Project Planning, Execution, and Closure Essay

Premise As the project manager in charge of IRTC’s new endeavor of upgrading their legacy billing system one of the most crucial tasks in which I have to accomplish in this function is to build a team of worthy professionals. As we know the people we work with can either be a value to a program or at time a detriment; therefore as a project manager, it is extremely important to hire the right talent at the right price. We have to keep in mind while talent is important, it’s even more important to hire personnel that will coalesce effectively in all manners pertaining to the crucial work. Without synergy from the team, the project manager is taking unnecessary risk that may impede reaching benchmarks thus ultimately risking the ability to meet requirements. Along with many other tasks, the project manager has to hire competent individuals and align these individuals to roles that are best suited for the project. The IRTC billing system project has budgetary limitations, the budget for the project must be managed so that the best value is created for the lowest cost. The contract allows 2.5 full time employees but requires three positions to be filled for the role as the end user, business analyst and team leader, thus the common sense approach would be to create two dual hated positions that can perform at least two or more roles. I recognizing that the IRTC billing system project will be best suited for two multi-talented FTEs, therefore, I am strongly considering Chris and Terry for the End used, business analyst and team leader positions. Terry would be a great fit for the team leader and business analyst position, while Chris would be a perfect fit for the software tester and end user position. What does a business analyst do? The roles of the business analyst will vary from company to company. In theory the ideal Business analyst should be versatile in numerous functions related to business; the business analyst does not have to be a master in these functions, a general knowledge will suffice, enough knowledge to see trends and recognize superfluous factors that may have adverse effects on those function. A business analyst should have knowledge in finance, engineering, computer hardware architecture, operations, finance, engineering and technology. Business analysts typically serve as the liaisons which will bridge the individual departments within an organization together throughout the various phases within the developmental process. The following are core skills and functions of business analyst, as dictated by an article from Villanova University: Business analyst will works all the departments within a business to isolate prospects for enhancements in business operations and processes. Business anal ysts are usually included in the modification and strategy/design of IT systems or business systems. The analyst interacts with the business stakeholders and subject matter experts in order to understand their problems and needs. The business analyst and the project manager are usually close based on the fact that the business analyst will have to familiar with documents pertaining to the project and usually analyzes business needs and requirements being created by the project manager. Business analyst are usually involved in all aspect of the new project, a big part of their role is to solve business problems, come with business solutions technical issues that warrant such measures. A big part of a business analyst role is to documents technical design and functionality of the new system. Business analyst seldom works together with developers and system architects to ensure that proper integration of the system being worked on. A business analyst might aid in tests for the system being developed and part of his tasks in this function may be to produce user manuals and documentation for the system. In retrospect to the various tasks of the business analyst Terry would fit perfect within that roles. Terry has business analyst experience already and Terry attitude toward the work is positive. What does a team leader do? The team leader’s role and functions are directly related to the team members; hence various employees are hired by the project manager because of their knowledge and expertise. The team leader’s is hired to effectively coordinate those team mates. Nonetheless, the team leader should be familiar with organization processes and have a good report with various stakeholders. The team leader should be the liaison between the team and act as a moderator between the individual team members and the project manager. He or she should have constant interaction with the team as to gather pertinent information so as to improve processes. The team leader is usually in charge or may act as the schedule keeper and record keeper during the various stages development. The team leader must build and maintain a good relationship with the sponsor, as he or she will have constant interaction the both the sponsor and stakeholders. Lastly, the team leader may play a part in the selection of n ew team members. The team leader is a role for a project, the person in that role may have other functions within the organization, and therefore that person must learn to manage his various roles accordingly to be effective. Cron.com states that part of the role the team leader is to develop strategy, communicate the vision, serve the team, remain calm, and make decisions. Terry would be exemplary in the team lead position. I have worked in program where the business analyst and team position are one of the same, being fulfilled by one person. What is an end user? The best way to describe an end user is to think of that type of person which will ultimately be using the system or software being developed. In the realm of information technology, the concept of the end user is somewhat different; the usage for the term may be nominal to any industry but have a totally different function in IT. In information technology or the production of information technology systems, end users are hired for the sake of testing the system as a measure to provide feedback in various areas. People who do not have a good working knowledge of the software are used for the purpose of human factoring, functionality, feasibility, ease and purpose. Developers will use information from the end used in the various phases of the system being develop to improve in areas where end users functionality and ease of operation is warranted. Chris would be the  perfect person to act in the role as the end user. Chris would be a valued member to the project not only does he fit perfect for the end user role but he has programming talents as well as good useful knowledge in software testing. Why I choose Terry and Chris Upon reading the background of the five candidates, it became clear which candidate would fit within my ideal team. First off, I disqualified Pat as candidate, although his well-qualified and would have made a great team lead/business analyst, Pat’s attitude toward the project makes me full uneasy and question is diligences to fulfilling his task based on that he does not see the benefit of moving to the Web-based version. I disqualified Jan for team lead position and business analyst position just because Terry is just a better and I could not hire her any other position because her salary requirements is higher than Terry’s. Also, Pat is overly qualified for the end user position. I did not consider Robin for either position albeit she may be a value in another needed role, possibly as a programmer. Terry and Chris will only take 48 hours from the 100 hours allowed for full time employees. Jan might be a good candidate to hire as trainer considering I we purchase the training package from the vendor. Jan’s background with vendor’s competitor will make her an avid trainer; also it would be good to have her counsel. She may be the key person to helping IRTC create a product that has advantages over current software available. References: Project Management Institute. (2013). Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) 5th Edition. Newton Square: Project Management Institute. Kerzner, H. (2013). Mistakes Made by Inexperienced Project Managers. In H. Kerzner, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling, 11th Edition (p. 213). John Wiley & Sons. Travis, E. (n.d.). Roles of a team leader in a business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/roles-team-leader-business-22734.html What does a business analyst do?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.villanovau.com/business-analyst-career/

