. Research by Chowdry et al., 2010, suggested that the complexity of the repayment system was in itself a potentially negative factor, although this did create a situation whereby the burden of these increased fees does vary, depending on underlying factors among students, such as parental income and the eligibility for grants and loans. Research by Chowdry indicated that the average debt for students when graduating is likely to be approximately ?59,100. Given this dramatic change, it is unsurprising that there is a relatively large amount of literature looking at student uptake of a university education, although historically this has largely been focused on the links between family background and university participation. For example, research by Blanden and Machin, in 2004, looked at the link between university participation and the achievements of students, based on parental income, both before and after the year 1998, where withdrawals had had a dramatic impact on the way in which university life was funded. This work was then updated in 2008, yet no direct impact was found, creating a gap in the literature. Research in this area also exists within the United States, with researchers such as Kane, 1994, using variances across the states and within the states to monitor and track student participation, based on tuition fees. This research was undertaken in a quantitative fashion, on the grounds that an increase of $1,000 in the tuition fees being charged could ultimately results in a decrease in attendance of approximately 3.7%. Other research has taken a slightly different approach when looking at the impact of financial support, rather than necessarily considering the impact of increased fees, with Dynarski (2000) finding that an increase of $1,000 in aid increased the level of participation by 4%, thus showing a greater sensitivity to assistance than it does from increasing fees. Research does, however, suggest that both the availability of assistance and changes in tuition fees are having a direct impact on the willingness of individuals to participate in higher education, yet the precise impact of the new UK reforms in 2010 still remain relatively unexplored. Research Philosophy, Strategy and Methodology The purpose of this research is to look at the substance of quantitative changes and the impact that these have had on an individual, to make decisions in relation to participation in higher education. Type of ResearchAs the key issues at the heart of the research are to look at the thought patterns and behaviours of individuals, the appropriate research philosophy is interpretivist and phenomenological in nature, ensuring that the researcher takes into account the conscious decisions of the individual. The reasoning behind the decision to adopt this approach is based on the recognition that human decision-making is controlled by a variety of factors and not simply based on quantitative, rational and objective decision-making. The research will be a combination of quantitative and qualitative, as it is anticipated that an analysis of participation, such as that within the existing literature can be undertaken to determine the figures behind the change, yet it is also necessary to loo k for a descriptive element to the research, so that the thought patterns of students can be analysed. This phenomenological approach is much more humanistic in nature and recognises that opinion will be central to the ultimate findings within this research; however, this should be undertaken with a quantitative support structure, where appropriate.Research Approach and StrategyThe underlying research approach is inductive in nature and involves taking a particular situation, in this case the increase in tuition fees, and developing general ideas and theories as to how this is likely to impact on various different elements of higher education. This will include not only looking at overall levels of participation, but also at the impact which this has had on decision-making in relation to which degree should be studied. This research being inductive enables the researcher to start by looking at the factual basis of an increase in fees and then to spread out from this point, in order to gather ideas and theories. MethodologyThe chosen methodology therefore will be to look at the precise nature of the changes and to identify any trends in participation between the two previous increases in fees and the year after the increase in fees, something which can be achieved by looking at the figures and facts from various institutions, before then going on to take the humanistic approach by undertaking questionnaires, interviews and focus groups with students and potential students, to determine whether the increase in fees leads to changes in decision-making in relation to the choice of course that can be attributed to the figures that have been identified. Ethical Implications There are several key considerations when it comes to ethical concerns during research of any nature and, in particular, in this case many of which are identified by Saunders et al., (2003). Some of the ethical considerations which have potential implications for this research have been identified, and the researcher is mindful that other ethical considerations may arise, on a case-by-case basis. The main concern at this stage is linked to the fact that information needs to be gained directly from the student in relation to their financial status and, as such, the privacy of those individuals is crucial, with individuals having to be confident that the information being provided will be maintained in confidence, although the research is going to be objective in nature when dealing with the information the participants provide. Participation in the research must necessarily be entirely voluntary, with any participant being free to leave the study at any point. Participants need to be clear on the purpose of the research and the role which they play, as well as offering them the opportunity to make changes to the responses and to gain access to their responses, at any point, to check that they have been reported accurately and make changes, if they deem appropriate. Data Collection Data collection from primary sources, i.e. students and potential students, will be gathered through the method of questionnaires, interviews and focus groups and will target existing students and those students who are making their higher education decision, at the moment, or in the foreseeable future. On the whole, therefore, this will focus on the age category of 17 to 20 years old, although where possible, some more mature students will also be interviewed, as they may have different perspectives in terms of their higher education decisions. The most appropriate form of data collection for the questionnaires has been determined as being online, as this is likely to encourage the greatest response, due to its flexibility and the likelihood that the majority of students and potential students will have at least an acceptable level of IT experience to be able to complete a questionnaire online. As interviews will also be conducted, the fact that the questionnaires will be on closed-end questions that can provide quantitative analysis does not present a particular limitation. A copy of the enclosed questionnaire will be contained in the appendix to this proposal and the format of the interviews and focus groups will be the same as questionnaires, but encouraging longer and more open ended responses, in order to obtain a better feel for the thought patterns behind the responses. A test pilot of 10 questionnaires has been undertaken and the responses are contained in the appendix. Analysis of Pilot Data The data collected as part of the pilot is contained in the appendix and it is concluded that the questions are appropriate when it comes to meeting the aims and objectives of the research. By asking the respondents about their current position in terms of their education and whether they are currently considering a university course as well as looking at the factors that are likely to influence the decision, a broader understanding of the influence of the increased fees can be ascertained. This questionnaire will also form the basis for the interviews and open-ended answers are expected in relation to these questions, offering explanations as to why certain answers have been given by the broader questionnaire sample. For example, all the respondents stated cost as an influence on their university choices and 6 respondents stated that it was their main factor when it came to the decision-making process, suggesting that there is on the face of it a strong indication that this factor is going have a direct bearing on university choices. This questionnaire will then lay the foundation for the broader analysis and in order to determine the precise impact that the increased fees are likely to have, and not simply determining that they do in fact have an impact, but rather, it is the nature of the impact that is going to be the formative part of this research. Overall Evaluation The research strategy, on the whole, is appropriate to the underlying aim of the research, as it combines quantitative information relating to the number of students and the choices in relation to courses. This is then to be combined with the thoughts and ideas of students entering into education, to ascertain the reasons behind these quantitative changes. This issue is, however, likely to be personal to individuals and, as such, there will be limitations in the fact that it is not possible to gain responses from every single potential students simply cannot be obtained on generalisations which are likely to be present during research of this nature. References BLANDEN, J., GREGG, P. & MACHIN, S. (2003) Changes in Educational Inequality. CMPO Working Paper Series No 03/079. BLANDEN, J & MACHIN, S. (2008) ‘Up and Down the Generational Income Ladder in Britain: Past Changes and Future Prospects’ National Institute Economic Review 2008; 205; 101. BROWNE REVIEW (2010) Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education in England. www.independent.gov.uk/browne-report CHOWDRY, H., CRAWFORD, C., DEARDEN, L., GOODMAN, A. and VIGNOLES, A. (2010) ‘Widening Participation in Higher Education: Analysis Using Linked Administrative Data’, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Working Paper W10/04.