Analysis of Managerial Decisions: Medford University

In an attempt to find a solution for reducing these costs, the management could have approached the Human Resources department to analyze the issue on hand and provide a revised plan for the employees' fringe benefits. Instead the management has taken a decision to create a task force to analyze the financial crises in hand and come up with a solution to help reduce the fringe benefits costs to the university. Medford University, a prestigious research university, with over 10,000 students and over 12,000 employees, is faced with a significant financial crisis Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).University management has cornered the huge costs burdened by the university on the fringe benefits to the employees. This contributes to over $1 00 million annually (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009). Not to mention the retirement benefits promised to the retiring employees. The university, however, off late have been faced with serious financial crises. The fringe benefits costs have been contributing to the major expense faced by the university. The management is hence faced with an immediate action plan to tackle these financial crises to salvage the true of the university and its employees.Now the solution depends widely in changing the current fringe benefits plan and for this the management could approach the human resources department to find a new plan to reduce costs and also keep the employees satisfied. Instead the president employs a special task force headed by the hospital chief administrator to find a solution to these crises. 1) President Shipyard's decision to approach the problem over the fringe benefits by assigning a task force to analyze the issue is a very different approach rather than just going to the human sources department to draft a plan to tackle the same (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).The main focus of this task force was to reduce expenditure and develop a new fringe benefit package for the employees of the university. He also ob served caution as the values of the faculty and staff of the university should not be affecting in any way by the introduction of this task force and their analysis. His seriousness in the success Of this task force was evident when a top administrator was employed to lead the task force. The vice provost and many other experienced members were also pointed to the task force to guarantee a very effective team.On the other hand, if the president had simply directed the issue to the human resources department to come up with a plan, it would have resulted in yet another revised benefits package, with cause or concern about it being directed towards the well off, wealthy, and might have even had questions raised against favoritism towards certain faculty and staff members. 2) The president must give access to all the university financial to the task force. The focus of the task force is not just to find a solution to reduce expenses UT also to seek the best possible solution for the em ployees as well.The ideas and perceptions of each of the task force members should be directed to this purpose. It is the responsibility of the president to make sure the individual concerns of each of the member is considered in discussion and every decision made. The primary focus however would be the financial of the university. 3) The chief administrators appointment to lead the task force by the President was a decision made in considering the experience and knowledge he would bring on the federal laws, state laws and the insurance hat contribute to the cost of education (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).Every member of the task force is bound to bring in various personal opinions and perceptions to the issue at hand and hence as the lead administrator, he would have to take into consideration and lead the team in the right direction. Hence the chief administrator is the most able person to help guide the committee and keep them on track in attaining the desired result. This will ensure there is a broader perspective on the problem, diverse opinion and a solution is amicably found. This allows the committee to focus on rater detail the data presented so there is an even evaluation by each individual and, as a group. ) The purpose of the committee is to find the best possible solution to tackle the financial crises faced by the university. However, it is not something that is guaranteed to be accepted by the President. The president will consider the report of the committee as the solution to the financial crises but the president does have the power to override, make suggestions or modify the solution as he see fits. It was wise to appoint her assistants as the vice provosts, to the task force to ensure that he president had easy access to information and minutes of the meetings.While the Intent is to lower the cost of fringe benefits, the president does not want to change the quality of the faculty and staff. However, the university's financial status shows that it cannot continue a costly fringe benefits plan and therefore she would be willing to offer concession to the staff of Medford University. One way to do this is to continue to be open any ideas after the study. Even after any recommendations, there may be need to modify or change any suggestions after careful study. In the end the President wants to be sure that staff and faculty are fairly and legally compensated. ) An assistant of the President was appointed as the secretary of the task force. This gives the president an inside access into the committee and its progress. It also keeps the president informed and also keep track on the individual contributions to the committee and also the to see how unified the team is in their decision making. This also would help the president in developing counter proposals and also suggestions to what the task force recommends. Conclusion As per my opinion, in regards to the Medford University study , the purpose of the task force is to provide recommendations from the faculty, staff, and student body.The chair and its members represent a sampling of the faculty, staff and students which can act as voice for their well-being. The diverse task force members will also be better able to gage support in the cost cutting measures where necessary in order for the school to maintain the level of education it is currently providing and that it keeps its top notch educators. References Brinkley, J. A. , Smith, C. W. , & Zimmerman, J. L. (2009). Managerial economics and organizational architecture. Chicago: Irwin.

Request for Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Request for - Scholarship Essay Example Earning for the sake of well-being of my children is the dire necessity now for this divorced mother of four children. After marriage, I was a stay at home mother without the responsibility for earning. After the bitter experience of divorce, though it was a great blow in my personal life, I began to find jobs, was employed twice, and on both the occasions was laid off. I am placed at the precarious stage of my life and I am unable to take admission to any medical course without financial assistance. At the same time, I am determined to do the course to eventually get myself qualified as a Sonographer to start with and then do a course in MRI. I have been advised by my well-wishers that if I am able to do this course from a reputed medical institution like yours that will stand me in good stead for my future career opportunities. Taking into consideration my family condition, my earnest desire to enter the health field that provides immense challenges to serve humankind, and to fulfill my long-term career goals, I request you to grant me a scholarship that will cover up the entire tuition fees and other related expenses. I shall remain ever grateful for this magnanimous act by the management of Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts. I request you treat mine as a very special

Pier scour in coarse bed and cohesive materials Research Paper

Pier scour in coarse bed and cohesive materials - Research Paper Example This results to approximately 60 percent of all bridge failures. The societal repercussions that are associated with failures and the costs that are linked to repair are amplified in Alaska, alternate routes of ground transportation between several cities are not in existence. Bridge culvert damages cost a lot to the economy, for example, in 2002 the damage in Kenai Peninsula was estimated at about 19 million dollars. This led to bridge site examination for scour. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the background of scour, its description, the pier scour, and its equation. Scour Scour is a hole that remains behind when sand and rocks, sediments are washed away from the river bottom. Even though scour often occur at any particular time, the scour action is strong especially during flood season. This is because swiftly flowing water has much energy than slowly flowing calm water to lift and wash away sediments from the river bottom. Scour is of a great concern to bridges. This is be cause if rocks or sediment on which bridge is supported or rest is scoured by the river, it is most probably that the bridge could be very unsafe for travel purposes. For example, in 1987 when the Interstate Highway bridge over Schoharie Creek in the state of New York collapsed following a flood, the Federal Highway Administration demanded that each state to specify bridges on the highway over water that are likely to experience problems of scour and to have the bridges with severe scour identified. This knowledge of bridge sites in which there are potential scour problems will enable the States to improve and monitor the bridge conditions ahead of time before they pose danger to travelers. Types of scour There are three main types of scour that affect bridges. The following are the major types of scour that may pose danger to highway bridges over water: Local scour: this occurs when sediments are swept away from around bridge piers and/ or abutments. Piers in this particular case a re the pillars that support bridges, while abutments are the ones supporting the end of the bridge. Flowing water past abutment or pier may scoop holes out in the sediment resulting into scour holes. Contraction scour: this type of scour occurs the sediments are swept away from the sides and bottom of the river. Contraction scour is majorly caused by an increased speed in water flow as it flows through an opening of a bridge which is narrower than the natural channel of the river. Degradation scour: this is a general removal of sand and rocks, sediments from the bottom of the river by the flow of the river. This is often a natural process of sediment removal that lowers the bottom of the river resultantly. In most cases, the process removes large quantities of sediment with time. Pier scour Piers scour is the removal of sediments around the pier. This occurs when rocks and sand in which the bridge rests are removed by flowing water. This is very dangerous to travelers and may cause high magnitude accidents. Adequate definition of potential pier scour at piers is very essential to a proper construction, design, and maintenance of bridges. Designing cost effective and safe bridge depends on accurate estimate of the depth of scour. Thus, underestimating the depth of the scour can place both human life and structures at risk. On the other hand, consistent

How to fix financial reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

How to fix financial reporting - Essay Example Subprime mortgage crisis has strengthened the need for the way and manner in which listed companies should reveal their financial datas. Majority of the subprime mortgages was securitised through a new kind of risky financial instrument namely â€Å" Collateralised Debt Obligation â€Å" ( CDOs) and marketed in the global financial market as coupon bearing bonds. Banks and financial institutions all around the world have invested in CDOs which infected badly the networth of these banks and financial institutions. Critics are of the view that the main culprits were the existing accounting standards employed by the companies as they depicted the financial of the company inaccurately. There is a necessity to enhance the financial intelligibility and dissemination so as to boost the confidence of the investors. The main issue is that the majority of the companies failed to offer an accurate and an exhaustive dissemination of their financial worthiness, which is mirrored by incomplete dissemination of liabilities, not reflecting the real value of the assets and aggregate risk on balance sheets of companies around the world. Both the financial regulators and analysts have demanded that there should be an enhanced transparency in the revelation of accounting info by companies. Banks which suffered negative networth due to subprime mortgage crisis have called for fair-value accounting for diminished assets is to be annulled to permit the deteriorated credit markets to resurrect. William Isaac damned the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s regulation demanding that the assets should be measured as per current market value despite the fact there existed no market for such assets. This rule would compel the companies to write off the values of such impaired assets, which would end in a decrease in equity and would hamper the future funding from banks. On September 2008, due to pressure exerted from financial

Images that Injure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Images that Injure - Essay Example For the inclusion of the disable to a school environment then the following factors has to be in place: assessment of all parts of physical education, educators to identify how to modify, adapt, and create of lesson plans that are engaging and lastly, put up a belief that disable children are effective in a community. The effectiveness of the disable is evident in the movie at first sight when Vigril a blind man can find his way to town on his own with ease, he also gives a massage to Amy and she is so pleased. The inclusion of disabled children to the environment helps other children in understanding and appreciating them. There is also the bridge of a special-need child in the mainstream classes, as it creates the best learning and a favorable environment as both the disable children and their counterparts spend time together, share same resources and receive individual treatment from their educators. The disabled also fins away to tackle their challenges, which help them, improve in academics, self-esteem and social

Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Articles - Essay Example As good as, he was in advertising, Jack truly hated the business, which manifested itself when he retired, and sought to concentrate on art, which gave him satisfaction until his demise. That was then. One hundred years down the line, a new age group of advertising agencies has cropped up with new clients and new needs. I doubt if Jack would be pleased by the present advertising industry much more than the industry he ultimately left behind to concentrate on art. This does not mean that advertising has become any significant than it had previously been. The most important thing to remember is that the glimmer of creativeness holds the future of business. The year could be 2025 or perhaps 2035. You could be sleeping in iPyjamas and driving a driverless car. What is apparent at that time which resembles thirty or forty years ago is your e-mail, which you can log into while dressing probably because you can access it through your shirt pocket. Such are the changes that had been predicted by clairvoyants some twenty or thirty years ago. Media changes and advancements were not left out either by the seers. Technology and digital media will undoubtedly step up. Mobile devices, which are already the ideal internet and media platforms, will keep on growing (Khan, 2014). Globalization of the media will force the western world to step up its game due to competition from Latin America, Asia and even Africa. Evidently, the revolution of the media will take various routes hence be manifested by diversity. Probably the future has already encroached into our society with all the features that define the future media already manifesting themselves. The full impact is what is yet to be seen and we can only deduce the face of digital media in the future by the pace it is

History of Canadian Labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History of Canadian Labour - Essay Example Triggered by a conflict between metal workers and their bosses, the agitation rapidly spread throughout the city's working class. This essay is going to trace the growth and development of the working class people in the history of Canada between 1880 and 1920. A thorough assessment of the period will be made with regards to simultaneous union and splitting of the working class on the basis of race, gender, region and skills. The Knights of Labor made their presence felt by uniting workers of different types. Gradually the organization spread its control over small towns and villages. It was in 1881 when Hamilton became one of the strongholds of the labor organization, followed by Qubec and BC, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. The local neighboring areas of New Brunswick and Alberta were also parts of the 450 local assemblies across Canada. Labor politics rose to prominence as the Knights of Labor reform group coordinated and controlled the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada. The self-governing labor political campaign, which played a crucial role in terms of growth and development of working class militancy in Canada in the end of the nineteenth century, led to parliamentary lobbying, thus bringing the most pertinent issues of the working class before political and administrative authorities. The fundamental rights of the working class people were brought to notice through intensive campaigning and follow-up mechanisms. The dedication of the Knights leaders and more importantly, the spontaneous participation of labors from all areas of manual works helped enormously to turn the campaign into a success story. The Knights approached Ontario and the West in 1886, but the major success as far as voicing peoples' rights and demands is concerned came in Qubec and Ottawa in the 1890s. The development of working class unions in Canada prior to the World War II hastened up when the Knights of Labor organization was forced out on the ground of duality from the TLC at Berlin in 1902. The influence of the Knights of Labor on the working class did not concern just the idea of making unions, but the intent to curb the monopoly and exploitation of the contemporary capitalist social structure by developing alternatives based on equality and justice. To expatiate furthermore on the thesis topic in hand, one needs to gain a clear insight on the value of skilled labors. In any society, skilled labors do have an upper hand over incompetent labors. The age of rapid spread in industrialization necessitated deployment of efficient labors to maximize output in factories. During the span of forty years from 1880 to 1920, the working class fraternity of Canada orchestrated community business to maximize production. In Toronto, skilled and experienced craftsmen exercised far greater control over their employers in terms of production. The individual as well as collective discipline of veteran labors was considered to be an asset in Canada in those times. The labor unions in Toronto and other places acted forthrightly on choosing the right people for the right cause. But when the industrial capitalization threatened to disturb the balance of the working class society, a protest movement was on the cards. By and large, the working clas

The importance of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in the UK Essay

The importance of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in the UK - Essay Example That is, this paper will analyze how these traits are visible, and how it had aided them to achieve success and reach top positions in their country. Entrepreneur is the owner who can create honor for the enterprise. That is, entrepreneur, as a ‘founder’ cum ‘builder’ can launch a new Enterprise from scratch by building a team. He/she can build his/her team by associating individuals who came from the same ‘stable’ like friends, work mates, family members etc and by recruiting new individuals with the right talent, knowledge and attitude. With this ‘living’ group, and the material things like capital, machines, infrastructure etc the entrepreneur cum leader embark on an organization. So, an entrepreneur is someone, who with inbuilt and also acquired leadership traits set ups a new startup to offer a new or existing product or service. The above graph shows that in United Kingdom young people are more likely to believe that entrepreneurship represents a good career choice and that it brings status. Also, it shows that younger people are less likely to believe that there is enough media coverage of new businesses. The successful entrepreneur has a range of personal skills, attributes and behaviours that go beyond the purely commercial. It is these attributes, this way of thinking and behaving that needs to be developed in our students if their entrepreneurial capabilities are to be enhanced. (Pg.360). The thing, that will be common to all these entrepreneurs, even though they live and function in different corners, is the good amount of leadership traits. Speaking about good leadership traits, the trait of having a good vision is one of the foremost ones. Actually, the vision that arises in the mind of the entrepreneur only initiates the process of entrepreneurship. And that mental picture or vision will