History of the Event Industry Essay

Throughout the years the event industry has gained a major place in everyday life. From the first events of the 19th century, such as the Great Exhibition, to a 2012 music festival. The event industry has developed a huge help to our country’s economy. To the extent of which the â€Å"government is supporting and promoting events as part of their strategies for economic development† (Bowdin and Allen, 2006). There are several types of events. Nowadays, there is almost an event for anything imaginable. First, we will analyse what exactly an event is and the different type of events, then we will be looking at the origins of years. Therefore, we will be able to estimate the future of events. First, there are several definitions of event from different authors. Accepted Practices Exchange Industry Glossary (2003) defines an event as â€Å"an organized occasion such as a meeting, convention, exhibition, special event, gala dinner, etc. An event is often composed of several different yet related functions†. Events enable people to meet up and exchange. There is a large variety of events within four main categories: leisure events, cultural events, organizational events and personal events. Leisure events are an important and growing part of the event industry. Indeed, sport events can generate a huge amount of money for a country because they do not only attract the locals, they attract tourists. Therefore, advertisement comes in thanks to the media coverage, generating extra money. Sport events not only bring benefits(to their host governments and sport organisations, but also benefit participants such as players, coaches and officials, and bring entertainment to spectators (Bowdin and Allen, 2006, p. 20). Cultural events can be ceremonial, sacred, heritage, artistic or musical (Shone and Parry, 2004). Events like these are highly linked with tourism, so they generate income for the event hosts and for the community as the tourists do not usually only go to the event, they stay in hotels, go shopping, etc. Most towns are known thanks to the festivals they host, for instance, Reading is known for the music festival named after the town, the Reading Festival. Organisational events include sales, conferences, charities, politic meetings, business meetings, etc. If we look into conferences, Rogers defines conferences as â€Å"an out-of-office meeting of at least four hours duration involving a minimum of eight people† (Rogers, 2003 p.19). For instance, the G20 conference reunites the leaders of the top 20 world economies to discuss the current situation and make important decisions. These conferences have high importance so the planning of the event has to be perfect. Finally, personal events are the last type of event. It can include weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or funera ls. Personal events are smaller than the other type of events. Weddings are very popular in the event industry; people spend a lot of money on their weddings therefore expecting a perfect organisation. Personal events are supposedly events where the host has a personal link with every guest and the event is usually put together for one or two people. Having seen all the different types of events, we can now analyse the history of the event industry. First of all, the event industry began when events needed trained event managers. However, historically, the organisation of small events did not require any specific expertise. For instance, a wedding would be managed by the bride’s mother. Some families still do it that way; however, some people prefer to pay a professional event manager to avoid having to do the numerous tasks and to avoid the stress involved in organising such an important event. Therefore, event managers began to emerge. Moreover, when big events emerged, an event manager was essential. Such as, the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1851 which was â€Å"conceived to symbolize this industrial, military and economic superiority of Great Britain.† (http://www.victorianstation.com/palace.html, 2001 [online]). It was an event recognized almost everywhere in the world which hugely helped the British economy as it was a great way to promote their industry. According to Dale (1995) the Great Exhibition was a big success which hosted over 6 million visitors. The event made a considerable profit of over  £180 000 (Exhibition Committee, 1995). This was the first big international trade show and therefore many exhibition venues started emerging, for instance, the Royal Agricultural Hall in 1862 or Olympia a few years later (Bowdin and Allen, 2006, p.6). So the 1850’s is when the organisational events started to emerge but the sport events started many years before that. Indeed, sport events, such as, the equestrian event called the Royal Ascot appeared in 1711 and the famous Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in 1829. The UK is known for its sporting events and most of them are originally from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Sporting events were very popular at the time and still are, so they kept emerging throughout the years. For example, the FA Cup emerged in 1872 and Wimbledon appeared in 1877 which is a huge success in the tennis world and it represented the higher class in the British society. These events attracted many visitors, therefore â€Å"providing major benefits for local economies† (English Tourism, 1999). Cultural events such as, music festivals began to come forth in the event industry from the early 1870’s with the Workington Festival. Later in that period, the Last Night of the Proms appeared which is probably one of the biggest music events in the world (Bowdin and Allen, 2006, p.7). The Last Night of the Proms was set up to encourage people who would not normally attend to classical concerts but who would be attracted by the low ticket prices and a laid-back atmosphere. Robert Newman, the founder of the event, (Nedal, 2010,[online]) announced his goals as such: â€Å"I am going to run nightly concerts and train the public by easy stages. Popular at first, gradually raising the standard until I have created a public for classical and modern music.† After noticing the growth of events, Wood (1982) drew attention to the start of the event industry. She recognised that organising popular celebrations required wealth for people to participate therefore bank holidays emerged, such as, the Silver Jubilee and the Golden Jubilee. These bank holidays enabled the working class to participate in the events thanks to their paid days off. This is when the government starts paying more attention to the event industry. After the Second World War, events are recognised to be of high importance to the economy of the country. Indeed, hundreds of festivals emerged thanks to the general increase of wealth and the free time availability. Foreign cultural events increased as well, for instance, the West Indian community founded the Notting Hill Carnival in 1964 to celebrate and commemorate their ancestors’ freedom from slavery (Holder, 2001). Around the 1970’s, a large amount of popular music festivals appeared, for example, the Pilton Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival. The Isle of Wight festival was a huge success on the popularity front but it had a few organisational issues. The entry fee became free as they lost control of admissions due to an overcrowded venue. After that incident, the Isle of Wight festival stopped for a few years (Bowdin and Allen, 2006, p.9). Moreover, from the 1970’s, the government and the local authorities financed a range of new multipurpose venues, including the Wembley Exhibition Centre. From then onwards, development of outdoor and indoor venues has not stopped increasing. With the increase of events, event is turning into a professional sector. We have seen how the event industry has developed, however, now we will look at the technological changes and the transport improvements that have revolutionised events. First, the appearance of the television had a big impact on events. It enabled people to watch any given event whilst sitting in a sofa; therefore, any event that was broadcasted on television had a considerably larger audience. The Los Angeles Olympic Games was one of the first events to be broadcasted on television. It was a great success as the economic benefits were very high (Bowdin and Allen, 2006, p.10). We will now analyse the relatively recent Olympic Games to demonstrate how the technological changes and the transport improvements made the events so successful compared to the past Olympic Games. First, transport made the games more accessible. The number of flights increased so the speed of travel was faster and more regular. In addition, huge container ships, super tankers, appeared making it easier for the hosting countries to import a huge amount of material goods for the establishment of the venues and the sport facilities. So it made the Olympics bigger in size which meant that there was a bigger audience and more sport athletes. Furthermore, the appearance of computers made life much easier for event managers as they could do all their organisation plans on their PC and virtually design the whole event. When internet emerged it made communication much easier and more efficient. Indeed, for someone to receive an email it takes around 3 seconds which is a bonus for stressed event managers who need to have quick answers. Computing and event managing went to another level when Skype appeared. â€Å"The service allows users to communicate with peers by voice using a microphone, video by using a webcam, and instant messaging over the Internet.† (Techspot, 2012 [online]). Skype enables organisers to have video conferences with each other wherever they might be. For example, if a meeting is taking place in London and one of the members is in Japan they can still have a live conversation with him on the computer screen. This probably often happened in the process of planning the London Olympics. Another technologic invention is the smartphone. Indeed, this is a very recent invention which can do a huge amount, on the move. The main advantage of smartphones is the applications available. Applications that can give you all the latest news about the Olympics live, or some can tell you the easiest way to get to the event. An application that is often used by smartphone owners is the QR barcode reader which is a new form of advertisement for businesses. The idea is that the smartphone acts like a barcode reader thanks to the camera so it can read any given QR code for the advert to appear on the smartphone’s screen. For example, when the Olympics had an advertisement for cheap tickets to see the games and it had a QR code, the smartphone owner could scan the code which would send them to the website to get the cheap tickets. All these applications made the Olympics much more accessible and just easier to gather information. Moreover, for the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, the lighting technology was highly impressive with all the latest technology. The pixel animations were made to draw the audience, in the arena and watching it on the television. It consisted making animations with the lights that where placed on the edge of every spectator in the stadium. â€Å"A total of 27 animated sequences, lasting 75 minutes, were created for the closing ceremony, using 634,500 individual LED pixels that together created what is believed to be the largest video screen† (Bond A.,2012 [online]). All this new technology used for the Olympics is one of the reasons why it was so popular. And it will, most likely, be used in future events. Putting the Olympics aside, a technological feature that has recently been used in a music festival is the hologram. â€Å"A hologram is a technique which enables three-dimensional images to be made† (Concert Boom, 2011, [online]). In a concert in the United States a well-known rapper who died in 1996, Tupac, appeared on stage in 3D. â€Å"A life-size hologram of Tupac who stunned the crowd of 75,000 fans when he appeared onstage† (Fitzmaurice and Mcconnell, 2012, [online]). It shows to what extent technology can go in the event world. After seeing how the event industry has changed, it raises the question of where the event industry is going. For many years, technology has not stopped emerging in events. Therefore, event managers have to adapt to the constant change of technology. Ecology is another factor that event managers have to be aware of. Indeed, the environment has become a big issue. Events, such as festival, are not usually environmentally friendly. Therefore, event managers will have to research different ways of avoiding damaging the environment which will change events. Due to the environmental changes, the price of transport will get higher because of the petrol shortage. Events will, therefore, be more expensive. Furthermore, health and safety regulations will most likely get stricter so events might lose a bit of their creative freedom. The event industry will have to adapt to the future changes in society to keep the society interested in events. Creativity with the use of technology, such as the use of the hologram, will keep the crowd interested. So the future of successful big events will be down to creativity, the use of technology and the environmental consequences of the event. However, even if big events will constantly evolve, it does not mean that traditional events, such as weddings, will change. Indeed, there is only a minimum of technology that a wedding needs to be successful. Therefore, unless the whole concept of a wedding changes, weddings will, more or less, stay the same. It will be the same for birthday celebrations and anniversaries. Throughout this paper, we have discovered that events have a considerable role in todays’ society and that events have evolved a huge amount throughout the years. By looking at the changes of events throughout the years, it should be possible to have an idea of the future of events. However, anything can happen and we do not know what new invention will see the light that will change the whole event industry. But the common idea seems to be that the technology and the environment are the two main factors that will change the big events, such as sport events, but the traditional events will not change. References Bond A. (2010) The greatest disco on Earth! Pixel animations turn Olympic Stadium into psychedelic light show. In MailOnline.[online] available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2187468/The-greatest-disco-Earth-Pixe