Chapter 8-9 SA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter 8-9 SA - Assignment Example This self assessment test 2 is used to evaluate the atmosphere for creativity. The evaluation is meant to single out various situations in an organization that encourage the employees to be more creative in work. The measure of the environment for creativity shows the level of support the management and organization gives the employees for inventiveness and innovation. The test value of cumulative numbers is then compared to the values of the continuum. A continuum is provided at the end of the assessment test with numbers indicating different values that indicate the level of support offered. A high score indicates that the organization is very supportive of the employees’ creativity and innovation. Therefore, our organization has an average support for employees’ creativity and innovation. These exercises help the students to relate their work surroundings to the ideas in ways that other people can gain from the experience they have (Lussier & Achua, 2010). This self assessment test 3 is used to evaluate the personal traits and teams that can affect the team work of an individual. The first personality profile reviewed can be; I enjoy being part of a team and working with others more than working alone. The scales given to this profile could be 1 to 7, with 7 illustrating strongly agreeing to the profile while 1 illustrating strongly disagreeing to the personality profile. The second profile reviewed is, I enjoy accomplishing team goals more than individual accomplishments, given scales from 1 to 7. 7 will illustrate strongly agreeing to this statement while 1 illustrates strongly disagreeing to the same statement. From these two statements, we can deduce that the stronger you agree with them the higher the probability of being a good team player. On the other hand, lower scores do not exactly mean that you are not a good team player. The Big Five personality dimensions and their related motive needs can influence your team

Extended commentary of During Wind and Rain by Thomas Hardy Essay Example for Free

Extended commentary of During Wind and Rain by Thomas Hardy Essay On the Title: An ambiguous and interesting choice of title, in that it is – as I will show – both incongruous with the tense (or time-scale) used in the poem and draws the reader’s attention to descriptions of the weather. The word â€Å"during† makes the weather conditions affect the present. However, the poem is mostly written in the historic present and many of the stanzas depict images of bright, pleasant days – not the â€Å"wind and rain† alluded to in the title. There is clearly an intentional discrepancy being orchestrated here by Hardy. Quote SLS: â€Å"Beware â€Å"during†, the incongruous preposition.† Overall Structure: Four stanzas of seven lines, with a very strange (but regular) rhyme scheme. Hardy uses a very odd structure indeed. The rhyme scheme utilised in the poem consists of: ABCBCDA. There are multiple effects of this: * The sixth line in the stanza breaks the poetic flow of the stanza, as it is the only line not to rhyme with another – hence acting like a mid-stanzaic volta. It draws attention to itself. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the sixth line of every stanza breaks away from the theme of familial happiness painted in the previous five lines, and turns the subject to the contrasting theme of death. Observe the refrains used! * The drawn out â€Å"A† rhyme encompasses the entirety of each stanza. Given that the last line (about death) is linked to the first (about life), is Hardy trying to show the unavoidable connection of life and death? * Seven lines to each stanza perhaps represent a week, just as the four stanzas represent the seasons? Very poor allusion. Themes: Death, Family life, Time, The Seasons. Difficult Language Notes: â€Å"Blithely† means â€Å"happily†. First Stanza Notes: â€Å"They sing their dearest songs – He, she, all of them – yea, Treble and tenor and bass, And one to play; With the candles mooning each face Ah, no, the years O! How the sick leaves reel down in throngs!† This poem is one full of repetition and refrain. The general layout of each stanza, in terms of theme, organisation and repetition of certain lines, remains constant. Each stanza, for example, opens with an image of a family – presumably the same one throughout – in a place, or carrying out an action, in a unified and â€Å"happy† way. This stanza evokes a scene of the Victorian family gathered, singing, around a piano (â€Å"one to play†), as piano playing and â€Å"sing-a-long† was, of course, very common in Hardy’s time. Note how he only uses personal pronouns; distancing effect? Hardy goes to perhaps extreme lengths to show the family’s unity. On a critical note, one could criticise his rather inefficient use of the first four lines of this poem, but that is not our aim. Some analysis: * â€Å"They sing their dearest songs†. Note the use of a superlative adjective in â€Å"dearest†. It is the first of many. We may query its meaning; perhaps it indicates a certain reverence to familial attitude, both in Hardy and in the family itself. They are enjoying it! * â€Å"He, she, all of them.† Illustrates a togetherness within the family – one which (as Hardy will later comment upon) Death inevitably overcomes. The following line regarding the different musical voice (â€Å"Treble and tenor and bass†) illustrates a similar thing, but is used to point out that Death affects all elements of family, regardless of age. How very depressing – we’re only at line 3! Even better, he does this in all stanzas. * â€Å"– yea† Note use of colloquial (conversational) affirmative. Not only is it used to force the rhyme scheme, but it contrasts with the later â€Å"Ah, no†, which is negative. Hardy does this in all stanzas. Without jumping ahead, however, it is simply a friendly comment of approval. * â€Å"With the candles mooning each face† Night time scene. Interesting, seeing as it contrasts with the other images presented, which are all in bright daylight. * â€Å"Ah, no; the years O!† Thus we encounter the â€Å"inter-stanzaic volta†. Not only does the rhyme scheme depart from regularity (We label the sixth line in all stanzas the ‘D’ rhyme, as it is the only line not to have a rhyming companion). It signifies a departure from the pleasant theme of the unadulterated joy of family life, and an arrival at the theme of its death – or the fact that it is all going â€Å"to pass† eventually. As before mentioned, the â€Å"Ah, no;† contrasts with the previous affirmative. The actual sense of this line is rather obscure. We assume that Hardy is implicitly commenting on the fact that â€Å"the years† take away/ damage the family life – as they pass, so does the family and its happiness. â€Å"O!† is an ejaculation, expressing sadness or mourning for the family. * â€Å"How the sick leaves reel down in throngs!† Hardy furthers his ideas about death. Here is a line referring to the autumnal decay of life – leaves falling – and the way in which it precedes Death. Note how the leaves, when considered in â€Å"throngs†, may represent people? In the same way, a â€Å"reel† is a type of dance; is this (a slightly sick) dance of death? Unlikely, but we must remember that Hardy has no qualms with tragic irony. Second Stanza Notes: â€Å"They clear the creeping moss – Elders and juniors – aye, Making the pathways neat and the garden gay; And they build a shady seat Ah, no; the years, the years; See the white storm-birds wing across!† Once again, Hardy begins his stanza with an image of the family, this time in the garden – presumably in spring, as suggested by the fact that they are clearing the remains of winter (â€Å"the creeping moss†), whilst he describes the garden as â€Å"gay†. One can immediately recognise the structural similarities shared with the first stanza, as well as the meaning behind the â€Å"pleasant† image. * Note that Hardy now observes that both â€Å"Elders and juniors† participate – again, he differentiates between the different members of the family, but now uses the factor of age, as opposed to musical voices. This serves only to strengthen the original analysis; that unity may be visible and, indeed, enjoyable, but it is only fleeting in the face of Death. Lovely * Observe how the family’s actions are arranged around both â€Å"making the place neat/pretty† and around comfort. â€Å"Making pathways neat† and â€Å"building a shady seat† have only temporary effects upon happiness – the â€Å"moss† will grow back, the pathways will become untidy in time, when Winter (representing Death and decay) comes. Thus we find that Hardy is setting up, within his â€Å"pleasant† image, the backdrop upon which he wishes to point out that all happiness, joy – and life itself – is fleeting. * Or is it an image of the â€Å"futility of human endeavour† – the weather will erode the order imposed upon it, and ultimately Death will prevail? * On an aside: evidence for the scene being set in spring: if the seat is shady, then surely the sun must be out in broad daylight – not a symptom commonly associated with the Wintry illness! Ah, no; the years, the years; See the white storm-birds wing across! And yet, on cue, Hardy revives his alternative theme – this time with a slightly different D rhyme/phrase. The colloquial negative remains, but Hardy uses the echo of â€Å"the years† to emphasize the passage of time. He uses the same phrase in the fourth stanza, yet repeats the primary ejaculation in the third stanza (they alternate). The final line of the stanza is rather interesting. â€Å"Storm-birds† sound like mythical beasts – perhaps the extremity of phrase reflects that of Death? – yet they are most likely geese, flying away before Winter comes. It is not as disturbing an image as that of the leaves â€Å"reeling†, but it again points to the same idea. The use of strong verbs in all final lines in all stanza adds to their strength: â€Å"reel† in Stanza One, â€Å"wing† in the second, etc. â€Å"To wing† itself is an unusual choice, perhaps adding to a sense of the supernatural. Think back to â€Å"Neutral Tones† and the â€Å"ominous bird a-wing†. The verb has the same effect here. Third Stanza Notes: â€Å"They are blithely breakfasting all – Men and maidens – yea, Under the summer tree, With a glimpse of the bay, While pet fowl come to the knee Ah, no; the years O! And the rotten rose is ript from the wall.† Here Hardy is at last explicit about the season and its effects; much as Autumn and Winter are representative of Death and decay, spring and summer bear idyllic delights. In this stanza, we find ourselves in the latter. One cannot â€Å"overdo† the emphasis which Hardy applies to the seasons. He pictures human life as tragically linear, whilst comparing it to the inevitably cyclical seasons. In the end, the seasons – especially Winter – bring about the decay of a finite life. And yet, to begin with, this stanza suggests that the family are blissfully unaware of that fact. * Once again, we find the family in unity and happy – seeing as they are â€Å"blithely breakfasting† – suggesting a disregard for the potential decay and sadness. They appear to live in the happy present. * It has been suggested that the family have now grown up, seeing as they are now described as â€Å"Men and maidens† as opposed to â€Å"Elders and juniors†. Side point – no way to substantiate claim. Of course, now Hardy differentiates between them using sex – all the more differences which Death can overcome. * Allusions to an Arcadian ideal – a perfect landscape, full of happiness – are impossible to avoid. â€Å"Under the summer tree / With a glimpse of the bay†; it sounds more like Tuscany than Britain! Of course, Hardy is not that explicit. The â€Å"bay† may just as well be a bay tree, as much as a bit of coastland. Still, the image remains idyllic. And yet, â€Å"I [Death] am here†. * â€Å"The pet fowl† may represent a further source of happiness – domesticated or agricultural livestock have always been kept for the happiness of one’s stomach or one’s heart. Either will do. More human endeavour to be laid waste to by Death? Here, as usual, the poem breaks away and returns to the original ejaculation about the years passing. Note how the â€Å"O!† lengthens the line – it slows the reader down. Otherwise analysed above. The final image evocative of Death, however, is of our greatest interest: â€Å"The rotten rose is ript from the wall.† Again, an ambiguous phrase creates the sense of sickening mystery which Death itself possesses. Not only does the obvious alliteration of the â€Å"r† sound mount both the tension and force placed upon the final verb, but it also mirrors the ugly nature of the act itself. â€Å"Ript† is merely an archaic spelling of â€Å"ripped† – the sense is the same and bears the same strength. Yet who, or what, rips up the rose? Obviously, the image is representative of Death claiming a life; the verb suggests an unpleasant or untimely death. Quote SLS: â€Å"A complete severance from life†. Perhaps we can extrapolate this further to make a comment on the cruelty of Death in Hardy’s eyes? It may well be the wind. This would fit with the title, although we must still ponder the incongruous preposition, â€Å"during†. Perhaps the entire image is metaphorical, and Death is simply tearing a previously beautiful flower (â€Å"rotten† is probably representative of â€Å"old†) away from life? Fourth Stanza Notes: â€Å"They change to a high new house, He, she, all of them – aye, Clocks and carpets and chairs On the lawn all day, And the brightest things that are theirs Ah, no; the years, the years; Down their carved names the rain-drop ploughs.† Clearly the family have grown wealthier, to move house – and, it seems, they have moved quite literally â€Å"up† in the world, as it is a â€Å"high† one. One may question whether this stanza overly reflects upon the materialistic joys of the world. Maybe that is Hardy’s intention. I doubt, however, that this is an explicit attack upon those who value material objects; rather a memento mori, in that, despite the temporary pleasure of wealth and possessions, Death will always claim victory. Deeper analysis: * Note how we have returned to â€Å"He, she, all of them†. Have we come round in a full generational cycle? * The weather remains good, as the family display their possessions on the lawn, presumably as they either prepare to move them to the new house from the old, or simply before they have been properly installed. Clearly Hardy is using summer to represent joy and prosperity. * The language bears little complexity – hence little analysis! Is this done to reflect the simple, but enjoyable, pleasures of materialistic desires and good weather? * â€Å"Brightest things which are theirs†. Note another superlative. Relevance/ importance, other than to add emphasis? (Have previously analysed the secondary ejaculation. Now repeated.) The final image of the poem is possibly the most interesting, dramatic and explicit. â€Å"Down their carved names the rain-drop ploughs.† Here Hardy at last makes an explicit reference to the subject of death, in that their â€Å"carved names† are grave stones, whilst also tying in the title (with the reference to the weather). Primarily, we are shocked by the contrast; clearly, Hardy is imagining the same individuals with whom we are now familiar (as â€Å"the family†) as being dead. They have been buried. This is a very sudden and rather upsetting realisation. Hardy very successfully makes his point about the frailty and temporal nature of life. Their successes and happiness are irrelevant. How depressing! Worse, Hardy suggests that the weather erodes them not only in life, but also destroys (â€Å"ploughs†) their memory in death; the rain drop appears to be eroding away the names from the stones. This insensitivity contrasts with the use of â€Å"names†, which are highly personal. Perhaps, however, Hardy intends â€Å"ploughs† to be positive. As in the agricultural sense, the rain drop prepares for new growth? Final note: Is the narrator writing the poem in the grave-yard? Are the images he recollects merely his memories of a family now dead – the images of Death are all happening around him â€Å"during wind and rain†? Clever point. Perhaps.