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 73

Summary - Essay Example Serious and violent felonies are exclusively listed in state regulations. Violent offenses comprise of murder, burglary of a home in which a dangerous or deadly weapon is used, rape plus other sex offenses. Severe offenses comprise of the same offenses defined as violent offenses, but also take in other crimes such as burglary of a home and assault with an intention to commit a murder or robbery. This regulation also punishes habitual offenders (Walker 1). The law of imposing longer jail sentences for habitual offenders than first-time offenders who commit a similar crime. This is because Judges also take into consideration previous offenses before sentencing. Nevertheless, there is a more up to date history of mandatory prison sentences for habitual offenders. For instance, New York has a law, Persistent Felony Offender, which dates back to 19th century (Walker 2). Such sentences were, however, not obligatory in all cases, and judges had much more caution than before as to what term of imprisonment may be imposed. The three strikes law, however, works. Take a state like California for instance. Violent crimes, especially murder, have gone down in the Los Angeles area, plus other areas of the southland (Garvey 1). Homicide count in Los Angeles in the year 2010 was 297. This was less than a third of the 1992 homicides that were 1000 (Garvey 1). However, this might only be a correlation and not underlying, as violent crime has also gone down in other parts of California where the three strikes rule is not obligatory. It should also be renowned that punishments for murder are exceptionally harsh. Murder results in tremendously long sentences, life sentences without the likelihood of parole or even a death penalty (Garvey 1). Even though, it is a first conviction, murder still overshadows any curb effect of the three strikes law. Nevertheless, there is some proof that offenders on their last strike are more anxious to flee

Stokers company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Stokers company - Essay Example The furniture brand is a trusted brand in UK. Stokers Fine Furniture is coming up with new strategies to capture the potential untapped market, especially the style conscious families. The brand falls in the category of expensive and traditional product brand. Situation analysis and clearly defined objectives The market for fine furniture in the United Kingdom is rising strongly due to the effect of the country recovering from property market affects. The housing market industry is in a buoyant mode with increased demand for home furniture and furnishing. The store sales as well as the online sales of this industry have accelerated. The market has been highly influenced by the advent of the internet. The customers are more oriented towards electronic commerce due to their preference of buying from the home without having to go to the stores. The future of the UK furniture industry is showing positive trends. Consumers are likely to renew their homes much more frequently than before, therefore surging up the demand for stylish furniture. Earlier home wares like furniture and carpets were kept for a long time, but now the trend shows that they are replaced within a few years (Forbes, 2012). A SWOT analysis is conducted for the company to assess the internal and the external factors affecting the business. Since the business can control the internal factors, it may gain competitive advantage by improving upon its strengths and weaknesses. By transforming the weaknesses into strength, the company can also take up opportunities and offset the threats. Strengths: Strong brand name, cost and competitive advantage over other players in the market are core strengths of the company. Sufficient resources are available within the business for creating and maintaining a dynamic website and an extensive database system. The company can provide strong customer service from their team dedicated towards the digital marketing strategies. Weaknesses: Implementation of technology in the corporate culture, the business runs in a seasonal pattern. Opportunities: Digital marketing is the keyword for ensuring more success. It is an inexpensive marketing model aimed to capture a potential untapped market. Use of innovative technologies is another opportunity for the business. Threats: Competitors are also implementing the digital marketing strategy, expensive software upgrades resulting from pending security laws. There is stiff competition for the SCF market. The main competitors of Stokers fine furnishing are Sofa.com, Sofa and Stuff, Next, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer. The macro environmental analysis for the business is done through the PESTEL Analysis. Political: The corporate and consumer taxes regulation by the authorities highly impact the company’s income after tax. In UK, taxation is done as 30% of the profits for the businesses operating there. Since the company is more dependent on local suppliers than imported goods, therefore the trade barri ers and tariffs have negligible impact on the business. Economic:

Human Resource Report. Recruitment in In Clover Magazine Essay

Human Resource Report. Recruitment in In Clover Magazine - Essay Example Rosie is willing to make Professor Oliver Ruffle the editor of the future magazine. She proposes a set of HR policies and guidelines, which Oliver Ruffle refuses to follow. Ruffle is willing to achieve a compromise: he wants to chair the Executive Board and take all recruitment and selection decisions without reporting to the Executive Control Board. A compromise is possible: Professor Ruffle must become a member of the Executive Board and have voice in the most important recruitment and selection decisions. He must be obligated to comply with the policies and standards of fairness, non-discrimination, and diversity, to ensure that the recruitment and selection processes work for the benefit of the future magazine and its strategic objectives. HR professionals will be the main carriers of the selection and recruitment vision and mission in the magazine. Decision Rosie wants to work with Oliver Ruffle. She is convinced that his knowledge and professionalism will add rigor to magazine writers and editors’ efforts. In the meantime, Ruffle wants to chair the executive board and become solely responsible for all recruitment and selection decisions in the future magazine ... Simultaneously, he will have to work cooperatively with other Board members and ensure his compliance with the company policies and standards of workplace performance. Ruffle should not be given a leadership position in the future magazine, as long as he is not willing to operate in accordance with the ethical rules and principles proposed by Rosie. Ruffle has knowledge and experience needed to contribute to the development of relevant selection and recruitment strategies. One of the most essential aspects of the selection process is the creation of clear and comprehensive job specifications (Roberts 1997). This is the best way to find and have the right people in the right places. Ruffle is the one who knows what exactly employees, writers, and editors need to become members of the future magazine’s team. Ruffle can benefit the selection and recruitment process, by identifying the most important people qualities at all stages of the employment cycle (Roberts 1997). Ruffle doe s not seem to realise how much the organisation can suffer is the selection and recruitment process is poorly executed (Ingram, LaForge & Avila 2008). The costs of inefficient selection and recruitment are difficult to estimate (Ingram, LaForge & Avila 2008). High levels of turnover that inevitably follow poorly executed selection and recruitment add to the burden of operational costs and lead to the loss of business efficiency and customer relations (Ingram, LaForge & Avila 2008). Ruffle’s reluctance to comply with the proposed set of ethical policies and initiatives must be treated with caution. It is because Ruffle does not agree with the proposed policies that he should not be given a leadership position in the Executive Board. Moreover, all initiatives and

Availability of Sex Education in Public Schools to Decrease Teen Research Paper

Availability of Sex Education in Public Schools to Decrease Teen Pregnancies - Research Paper Example Studies do reflect on certain advantages that can be associated with the availability of sex education in public schools. Three main arguments in support of sex education include: (i) It can help the children learn about their body changes and thus also clearly answer their curious questions regarding the opposite sex, (ii) It can enable a complete understanding of the sex process and also the need for abstinence from it until marriage, (iii) Child sexual abuse might be controlled (De). These arguments might be understood in greater details as follows. As far as the first argument is concerned, teenagers tend to be highly curious about the body changes that occur within them with age as well as regarding the body of the opposite sex. This might lead to attraction towards each other causing them to perform sex. This might be prevented through lessons provided in class that would clear all their doubts regarding body changes. The second argument would be relevant since several myths are associated with sex, for example, there lies a fear of a girl not being able to be pregnant on her first try (â€Å"Should health and physical education teachers teach children about sex? Heres a look at the pros and cons†). Through proper lessons, such myths might be removed and it would always be better for teenagers to learn about the details of sex through teaching rather than trying to perform sex and learn or learn from other sources like pornography. Thirdly, child sex abuses might be curbed since teachings in schools would enable teenagers to learn what is actually good and what is not. In spite of certain advantages being in association with sex education in schools, there are certain arguments against the issue as well. These might include: (i) Students often consider the subject as a mockery.