Regency Hotel Business Case Study

Regency Hotel Business Case Study EMPOWERMENT AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY INTRODUCTION The case study is about Regency Grand Hotel, a five star hotel in Bangkok. It was established by local syndicate of investors 15 years ago and was manage by Thai general manager. Regency is Bangkoks most prestigious hotel having 700 satisfied staff members. Lately, Regency was obtained by big American hotel chain. Due to this the old general manager took premature retirement an American John Backer with ten years of management experience was appointed as new general manager. Becker is a strong supporter of empowerment soon after his appointment as a general manager Becker implied empowerment to achieve success as in the past. ISSUES AND CONSEQUENCES AFTER EMPOWERMENT Empowerment can be described as People having the skills and the self-belief to proactively deal with issues and make the most of the opportunities available to them. but soon after the execution of empowerment new general manager realise that things are not going according to his expectation because staff of regency grant dont know what is empowerment? Because they use to work as per their manager order in the previous management they are not allowed to innovate generate anything new ,and were discourage by the senior managers and after all this they dont want to take risk and get punished by the management but general manger in America was working in a empowered environment where staff has a power of decision making can take minor decision on their own .basically its a cultural difference between management and staff where is from Thailand where they believe in team work and management is from America who believes in individuality they believe that they can do anything unaccompan ied which was the first issue. According to Hofstedes index Country Power Distance Individualism Masculinity Uncertainty Avoidance Thailand 64 20 34 64 U.S.A 40 91 62 46 Power Distance The extent to which large differentials of power for example between a boss and a subordinate or between a higher status and lower status are expected and tolerated. Autocratic behaviour by a boss would be much better tolerated in a high power distance country Uncertainty Avoidance-The extent to which the culture emphasizes focusing on way to reduce un certainty and create stability-for example having clear written rules and procedure to guide action. Formal organisational procedure may be much more necessary in the high Uncertainty avoidance country. Masculinity/Femininity- The difference between the traditional male gaols of ambition and achievement and female orientation to nurturance and interpersonal harmony-for example the balance between seeking promotion at work and having good relations with others. Individualism- In individualism culture people are most concerned about the consequences for the action for themselves, not others. They prefer activity conducted on ones own or in relatively private interactions with friends. Decision are made by the individual according to the judgement he or she makes as to that is appropriates and the individual rewards that will accures. Other reason for the failure of empowerment is staffs dont have proper training about empowerment .They doesnt know how to use this decision making power for guest satisfaction and for companies profit because they are not properly trained about empowerment. General manager told that staffs has power to make minor decision but major decision has to be taken by supervisors but staff was unable to distinguish between minor and the major problems. It was not clear that what decisions can be made by staff members? These boundaries must be defined or employee empowerment efforts fail. In regency grand supervisor dont trust staff to make good decisions. Staff members know this and either craftily makes decisions on their own and hides their results or they come to you for everything because they dont know what they really control .Supervisor can dont motivate the staff for decision making. And without motivating the staff it is impossible to execute empowerment properly. From last 15 years the staff member of Regency grand hotel were working under hierarchy management but suddenly after the arrival the new general managers Empowerment policy come under existence without any prior notice and any proper training to the staff so it is natural for the staff to resist this change because they are in habit of working as per the manager order ,they were not allowed to take their decision or do any pioneering and its a human tendency to first resist the change some staff dont want to take responsibility of empowerment, (Bacal 1996 ) they like to work as per the old system in which managers have to take the decision and staff has to blindly follow that order and if anything goes wrong managers are there to help them out but in empowerment nobody will take responsibility if a error is committed by you and you are the one who is going to pay for it. We can say that empowerment is not properly applied on the staff member which lead to the failure of the empowerm ent. OUTCOMES OF THE FAILURE OF EMPOWERMENT Due to failure of empowerment hotel Regency grand was losing its profit, clients and status in Bangkok. Becker thought that empowerment will help his hotel to earn more profit and guest satisfaction. Overall Performance of the hotel begins to decline. Increase in number of written guest complaints both verbally and in written. Disgrace in the news paper as one of the Asias nightmare hotel. Criticism about service standards of the hotel. Staffs were also not happy raise of nervous tension level among the employees. Good working atmosphere has been harshly strained. Lack of team spirits among the employees now they were against each other when mistakes were made by any employee. POTANTIAL SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM New general manager comes with a great idea of empowerment but the way he put into practice it was inappropriate,followong can be some of the potential solution of the problem. They have a uncertain view that employee empowerment means you start a few teams that address workplace employee morale or safety issues. The staff should be encourage to take their decision and to believe in their decision they should provide proper training before giving them decision authority. (Heathfield, 2000) John Becker move from American work culture to Thai work culture which are totally different from each other. In America they believe in individualism but in Bangkok the believe in team work and John Becker fails to understand that .he try to impose his American work culture which prove to be a disaster before implementing Empowerment in the hotel he should study about their work culture and try to fill that communication gap between him and the employees. He should be ready to accept the changes that he have to make according to work culture he is working for. CONCLUSION Empowerment is a good weapon to increase the decision making power and leadership quality among the employee but it should be implemented in a proper manner and procedure otherwise if its not executed properly it can destroy the organisation just in case of Regency Grand hotel and John Becker. Beckers intension was good to implement empowerment but the way he executed was wrong. REFERENCES Bannon ,G ,Guy,v ,dr.Omari,J ,Pooley,R ,Reed,B ,White,N 2003, Cross Cultural communication ,UK Ron,C 1998, Structured empowerment: an award-winning program at the Burswood Resort Hotel Leadership Organization Development Journal, vol. 19, no.5 Bacal,R 1996, Empowerment Difficulties, Work911.com -Workplace, Business, Career Help, viewed 15 August 2008, Heathfield,S 2000, Employee empowerment, About.com; human resource , viewed 16 August 2008, Thomas,D ,Inkson,k ,2004,Cultural Intelligence people skills for global business, Berrett-Koehler Publisher ,Inc. ,San Francisco. Hunt,J ,1979,Managing People At Work ,cox and Wyman Ltd. Great Britain