Choose 2 questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Choose 2 questions - Assignment Example The law that I would want reviewed or repealed is the antitrust laws. This is because they need to elaborate to ensure that they make way for the organizations to be accountable. The act has a loophole because competing hospital system can decide to come together and share pricing information meaning that they will impose more money on the patients. However, under the Sherman Act section one it is illegal to raise prices, but when hospital organizations come together to lower prices they cannot be held accountable (Harris & American Bar Association, 2001). Therefore, it is imperative that the federal government corrects that mistake to ensure that the hospital organizations are regulated to ensure that they do not overprice their patients. This is because some of them may not even have the ability to pay for the little that is being asked by the hospital. Additionally, the issue of raising prices because of market dominance is not a role given to the Medicare as they set their prices unilaterally. Case law in the health care system have played a major role as precedents. This is because the federal and state courts have used them as reference to establish whether they have the same legal basis; hence, making it easy for them to solve problems. For example, the case of Roe v. Wade has helped many jurisdiction to determine whether it is morally and ethically right to terminate a pregnancy and at what stage (Hyatt & Hopkins, 2012). This case has allowed the enactment of statutes that have safeguarded and guarantee the equal rights of women. Therefore, without the case law the justice system would delay in finding the correct way to make a ruling. For that reason, it is clear that case laws in the health care system have an imperative role in creating precedents that can be used. In my opinion, the case law that should be

A History of the Arabic Language Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

A History of the Arabic Language - Term Paper Example But it was after the rise of Islam, that Arabic became the official language of the boundaries stretched between the Oxus River to the Iberian peninsula of Europe. ARABIC AND ISLAM Arabic as a major language became important after the rise of Islam. Thus the early form of Arabic can be gathered from the Quran, as it used to be written down in Arabic, the classical poetry and the descriptive work written on the life of the Prophet P.B.U.H. This classical Arabic later evolved into standard Arabic used today, however there is no much work done on the spoken language. ARABIC AS A SEMITIC LANGUAGE: Arabic Language belongs to the family of the Semitic language. The members of the Semitic language have history that dates back to thousands of years, and is enriches with knowledge. These languages prospered in the Mediterranean Basin, and it is therefore that Arabic language is sometimes taken as Proto- Semitic. Thus Arabic is considered to be the descendant of the Semitic Arabic language, us ed in the 6th century. The roots of the Arabic language lie between the Afro- Asiatic groups of languages. Since being a member of the Semitic family it is related to Hebrew and Neo- Aramaic language and is also associated with the south Semitic languages of Ethiopia, Yemen and Oman. There are many varieties and dialects of written and spoken Arabic language. There are many forms or states of the Arabic language, constituting mainly on ethnic and political backgrounds. If these varieties are considered as one single language then the Arabic language has around 340 million speakers. These varieties include Fusha or Standard Arabic, Mudaric Arabic, Namra, Quranic Arabic and many more (Brian Bishop, 1998). Arabic is the only remaining member of the Old North Arabic Dialect, having a rich background and inscriptions dating back to the 4th century. Arabic is written by using Arabic alphabet or fonts, which is written from right-to-left. Arabic language is a very old and rich language, wh ich has formed the basis of many other languages such as Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Hindi etc. Because of the Muslim rule in Spain, which was for 700 years, the influence of Arabic language can be seen in Spanish and Roman languages. Not only that, Arabic has borrowed words from many languages such as Hebrew, Greek, and Syrian etc. The fast surfacing and spread of Arabic language was mainly due to the fact that the speakers of the Arabic language became political figures and thus unlike other Semitic languages which fossilized with time, Arabic language emerged as a leading language of the Arabian Peninsula. Arabic language is unique and important for many historians as it has preserved a large majority of the original Proto-Semitic features .According to many linguists, Arabic is important source of information as it is the only Semitic language which has preserved features of Proto-Semitic (i.e. Hebrew or Amharic) in the Afro-Asiatic group of languages).Hence, the Modern Arabic is al so thought to be part of the Arabo-Canaanite sub-branch the central group of the Western Semitic languages. CHANGES WITH MODERN TIMES Arabic language has three cases, which are the nominative, the accusative and the genitive. While writing any Arabic word 28 letters are used along with some foreign words. The long vowels that are â€Å"a, i and u† are represented by the Arabic letters 'alif, ya' and waw respectively. From the modern standard Arabic to the earliest Proto Semitic Arabic many changes have occurred with time. These changes are mainly in terms of phonology, syntax and lastly morphology. Phonology is the sound or the pronunciation of a word. The proto –Semitic is characterized by a six vowel system composed of three long which are explained above and three

Intellectual Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intellectual Disability - Essay Example One of these is Picture Exchange Communication System or P.E.C.S. This method uses discrete trail training to teach children using visual cues. There are a lot of visual cues available but there is also a Compic-programme computer that one can use in order to teach a student with autism. P.E.C.S teaches to exchange a visual cue on things that the student wants to tell, or when asking for something, or even make comments. He is being reinforced back with snacks or a praise when communication is done and effective. (Marsden, 2002) For example, a student who wants to play with a teddy bear may hand his compic of a teddy bear and teacher will give him a teddy bear to play with. One important advantage of teaching P.E.C.S is that autistic children, when well reinforced, develop less behavior problems. They are happier, less frustrated and more satisfied since their needs are met and their sense of independence is more practiced using this kind of method. This method can easily be administ ered, not only by teachers, but moreso, of parents with autistic children. Parents need to manifest efforts as their teacher s are doing so the teaching methods are not limited to the walls of the school. The ability to initiate and maintain social interaction determines ability to enhance relationships between parents or caregivers and children with autism. As shown in a study made by Stephenson and Dowrick (2005), responsitivity of parents to the behavior of children is recognized as a critical element in parent-child interaction and contributes not only to communicative development, but moreso on affective and mental development. It is highly important that parents and caregivers are educated on the teaching method of their child. Knowing the communicative content and appropriate usage of the context will greatly improve their communication with their child. A survey was made comparing between parents who can identify the signs, gestures, and body movements of their children but are not able to report sufficient detail on the context of the movements and its communicative content. and parents who have aside from identifying the body signs, gestures and body movements, know the context and communicative content of these movements. Results showed that parents who can identify the context of gestures and body movements are more educative of the communication method used on their child and tend to maintain an in-depth communicative relationship with their child. The behavior of the child is more satisfying because they are aware when to use certain gestures and at what context to use for. While picture-object relations is difficult for children with autism, another research was done to identify which effective teaching method is viable for children with language and communication disability and autism. Two methods namely the error prevention procedure and error correction procedure were both tested. Results showed that error prevention based teaching gives fewer errors than error correction method. A notable feature of these studies is that learning such relations often presents a major difficulty for children with language and developmental disabilities and autism. If learning is successful, usually this is achieved only through repeated teaching of the relation over many sessions;

Hannibal and the Carthaginian Empire Essay Example for Free

Hannibal and the Carthaginian Empire Essay Hannibal was great and famous Carthaginian general. He is remembered for his great strategic skills on the battle field and as a great military chief. Born in late 247 BC, was the oldest son of Hamilcar Barca. In 237 BC, Hamilcar took his nine year old son, Hannibal, to the altar of a Carthaginian god and made him pledge eternal hatred to the Romans. Then Hannibal and his father left for Spain. The headquarters of Carthaginian power in Spain was the city of New Carthage. Hannibal saw immediately his fathers techniques for war . When Hamilcar perished in the battle of 230 BC, his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, became the military leader plus the political leader and continued Carthages pressure in Spain. In 226 BC Hasdrubal signed an agreement with the Romans. The agreement stated that neither army could cross the Ebro River in the northern Spain . When Hasdrubal was murdered in 221 BC, the Carthaginians collectively elected twenty-six-year-old Hannibal to be the leader in Carthaginian government and commandant of the army in Spain. After Hamilcar’s death Hannibal became an excellent military leader. â€Å"Under [Hannibal’s] control the Carthaginians made large territorial advances†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (I-cias). He learned quickly how to be a leader and with the support of his brothers he was able to succeed through his battles. Hannibal was crossing the Alps and was able to receive rations for a couple days. â€Å"On the third day he captured a Gallic town and provided the army from its stores with rations for two or three days† (Alps). He wanted the best for his army, but had little support from Carthage. Despite the number of men falling from the army due to natural disasters he managed to recruit others. â€Å"Even if many fell from his army during this march because of snowstorms, landslides, and attacks from hostile local tribes, he managed to recruit new personnel along the route. † His strategy was to respond quickly to these natural disasters and it helped him. Hannibal earned his success by enduring hardships with his recruits and reinforcements. Hannibal experienced many challenges including battle delays little amount of military equipment and a small number of reinforcements from home. Other military leaders knew he would not be able to handle a delay due to the lack of preparation he took for each battle. â€Å"He [Fabius, Roman Military Leader] believed that Hannibal lacked the equipment for a prolonged siege and that a delay in the battle would seriously reduce the Carthaginian food supply†. Rome believed that delays would end in the conquering of Hannibal because of the lack of necessities there was little he could do. Hannibal began to suffer during his career due to the lack of food. â€Å"Zama was the only defeat. Hannibal suffered in his military career† . After his defeat his enemies began to discover his weakness. Hannibal was running out of everything during the Battle of Cannae and his help refused to aid him. â€Å"Hannibal needed reinforcements, which the Carthaginian government refused to furnish, and he also lacked siege weapons† . Hannibal’s restrictions could have given him success, had he been willing to bargain with another force greater then his own. Hannibal was the instrument of his own undoing. Hannibal was set on being the conqueror and set on some one else’s defeat, which lead him to his own. His enemy, Rome, was the center of his downfall. He would never settle and there was no satisfaction between them. â€Å"†¦In 218, he clashed with the Roman army. The Romans claimed that this was a break of an existing treaty between Rome and Carthage and demanded Hannibal surrendered to them†¦the Second Punic War started† (I-cias). If Hannibal conquered Romans he would never be able to rule over. â€Å"According to legend, Hamilcar had made the young Hannibal swear on a sacred altar that he would remain an enemy of Rome for life† . Hannibal had made a promise to his father, therefore intending to go on with nothing. â€Å"The loss of the second city of Italy cost Hannibal the allegiance of many of his Italian allies and put an end to his hopes of further replenishing his army from their ranks† . Hannibal had lost it all. His hope had been limited at this point. Hannibal both succeeded and failed. He never won the hearts of the people; therefore he was never able to truly be victorious. Hannibal married a Spanish princess and conquered the surrounding land and took hostages from the adjacent tribes to assure their loyalty to him without crossing the Ebro River, except for the city of Saguntum, an ally of Rome. When Saguntum began trouble between Carthage and Rome in 219 BC, Hannibal invaded the city. This began the Second Punic War . After hearing the declaration of war Hannibal immediately starts off towards Rome. The problem was he had to go by land since Rome controlled the seas. Hannibal began a long and hazardous expedition across the Pyrenees and the Alps in August of 218, with battle elephants walking at the front of his army . In the spring of 218 BC, Hannibal handed over command of the Spanish armies to his brother Hasdrubal. He then led his troops north toward the Pyrenees Mountains and began one of the most famous journeys in history . Hannibals army included Libyans and Numidians from North Africa, Iberians and Celtiberians from Spain, and Gauls from Spain, France, and Italy. There were thirty-five thousand foot soldiers, twelve thousand horsemen, and fifty war elephants. Hannibal used the elephants to break infantry lines and to create fear and disorder. The elephants also frightened horses, so they were able to disrupt the enemys cavalry . In the Pyrenees, Hannibal encountered resistance from local tribes. He lost a lot of his men to fighting, and some of the mercenaries went home because they were scared of the long journey. With all this, Hannibal continued to move as quickly as possible, but bad luck fell into Hannibals lap as early snows and landslides kill many of his men and almost all of his war elephants . He enters Italy with only twenty-six thousand men and five or six war elephants in September 218. Hannibal and his troops spent the winter in Po Valley. In the spring of 217 BC When news of Hannibals army reached Rome, the Gauls of northern Italy revolted. They joined Hannibal in fighting the Romans. Now Hannibal had a sufficient army of infantry and cavalry. The Romans had plans to attack Carthage and New Carthage, but they had to be delayed because of the rebelling tribes in Italy and the approach of Hannibal. So the Romans sent troops under the command of Publius Cornelius Scipio, to stop Hannibal at Massilia . Massilia is on the French coast where the Rhone River runs into the Mediterranean Sea. The Rhone is a wide river with a swift current, so it was a great obstacle to Hannibal. Scipios troops set up camp by the sea, thinking that Hannibal would reach Massilia in the near future. But he did not realize how fast Hannibal was moving his troops . When Scipio received news of Hannibal, it was too late. Hannibal had moved his entire army across the Rhone, fifty miles north of Massilia . Although Hannibals army had been reduced to twenty-six thousand infantry, nine thousand horses, and five or six elephants, it was a great accomplishment to get across the Rhone. To transport the elephants, the men built rafts . When the Alps came into view, Hannibal allowed his army a few days to rest, because he knew that his army had doubts about crossing the Alps. Never before had elephants crossed the Alps. The army did not reach the Alps until late in the year, and many troops and horses were killed. Some troops who came from warmer climates died from the cold. Some troops died of hunger because food was short to come by. Others died in fights with mountain tribes. Some of the mountain tribes rolled big stones down the mountains and caused men and animals to fall from the narrow mountain passage .

Slumdog Millionaire Essay Example for Free

Slumdog Millionaire Essay The issue we have decided to discuss is centred around the two children Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail who star in a leading role in the film Slumdog Millionaire. The film grossed $141,000,000 in the US alone and had a budget of $15 million but the two children only received  £500 ($700 American Dollars) and  £1,700 ($2408.50 American Dollars). Despite the claims of director Danny Boyle, that the film has â€Å"completely changed their impoverished lives† (Tyler, 2009) the children continue to live in the slums in India from where they were originally found. The children’s parents were very disappointed given the films worldwide success and had hoped that this film and their children’s leading roles would have given them opportunity of a better life outside the slums. Having found themselves leading the same lives as before Slumdog Millionaire, they realised just how under-paid their children were actually paid. Ismail predicament is considerably worse off as his illegal home was recently demolished by local authorities. It is even more difficult for the children to return to the slums given the lifestyle and the luxuries they received during the filming, promotion and subsequent award ceremonies. However both film makers and film distributors have disputed the families’ claims and have highlighted that the wages paid to both the children were three times the average local annual adult salary. Furthermore provisions have been made for the children’s education and once completed a trust fund will be paid to the then 18 year olds, Ali and Ismail. Ethical issues surrounding the topic * Underpaying the child actors in the Slumdog Millionaire movie * Allowing the children to return to the slums * Returning the children to their poverty stricken roots having experiences the lifestyle of a movie star * Not providing the children with a place to live after their home had been destroyed * Is the trust fund achievable given the children’s circumstances and harsh living conditions?

Competition in Broadcasting: BBC

Competition in Broadcasting: BBC In Western Europe, North America and Eastern Europe mainly persistent talks are about the broadcasting rules of the public or community. Newly enhanced machinery, rules and ways of doing business changed the actions and topic of debates and extent of work. BBC stays on first channel of the all. It provides free advertising services to its viewers. It is financed by the TV licence fee that viewers pay annually and fifty percent discount for blind people. It earned status for worlds no. 1 TV channel. It gains status by its news and entertainment channels. Following are the channels of BBC: Now a days broadcasting companies are competing with each other. They do what they want to see their company on first place. Main competitors of BBC NEWS are CNN, Fox NEWS, Sky NEWS and all local media channels. In the world of entertainment the BBC main competitors are Channel 4, ITV, boomerang, discovery and etc. BBC World of Digital TV: In beginning of 1998, people do not have any concept of digital television. After the six years, almost in every home there is digital TV. People like digital television network more than the non-digital system because it has channels in greater number than the non-digital system. Now a days every one can enjoy more than 200 channels by paying just little amount. In the last 6 years, BBC remarkably increases its amount of output by opening a series of TV channels and now BBC is broadcasting excessive amount of output i-e 380 hrs per week. Competitive Analysis: BBC performs like an ideal in approximately whole of the European market like in Germany, France, Switzerland and etc. In the United Kingdom the BBC make market share up to the 36% as the survey about this is conducted in 2005. While in radio BBC occupy the 54% market share as said by the governor in 2005. BBC NEWS: According to my point of view globally BBC and CNN are the main competitors in the news casting media both of them captured the more than 50% market shares of the whole market. International sources of news are increasing the number viewers by giving them choices of viewing the news on their mobile, by texting and on internet. It is written in the lines of article that published in Europe (1998), CNN the main competitor of BBC is currently having more viewers on internet other than on broadcasting. CNN in addition declaring that they have more than 50 million viewers who use the messaging facility. That is the story of CNN, in response of the strategies of CNN; BBC starts to modify the services of TV by accumulating more news about trades, limiting the long news i-e cutting down the irrelevant material from stories and learning the best marketing illusions to capture the attention of its viewers. BBC Entertainment: BBC Cbeebies channel that is for the child viewers of who do not go to school and BBC CbbC is concentrated on the kids whose age are ranging from six to fourteen. These are the channels of BBC who are focusing on kids but few more channels like boomerang, disney playhouse and nick jr that are also about the kids who do not go to school. There are also thirteen more kids TV channels who concentrate on the kid of age ranging from six to fourteen. Competitors of BBC kids channels are strong enough in terms of finance and also that the international contributions are helping out the market. Currently their capability is not in danger. But still to take competitors out of business the strategies of BBC are quite clever because they are targeting on the segmented marketing i-e niche or position marketing. See Appendix 2. There is another channel names BBC FOUR, it is very diverse channel based on culture and science fiction programmes and its competitors are the history channel, discovery, discovery health etc. BBC FOUR and its competitors are all working well and it is before time to say that BBC FOUR have problem with finance because it is the diverse type of channel and people who have interest in science and the people who have interest in culture will always be watching this channels. There is not as much competition in these types of channels. See Appendix 3. BBC three is a channel that catches the attention of same age group. The viewers of the BBC three recommended that this channel can excel and can leave behind its competitors. The rival of BBC three, Channel 4 finds that BBC three is giving a lot of money to its hosts and this is causing the inflation. Share of BBC three is improved merely 0.2%. Its majority rivals are being not changed i-e they keep up the share at the same level. While in response BBC three start to concentrate on youth. Rivalries in this type of channels are strong. See Appendix 4.