The Monopolist And Profit Maximization Economics Essay

The Monopolist And Profit Maximization Economics Essay Monopoly is a single seller and many buyers. There is no difference between firm and industry and monopoly form as imperfect market. Besides that, monopoly is the sole provider of goods and services. 2.1 Characteristics of Monopoly There are some characteristics of monopoly market. One seller and large number of buyers The one of monopoly characteristic is one seller and large number of buyers is large and the size of each firm is very small. The number of buyers also large and this firm cannot influence the market price. So basically, individual firm does not bother about the reactions of the firm. Besides that, adjusts its sale to earn maximum profits and the price given under perfect competition. The demand of individual buyers relative to the total demand. And so small that cannot influence the price of the product by his individual action. Product has no lose substitutes The second characteristics is, product differentiation, there is product are close substitutes but not perfect substitutes. Its means, products are alike but not equal. For an example, Colgate toothpaste is slightly different from Darlie toothpaste. Otherwise, similarly dettol soap is different from life buoy soap. But if the buyers can find any substitutes for toothpaste and soap means, may be the differences is real or imaginary but its create attachments. Consumers prefer one product to another, under monopolistic competition. Monopoly cannot exist if there is a competition or any substitute product because consumers or buyers could not find any replacement for the product. Restriction on the entry of new firm. The third characteristics of the monopoly are, firm under monopolistic are easy to entry and leave the industry. Barriers are not entry is natural or legal restriction that restricts the entry of new firms into the industry. Hence, a firm has legal control over other firms. There is restricting competition in the market. Advertising In monopoly market, advertising is depends to the product sold. If the product is good and services means, the monopoly needs make advertisement to inform consumers on the goods. So that, its try to establish goods of its own products. By the advertising, consumers can know their selling costs. However, if the products are not luxury goods such as water service, electricity service, and local telephone service, then the seller no need to create any advertisement. This is because a lot of the buyers know that where are the places and locations to get and purchase these few products. 2.1.1 Diagram The Monopolist and Profit Maximization In the diagram, the quantity of produced and price charged has own control for both of it. That also, entire demand curve for goods and services produced. So that, it will facing a downward slopping demand curve in the diagram. Equivalently, a monopoly never operates in the inelastic portion of its demand curve. Monopolist Profit Maximization http://i.investopedia.com/inv/articles/site/micro3.12.gif What happens if the monopolist later faces a demand curve such as D1? In that case, the monopolist cannot cover costs and will go out of business. 2.1.2 Demand, Marginal Revenue, and Elasticity http://cyro.cs-territories.com/asa2_economics/unit4/images/monopolisticcompetitionlongrun1.png In the diagram, demand curve is elastic as there many firms. So that, there is lack of close substitutes. The profits shown as abnormal where the shaded area and competitor the short run. As shown in the graph above, a monopolist facing demand curve D0 will produce quantity Q0 and the price charged will be equal to P0. 2.1.3 Conclusion All in all, monopoly have four characteristics of structure. Besides that, monopoly is the sole provider of goods and services. The monopoly market is still solely by mutually beneficial exchange of firm exist and many. 3.0 Difference between Perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly Perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly have their own respectively features. Their characteristic of their four markets is not same. In monopoly, the market structure in which there is only one producer and seller for a product. Oligopoly is only few firms that make up an industry and select group of firms has control over the price. Monopoly and oligopoly has high barriers to entry. Then, monopoly structure is opposite for perfect competition. Perfect competition are has many buyers and sellers, many products that are similar in nature and there are many substitutes. 3.1 Differentiate between perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly 3.1.1 Perfect competition Perfect competition is a market is a possible market where competition is at its greatest in possible level. The products are homogeneous and seller can easily enter and exit from their market. Number of seller and buyers Perfect competition is very large numbers of firms in the market. Perfect competition also existence of large number of buyers and sellers. There is no dominating firm and all firms are usually small and are price takers, because the individual sales volume is relatively small compared to market volume. The price does not change and there is no discernible change in the quantity exchanged in the market. Unrestricted to entry and exist The second characteristics of perfect competition is there are unrestricted on the entry and exist of both buyers and sellers. A firm can easily enter into perfect competition market and leave the market at any time, if that firm cannot continue the firm. The absence of such barriers does not affect the prices, and there is always a substitute for suppliers, who enters and leaves if, wants. If any losses occur the firm will exist the industry without any reason. This is important to understand the free entry and free exist is possible in the long-time firm. Homogeneous product There another condition of perfect competition is homogeneous product that is a product offer for sale by seller. It must be goods offers for sale and perfect substitutes of one another seller. One firm cannot differentiate the same products sold in the industry because buyers can identify the difference in terms of colors, quality and packing. There is mean, even though the products are same in nature but there is difference in terms of quality. Seller cannot raise the price above the prevailing price or lower the price. Homogeneity of product has an important implication for the market if products of different seller. Besides that, buyers not care who they buy from, as long as the price is same. Maximum profits In the perfect competition, profit maximization determine by the quantity of product they sell. The marginal cost by the product of a single unit of the product is equal to the marginal revenue. Total revenue and total cost approach are the profit maximization. When the cost is lowest, and then only can be maximum profit. 3.1.2 Monopolistic competition The concept monopolistic competition is more realistic than perfect competition. Monopolistic competition market each firm has its own price policy. The most things from another thing feature of monopolistic competition are the products of various firms are not identified. But they are close substitutes for each others. In the case, monopolistic and perfect competition is characteristic by the existence of sellers. The firms do not produce perfect substitutes. Otherwise, each firm has a small percentage of the total monopolistic market and thus has limited control over market price. Product differentiates. Under monopolistic competition, product differentiation may entail physical or qualities differences in the products by their selves. There output product are differentiated between which are relatively close substitutes for each other. So that, that product prices cannot be very much different from each other. Product differentiated by location, services, designs, and brand names. The firms in monopolistic competition will differentiated their products and make them more appealing to the customers in order to maximize their profits. 3.1.3 Oligopoly In an  oligopoly, there are only a few firms that make up an industry. This select group of firms has control over the price and, like a monopoly; an oligopoly has high barriers to entry. Main characteristic of oligopoly is interdependence of firms in the industry. Sum more, in the oligopoly market, all firms can earn abnormal profits in the long run because, the entry of new firms are difficult. Oligopoly is not like monopolistic market, because if firms change the prices or output, it has noticed effects on the sales and profits of its competitors. Small number of large firm Approaches from small number of large firm are each which is relatively large compared to the overall size of market. Under oligopoly, few firms control the overall industry and there is no specific number of firms that must control the market. Homogeneous of differentiated product Under oligopoly, when a product sold that can be either a homogeneous or a differentiated product. For example, petroleum, steel and etc. and also, oligopoly focus on goods sold. Basically, people have different wants needs and thus enjoy variety. Such as, automobiles and computers. Barriers no entry Barriers no entry is similar to monopoly market. The oligopoly firms will restrict new entry into the market. In this industry, a few huge firms own most of the available iron ore, a necessary raw material for steel production. Once the new firms are out of the market, there large firms reduce the production will increase the price. In these cases, barriers to entry are low, and it also as small investment may be required to enter the market structure. 3.1.4 Monopoly Monopoly can be considered opposite of perfect competition. It is a market form in which there are only sellers. Even though, there are many factors to rise up monopoly market. There is only one supplier; and the demand curve that individual firms face is the market demand curve. A monopoly firm is deemed to have considerable control over the price of its product. In the case a monopoly can also arise if a company owns the entire supply of a necessary material needed to produce a product. 3.1.5 Conclusion Characteristic Perfect Competition Monopolistic Competition Oligopoly Monopoly Number of firms Very Many Many Few One Type of Product Homogeneous Differentiated Homogeneous / Differentiated Only product of its kind (no close substitute) Ease of entry Very easy Relatively easy Not Easy Impossible Price Setting power Nil (Price taker) Somewhat Limited Absolute (Price Maker) Non Price Competition None Considerable Considerable for a differentiated oligopoly Somewhat Productive efficiency Highly efficient Less Efficient Less Efficient Inefficient Long run profits 0 0 Positive High Examples Doesnt Exist; agriculture close Fast Food, retails stores, cosmetics Cars, Steel, soft drinks, cereals Small town newspaper, rural gas station 4.0 Conclusion and recommendations In the whole assignments, I learned about microeconomics subject ant it is a very important subject to whom taking business course. The subject teaches every student about business skills and helps to learn about business knowledge of economics. In first question, I know the characteristics of monopoly. I also learn the differentiated of monopoly in the markets. The second question is about the differentiate between perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly and oligopoly markets. From this question, I learned about the four characteristics of the markets such as the four markets are not same all the times. In spite of this assignment, I thank to my lecturer and coordinator for guide us to do this introduction to business. I appreciate from this assignment that I can know well about the business chapters. Appendix