The job of my dreams Essay -- essays research papers

My Job Now and The Job of My Dreams   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Who doesn’t want the perfect job? Most people who are not happy at their current jobs are usually looking for something better. Some people look for better hours, environment, or maybe just a substantial raise. Where there are advantages in jobs, there is usually going to be at least one small disadvantage. Weighing out the options can help people make the right choices. Although we would all like to have the job of our dreams, unfortunately, it only happens to a few of us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My present job consists of customer service, daily paperwork, as well as opening and closing the store. My employer keeps us quite busy all day long. The hardest part of my job is customer service. No matter how hard I try, some people simply cannot be pleased. This can be very frustrating for me, especially since making my customer happy is my first priority. Even though we have some difficult customers, most of my clientele are very nice. When we work in retail, we also have to deal with the long and crazy hours. Since I close most nights, I am at work when most people are going to bed. This can be a huge disadvantage, especially if someone has a family with small children. Even though I don’t have children, I do not get to spend as much time as I would like to with my husband. He has been a very patient and kind man with the hours I work and study. Along with the disadvantages of my job, there are also some ...

Aristotle on Nobility and Pleasure :: essays research papers

â€Å"The lovers of what is noble find pleasant the things that are by nature pleasant; and virtuous actions are such†¦ Their life, therefore, has no further need of pleasure as a sort of adventitious charm, but has pleasure in itself.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethics, I.8  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aristotle was a student under Plato, and although he did not believe in the metaphysical Forms that Plato so firmly believed in, he did apply an element of the theory behind the Forms. Instead, what Aristotle postulated was that there was some ultimate, some final goal to which we all reach, but instead of being some unattainable goal, it was very simple: happiness. Happiness manifests itself in all of our actions, whether it’s a conscious process or not, but when we are truly happy is when we do things that are virtuous and honorable. And instead of being some latent part of another goal, Aristotle stated that happiness was the goal, that there was no higher form to achieve beyond. In chapter seven of Book One, Aristotle is almost vague as he tries and defines what happiness is, and more importantly, why happiness is crucial to the human function, and in fact states that â€Å"nor should we demand to know a casual explanation in all matters alike† (1098b). Comparing it to simple truths that are a priori, like when dealing with fundamental principles, he admits that it cannot be defined so easily nor so quickly. He then struggles, in chapter eight, to define happiness. It is, according to him, a kind of â€Å"good life and well-being;† virtue precludes action as well as thought. It is also synonymous with virtue: even though virtuous acts are, in general, â€Å"not pleasant by nature †¦ men who love what is noble derive pleasure from what is naturally pleasant† (1099a). Aristotle also makes a clear separation of happiness that is god-given – makarios – and a happiness that is produced through human effort and virtue, eudaimon. But it seems as if there is an inherent flaw in his outlook for those who are not blesses with makarios and lack the means (political connections, wealth, stature, et cetera) to carry out an action that would make someone happy. In chapter ten, he even goes so far as to ask if a man could truly be called happy in his lifetime, because â€Å"many changes and all kinds of contingencies will befall a man in the course of his life.

Egyptian Mummification: It’s History, Purpose, and Process Essays

Egyptian Mummification: It’s History, Purpose, and Process The history and tradition of Egypt is one of the most greatly studied and admired of all past world civilizations. The lure of the pyramids and the specter of the sphinx have led many archeologists to dedicate his/her life to unraveling the mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture. Arguably, the most captivating aspect of Egypt’s past is that of mummification. Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What beliefs did the Egyptians have regarding the after life? What portion of the Egyptian civilization was mummified? What was the Book of the Dead? This is a mere sampling of the questions that come to my mind when I think of ancient Egyptian culture. I hope to lay forth answers to these questions and many more in the following pages dedicated to the history and purpose behind Egyptian mummification. Mummification, with its long, storied history, has allowed archeologists to peer into the daily lives and beliefs of ancient Egyptian middle-class and royalty. The practice of mummification by the Egyptians seems to have started sometime before 3100 BC. However, lack of written evidence or significant physical proof from this Predynastic period is available to either confirm or deny this. One of the oldest surviving mummies is Ginger, currently stored at the British Museum. Ginger was buried in a shallow grave and wrapped only in light cloth but due to the hot, dry desert he survived intact to discovery in the late 19th century (Andrews 5). Ginger’s name comes from the color of his hair, fragments of which are still attached to his body. Evidence from his discovery supports the belief that even at this early age the Egyptians believed in the afterlife. Tools and pottery we... ...ould be very thankful to the Egyptian people for leaving us this gift, which paints for us such a clear picture of their legacy. Works Cited Aldred, Cyril. The Egyptians. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1984. Andrews, Carol. Egyptian Mummies. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984. Budge, E.A. Wallis. The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology. 2nd ed. Cambridge: University Press, 1925. Casson, Lionel. Ancient Egypt. New York: Time Incorporated, 1965. Editors of Time-Life Books. Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs. Alexandria: Time-Life Books, 1992. El Mahdy, Christine. Mummies: Myth and Magic. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1989. Montet, Pierre. Eternal Egypt. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1964. Peck, William H. Splendors of Ancient Egypt. Ann Arbor: University Lithoprinters, Inc.,1997.

Principles of Accounting Essay

1.Analyze the effects of Draper Consulting transactions on the accounting equation. Use the format of Exhibit 1-6, and include these headings: Cash; Accounts receivable; Supplies; Equipment; Furniture; Accounts payable; and Draper, capital. 2.Prepare the income statement of Draper Consulting for the month ended December 31, 2012. 3.Prepare the statement of owner’s equity for the month ended December 31, 2012. 4.Prepare the balance sheet at December 31, 2012. PANEL A—Details of Transactions 1. Received $18,000 cash and gave capital to Draper. 2. Paid monthly office rent, $550. 3. Paid cash for a Dell computer, $1,800. This equipment is expected to remain in service for five years. 4. Purchased office furniture on account, $4,200. The furniture should last for five years. 5. Purchased supplies on account, $900. 6. Performed consulting service for a client on account, $1,500. 7. Paid utility expenses, $250. 8. Performed service for a client and received cash of $1,100. 1 Received $42,000 cash and gave capital to Stewart. 4 Purchased supplies, $700, and furniture, $1,900, on account. 6 Performed services for a law firm and received $1,400 cash. 7 Paid $24,000 cash to acquire land for a future office site. 10 Performed service for a hotel and received its promise to pay the $1,000 within one week. 14 Paid for the furniture purchased September 4 on account. 15 Paid secretary’s bi-monthly salary, $490. 17 Received cash on account, $400. 20 Prepared a design for a school on account, $700. 28 Received $2,100 cash for consulting with Plummer & Gorden. 30 Paid secretary’s bi-monthly salary, $490. 30 Paid rent expense, $650. 30 Stewart withdrew cash of $3,000. Requirements 1.Open the following T-accounts: Cash; Accounts receivable; Supplies; Furniture; Land; Accounts payable; Stewart, capital; Stewart, drawing; Service revenue; Salary expense; and Rent expense. 2.Record each transaction in the journal, using the account titles given. Key each transaction by date. Explanations are not required. 3.Post the transactions to the T-accounts, using transaction dates as posting references in the ledger accounts. Label the balance of each account Bal, as shown in the chapter. 4.Prepare the trial balance of Doris Stewart, Designer, at September 30, 2012.

Ford Motor Company Case Study

————————————————- ————————————————- Ford Motor Company Case Report ————————————————- Executive Summary Ford Motor Company has a long history, starting in Michigan in 1903. They have focused on designing and manufacturing and have been very successful, however with increasing competition, global markets and over-capacity the company needs to look at ways to improve profitability. The company has implemented various programs and processes to create a lean, responsive system with better consumer forecasting.Their challenge is to continue to research ways to stay viable in current market and industry conditions. Dell Computers has been very successful with a direct model and virtual integration that may or not work well for Ford. CONTENTS * ISSUE3 * ANALYSIS4 * ALTERNATIVES6 * RECOMMENDATIONS 7 * IMPLEMENTATION 8 * CONCLUSION8 * REFERENCES9 * ISSUE: The Ford Motor Company is facing a number of challenges including the direction of CEO Jac Nasser to focus on customer responsiveness and shareholder value to deal with increasing competitiveness, an industry with potential over-capacity and the expansion into globalized markets.Ford had begun to implement systems to reduce cycle-time, improve quality and to lower costs. Programs included consolidating product development into five Vehicle Centres (VCs), reeingineered processes such as Order to Delivery (OTD), Fort Production System (FPS) and Business to Business (B2B) capacity. Additionally, information flow was examined to overcome geographical constraints, thus becoming a critical component of Ford’s global approach. During the past decade the company has implemented many programs and processes becoming the most improved automaker with steady upward trending sales and record profit sharing.The supply chain initially had a base of many competitive suppliers until the 1990’s when they began to move toward fewer, long term supplier relationships. Ford fostered relationships with tier one suppliers who would interface with tier two and other suppliers. With Ford’s support, the suppliers tried a variety of strategies including Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC). A limitation emerged in the variance of IT expertise and capability among the supply chain members.To reach the goal of reduced cycle time, creating a lean and flexible process, Ford is researching Dell Computer’s successful direct model to see if this virtual integration system would work for them. The direct model reduces the time and costs of third party distribution through direct interfacing with as few partners as p ossible as a way to improve production and customer responsiveness. The challenge is to determine if this system will work for Ford Motor Company. * ANALYSIS: The CEO’s directive is complicated by various factors.While Dell’s direct model works for Dell, it may or may not be effective with Ford. The company has been through a decade of change and adjustments to various processes and directions and while the option is available, a decision is not urgent as Ford is in a fairly good position. Dell’s direct model involves a customer focus, small numbers of supplier partnerships, customization, a just-in-time inventory and manufacturing. In order to do this, Dell ties in technology to communicate and coordinate these goals and strategies. They use what they call vertical integration.This means that they work very closely with customers and suppliers including actually having staff on site working directly with customers and partners, sharing information and knowledge to enable flexibility and effectiveness reducing cycle times. Dell establishes partnerships or collaborations with their customers and suppliers which is much like controlled outsourcing. Michael Dell of Dell computers argues that outsourcing is traditionally a way to â€Å"get rid of a problem†. His direct model, in contrast, is partnering with companies who are treated as though they are internal staff.This model improves the level of information sharing and motivation to succeed as a team. Technology means that the information sharing can be easily and effectively done in a win-win type of arrangement. The challenge is to maintain these relationships and focus on the task at hand. Providing suppliers with real-time information and up to date demand enables the supplier to act accordingly to meet Dell’s requirements. Removing multiple layers and working closely with customers and suppliers removes the possibility of misinformation, reaction time and ability to not o nly react, but to make more accurate forecasts.Dell has been able to streamline their customer response times by helping the customer ‘decide’ what they need. They make it easier for the customer to make the decisions and are ultimately preparing for it while the conversation is happening. Dell acts as a consultant and trainer getting direct feedback and key information for planning, research and development. They include key people from a wide range of responsibilities in regular meetings to ensure communication, ideas and overall commitment from the entire supply chain. Virtual integration goes even further to merge the traditional roles and boundaries of the supply chain.Dell argues that the direct model and virtual integration is beneficial to the customer from distribution to manufacturing and design. This model works for Dell, but whether it would work for Ford is the question. Ford has already reduced it’s supply chain base by dealing with Tier one supplie rs to use Just-In-Time inventory processes and other strategies to improve commitment and capability. They implemented the Ford Production System (FPS), focusing on key parts of the manufacturing process to improve efficiency. The Synchronous Material Flow (SMF) was developed to ensure a continuous flow of materials.This was done by using lean manufacturing concepts, careful scheduling and sequenced assembly. Their Order to Delivery (OTD) process was also developed to streamline the cycle time, reducing the order to delivery from 65 days to as little as 15 days. In order to do this they used forecasting, keeping 15 days of vehicles in the assembly plant’s order bank, using regional mixing centers for deliveries and a responsive order amendment process. Last but not least they worked on something called the Ford Retail Network (FRN) to test best practices and to create an alternate distribution channel.The idea was to consolidate Ford’s efforts to compete against the co mpetition of other auto makers rather than compete against each other. Because Dell and Ford are such different companies it is difficult to know if vertical integration would work. Dell is a smaller company whose current success is due to customer focus, pull demand, speed of response and virtual integration. In contrast, Ford is a much larger company with a complex and long-standing system of supply chain leadership where purchasing was historically heavily involved in the various activities of the company.A move to virtual integration requires that roles shift and responsibilities change to allow greater collaboration and information sharing. ALTERNATIVES: Differences between the companies include dealer networks, product and process complexity, age and size of the company, technical expertise and control over systems. Ford has a great amount of control, difficulty forecasting customer needs, higher product complexity, a strong dealer network and unionized labour. Dell is relativ ely new, there is high technical expertise, the product is not as complex, forecasting can be fairly accurate and their supplier relationships are good.Ford enjoys a significant amount of control over their supply chain, manufacturing, assembly and distribution, while Dell may not be able to exercise control depending on the relationships built and arrangements made. At this time, Ford does not really need to make a decision to change their business model, but there is a push for greater globalization, efficiency and flexibility. They can move toward virtual integration, stay the same, or adopt some kind of balance of the direct model with their current model.Because of their size and established supply chain, a move toward vertical integration and a direct model would mean fairly drastic changes and giving up controls that have been carefully developed over the past decade. That said, staying the same would not be advisable, as the market is increasingly competitive on the local an d global stage. Ford will be required to look at further adaptations to their operations in order to stay competitive. RECOMMENDATION: It would be advisable for Ford to examine vertical integration in at least some areas of their operations.Because this requires high levels of technology, they can work with Tier one suppliers to develop collaborations and more extensive information sharing. Doing nothing is not usually a feasible option in successful business and full integration would be very difficult to accomplish and my not have the results that Dell has due to the various differences in the companies and their products. IMPLEMENTATION: Ford can use focus groups and regular meetings to move toward a direct model in at least some areas of the business.The dealer network may be used as an advantage to forecasting if they work more closely with the development teams, manufacturing and assembly plants. The customer focus groups can begin to develop relationships that help to develop what customers want and might have as potions can be insightful and will improve forecasting. Purchasing, engineering, marketing and other groups can get involved in these focus groups, which may also encourage dialogue and collaboration toward cohesive end results. * CONCLUSION:Ford has implemented many strategies successfully and has been forward thinking in their consideration of various models and options. Becoming faster may or may not work to their advantage as buying a car is a decision that is weighed carefully and is a bigger investment than choosing a computer or laptop. The speed at which the company supplies a vehicle once ordered is important, but I suggest, not as important as the customer getting the options, financing and service that they expect with this type of purchase.That said, customers expect greater customization and choice than ever before. Whether Ford takes on this model or chooses to research another model is a step in the right direction. Supply chain management is a large part of how well the company can respond to customer needs and ultimately create profit and ongoing competitive advantage. * REFERENCES: Austin, Robert D. , Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy, 9-699-198, Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999. Magretta, Joan (2001) â€Å"The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Michael Dell,† Harvard Business Review Ford Motor Company Case Study ————————————————- ————————————————- Ford Motor Company Case Report ————————————————- Executive Summary Ford Motor Company has a long history, starting in Michigan in 1903. They have focused on designing and manufacturing and have been very successful, however with increasing competition, global markets and over-capacity the company needs to look at ways to improve profitability. The company has implemented various programs and processes to create a lean, responsive system with better consumer forecasting.Their challenge is to continue to research ways to stay viable in current market and industry conditions. Dell Computers has been very successful with a direct model and virtual integration that may or not work well for Ford. CONTENTS * ISSUE3 * ANALYSIS4 * ALTERNATIVES6 * RECOMMENDATIONS 7 * IMPLEMENTATION 8 * CONCLUSION8 * REFERENCES9 * ISSUE: The Ford Motor Company is facing a number of challenges including the direction of CEO Jac Nasser to focus on customer responsiveness and shareholder value to deal with increasing competitiveness, an industry with potential over-capacity and the expansion into globalized markets.Ford had begun to implement systems to reduce cycle-time, improve quality and to lower costs. Programs included consolidating product development into five Vehicle Centres (VCs), reeingineered processes such as Order to Delivery (OTD), Fort Production System (FPS) and Business to Business (B2B) capacity. Additionally, information flow was examined to overcome geographical constraints, thus becoming a critical component of Ford’s global approach. During the past decade the company has implemented many programs and processes becoming the most improved automaker with steady upward trending sales and record profit sharing.The supply chain initially had a base of many competitive suppliers until the 1990’s when they began to move toward fewer, long term supplier relationships. Ford fostered relationships with tier one suppliers who would interface with tier two and other suppliers. With Ford’s support, the suppliers tried a variety of strategies including Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC). A limitation emerged in the variance of IT expertise and capability among the supply chain members.To reach the goal of reduced cycle time, creating a lean and flexible process, Ford is researching Dell Computer’s successful direct model to see if this virtual integration system would work for them. The direct model reduces the time and costs of third party distribution through direct interfacing with as few partners as p ossible as a way to improve production and customer responsiveness. The challenge is to determine if this system will work for Ford Motor Company. * ANALYSIS: The CEO’s directive is complicated by various factors.While Dell’s direct model works for Dell, it may or may not be effective with Ford. The company has been through a decade of change and adjustments to various processes and directions and while the option is available, a decision is not urgent as Ford is in a fairly good position. Dell’s direct model involves a customer focus, small numbers of supplier partnerships, customization, a just-in-time inventory and manufacturing. In order to do this, Dell ties in technology to communicate and coordinate these goals and strategies. They use what they call vertical integration.This means that they work very closely with customers and suppliers including actually having staff on site working directly with customers and partners, sharing information and knowledge to enable flexibility and effectiveness reducing cycle times. Dell establishes partnerships or collaborations with their customers and suppliers which is much like controlled outsourcing. Michael Dell of Dell computers argues that outsourcing is traditionally a way to â€Å"get rid of a problem†. His direct model, in contrast, is partnering with companies who are treated as though they are internal staff.This model improves the level of information sharing and motivation to succeed as a team. Technology means that the information sharing can be easily and effectively done in a win-win type of arrangement. The challenge is to maintain these relationships and focus on the task at hand. Providing suppliers with real-time information and up to date demand enables the supplier to act accordingly to meet Dell’s requirements. Removing multiple layers and working closely with customers and suppliers removes the possibility of misinformation, reaction time and ability to not o nly react, but to make more accurate forecasts.Dell has been able to streamline their customer response times by helping the customer ‘decide’ what they need. They make it easier for the customer to make the decisions and are ultimately preparing for it while the conversation is happening. Dell acts as a consultant and trainer getting direct feedback and key information for planning, research and development. They include key people from a wide range of responsibilities in regular meetings to ensure communication, ideas and overall commitment from the entire supply chain. Virtual integration goes even further to merge the traditional roles and boundaries of the supply chain.Dell argues that the direct model and virtual integration is beneficial to the customer from distribution to manufacturing and design. This model works for Dell, but whether it would work for Ford is the question. Ford has already reduced it’s supply chain base by dealing with Tier one supplie rs to use Just-In-Time inventory processes and other strategies to improve commitment and capability. They implemented the Ford Production System (FPS), focusing on key parts of the manufacturing process to improve efficiency. The Synchronous Material Flow (SMF) was developed to ensure a continuous flow of materials.This was done by using lean manufacturing concepts, careful scheduling and sequenced assembly. Their Order to Delivery (OTD) process was also developed to streamline the cycle time, reducing the order to delivery from 65 days to as little as 15 days. In order to do this they used forecasting, keeping 15 days of vehicles in the assembly plant’s order bank, using regional mixing centers for deliveries and a responsive order amendment process. Last but not least they worked on something called the Ford Retail Network (FRN) to test best practices and to create an alternate distribution channel.The idea was to consolidate Ford’s efforts to compete against the co mpetition of other auto makers rather than compete against each other. Because Dell and Ford are such different companies it is difficult to know if vertical integration would work. Dell is a smaller company whose current success is due to customer focus, pull demand, speed of response and virtual integration. In contrast, Ford is a much larger company with a complex and long-standing system of supply chain leadership where purchasing was historically heavily involved in the various activities of the company.A move to virtual integration requires that roles shift and responsibilities change to allow greater collaboration and information sharing. ALTERNATIVES: Differences between the companies include dealer networks, product and process complexity, age and size of the company, technical expertise and control over systems. Ford has a great amount of control, difficulty forecasting customer needs, higher product complexity, a strong dealer network and unionized labour. Dell is relativ ely new, there is high technical expertise, the product is not as complex, forecasting can be fairly accurate and their supplier relationships are good.Ford enjoys a significant amount of control over their supply chain, manufacturing, assembly and distribution, while Dell may not be able to exercise control depending on the relationships built and arrangements made. At this time, Ford does not really need to make a decision to change their business model, but there is a push for greater globalization, efficiency and flexibility. They can move toward virtual integration, stay the same, or adopt some kind of balance of the direct model with their current model.Because of their size and established supply chain, a move toward vertical integration and a direct model would mean fairly drastic changes and giving up controls that have been carefully developed over the past decade. That said, staying the same would not be advisable, as the market is increasingly competitive on the local an d global stage. Ford will be required to look at further adaptations to their operations in order to stay competitive. RECOMMENDATION: It would be advisable for Ford to examine vertical integration in at least some areas of their operations.Because this requires high levels of technology, they can work with Tier one suppliers to develop collaborations and more extensive information sharing. Doing nothing is not usually a feasible option in successful business and full integration would be very difficult to accomplish and my not have the results that Dell has due to the various differences in the companies and their products. IMPLEMENTATION: Ford can use focus groups and regular meetings to move toward a direct model in at least some areas of the business.The dealer network may be used as an advantage to forecasting if they work more closely with the development teams, manufacturing and assembly plants. The customer focus groups can begin to develop relationships that help to develop what customers want and might have as potions can be insightful and will improve forecasting. Purchasing, engineering, marketing and other groups can get involved in these focus groups, which may also encourage dialogue and collaboration toward cohesive end results. * CONCLUSION:Ford has implemented many strategies successfully and has been forward thinking in their consideration of various models and options. Becoming faster may or may not work to their advantage as buying a car is a decision that is weighed carefully and is a bigger investment than choosing a computer or laptop. The speed at which the company supplies a vehicle once ordered is important, but I suggest, not as important as the customer getting the options, financing and service that they expect with this type of purchase.That said, customers expect greater customization and choice than ever before. Whether Ford takes on this model or chooses to research another model is a step in the right direction. Supply chain management is a large part of how well the company can respond to customer needs and ultimately create profit and ongoing competitive advantage. * REFERENCES: Austin, Robert D. , Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy, 9-699-198, Harvard Business School Publishing, 1999. Magretta, Joan (2001) â€Å"The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Michael Dell,† Harvard Business Review

Importance of Strategic Planing and Management Paper

Importance of Strategic Planning and Management in the Business Paper Artim Toska Bus 475 March 29, 2010 Introduction This paper will describe a small business I may want to start, define strategic management and planning, and explain why a strategic plan would be important to the success of this business. Also, it will explain the four functions of management relative to creating and implementing a strategic plan. Strategic management & Planning In a competitive business world, it is important to have your business prosper for it to overcome the challenges it may encounter. The direction (and future) of a small business has extreme challenges in an economy that lags, but can be overcome with the right strategic mananagent ideas and planning. A small business that I would like to start would be a financial business that would provide short-term capital to small working and expanding companies. I believe this business would provide profits in an economy that has been ailing small businesses. Small businesses would welcome my services since they can not (or find it difficult) to finance their business when banks are not giving them the capital they need to remodel or have their business survive. Strategic management is planning your business at the highest possible level. This would be the duty of the company’s leader (or leaders) to focus on building a solid structure to that business (All business, 2010). This â€Å"structure† will be â€Å"hinged† on the effort of each employee that is hired. Also, strategic management helps answer what are the objectives of the business, the best procedure in achieving these objectives, and what are the resources that are needed to make that happen (All business, 2010). Strategic planning determines the direction that an organization will be eaded over the next year or more, and how it will arrive there (McNamara, 2010). Usually, the process is throughout the organization and focuses on a major function as division, department, or other important functions. A strategic plan includes several levels (or steps) in the process (the order of these levels can be orientated towards the satisfactory of the organization for s uccess). One can view strategic planning as strategic analysis. This would include a review of the organizations environment (economical, social, technical†¦ ). Also, establishing a strategic direction is a major activity in strategic planning. Organizers would conclude what the company needs to do with the issues and opportunities that are facing the organization (McNamara, 2010). This would include what â€Å"strategic goals† the company needs to achieve, and â€Å"methods† to achieve accomplishments. Also, action planning can be looked as strategic planning. Action planning helps view how strategic goals will be attained, and includes specifying objective results with each strategic goal (McNamara, 2010). Strategic Plan & Success A strategic plan would be important to the success of my business because it would form the company’s strategy and communicate it through the organization for implementation. This implementation would help provide the company’s mission and reason for being (this would be expressed though a mission statement). This would help the company’s image with customers. Also, it would help shape the company brand and how to distribute that successfully to consumers. Also, a strategic plan would help the company adapt an â€Å"earnings growth† that will be monitored for sustainability in growth (it would help to establish what businesses to target). Also, the plan would help in the success of the business by establishing a marketing scheme. This would help explain to potential customers how the business would provide financial aid to their business that is in need of our service, with their economical and social environment (it would entail us as a â€Å"life line† for a business that is struggling and in need of help). Four Functions of Management The four functions of management are important in creating and implementing a successful strategic plan. The four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Rothbauer-Wanish, 2009). Planning helps create in a strategic plan what are the organizations goals, and how those goals can be achieved (developing objectives for the goal and monitoring on the execution of the plan are essential in the planning). Also, organizing helps implement a successful strategic plan by helping me know the amount of employees needed to provide the success of the business (Rothbauer-Wanish, 2009). Leading helps implement a strategic plan by my motivation to employees that will help in their performance. Also, controlling helps implement a successful strategic plan by monitoring company’s goals the organization want to achieve. Conclusion This paper defined strategic management and planning, explained why a strategic plan would be important to the success of this business, and explained the four functions of management relative to creating and implementing a strategic plan. Resources All Business, (2010). What is Strategic Management? Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. allbusiness. com/management/2975129-1. html McNamara, C. (2010). Basic Descriptions of Strategic Planning. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://managementhelp. org/plan_dec/str_plan/basics. htm Rothbauer-Wanish, H. (2009). Four Functions of Management. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://businessmanagement. suite101. com/article. cfm/four_functions_of_management