Energy and Power Essay -- Natural Resources

Energy and Power Although I am surrounded by energy and power, I never really knew just how much they mean to the world. However, after learning about the fundamentals of energy, I have a much deeper understanding of their magnitude. In this paper, I will reflect back on what I have learned about energy, and how it has affected me personally. For instance, I know now that the power I am using to sit here and type is roughly equivalent to the power used by an incandescent light bulb, but that is only the beginning. Energy is all around us, but to create power, we need to harness it. I never thought about the fact that everything on earth has some type of energy, and until this course I never even knew the six different types. Now, I can make the connection between two types of energy, and know that fire requires a transition between chemical and thermal energy. Now I am able to understand that even natural processes, like photosynthesis, require multiple types of energy, and it has allowed me to think about energy on a much higher level than I used to. For instance, the fact that I know the First Law of Thermodynamics and would be able to hold an intelligent conversation about the subject has given me the type of confidence a Harvard graduate acquires upon being handed their diploma. Now, beginning to learn about coal has awakened a new curiosity in me, as this source of energy is a large part of my family’s history. I am amazed by the things I have learned so f...

Pros and Cons of Home Schooling Essay -- Education Classroom Teaching

Pros and Cons of Home Schooling Every parent is faced with the decision of whether or not to home school their child. While some families may find home schooling as being very helpful and beneficial to their child’s education, others may find that it is crucial their child be sent to a normal school. Some parents are hesitant to send their children to public school because of crime and lack of discipline and also because they fear that the quality of education is declining. Parents may also feel that sending their child to school will aid in their social development. Home schooling has both advantages and disadvantages which aid parents in this difficult decision. Home schooling has been proven to result in higher test scores for students. This could possibly be a result of a more individualized learning environment where personal attention is always given. According to two Time reporters, â€Å"the average SAT score home schoolers in 2000 was 1100, compared with 1019 for the general population† (Cloud and Morse). The amount of time a child has been home schooled has a direct correlation with their performance on standardized tests. â€Å"Home-schooled pupils who took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills outscored public school students by 37 percentile points.† â€Å"On the Stanford Achievement Test, the advantage was 30 percentile points.† (Viadero) It is clear that home schooling does not hinder a child’s education. While home schooled children may achieve academically ...

Essay on Toni Morrisons Beloved - Character Naming :: Toni Morrison Beloved Essays

Character Naming in Beloved "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And, for thy name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself." hakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, II.ii Shakespeare's Juliet tells us that names are unimportant - inconsequential, in fact. A name is merely a convenient string of sounds that denotes an individual, but it has no meaning. But this is clearly not true. Would Romeo and Juliet be the same play if its star-crossed lovers were called Robert and Jennifer? Of course not. The names of characters serve to identify them as members of a certain culture and help to cement their identities. A name may be an arbitrary string of sounds, but it carries much more weight than that. In Beloved, Toni Morrison demonstrates a clear understanding of this fact. Her choices of character names assist in firmly establishing the world of the book. Toni Morrison was born with the name Chloe Anthony Wofford. She changed her first name to Toni upon entering college - traditionally, a time looked upon as one of great significance in a young person's life. From this, we can infer that Morrison appreciates the power of a changed name to confer a new identity. There are two characters whose names change during the novel: Jenny Whitlow becomes Baby Suggs, and Joshua becomes Stamp Paid. In both of these cases, the character is abandoning the name under which they lived as a slave for a new, free name. Whitlow is the last name of Jenny's original master (142), and we learn that she takes the name Baby Suggs because her husband called her Baby. What she is known as by the people closest to her is more important than what the white community wishes to call her. The name Sethe is also interesting. This name could be interpreted as a feminine version of the Jewish name Seth, used in the fourth and fifth chapters of Genesis as the name of the third son of Adam and Eve, after Cain and Abel.

The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis As I started reading this short story, it clearly introduced who the characters are and where it took place. The narrator is a woman; she has no name, remains anonymous throughout the story. She lives with her husband John in a house. This house is isolated from society, since the short story indicates that it is far from village, roads or any means of communication. It also contains locks and gates throughout. The woman is ill and this illness has placed her in a weak position with her husband and everything around her.We know that she likes to write, but her husband doesn’t let her, so she does it in secret. Although this type of writing is mainly to show mild personality disorder in dealing with life, at the same time I believe it shows how each person expresses their illness and how it builds up with certain outcome. Here the author shows how the woman expresses her illness through the circumstances of the yellow wallpaper such as dreaming and fantasying through the paper, which led to her breakdown. At first, the narrator describes the yellow wallpaper as ?It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide–plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions  .? It shows how the narrator dislikes the yellow wallpaper and she elaborates her feelings towards it. This quote explains a lot about how she feels, and also points out how suppressed and weak she is. When it said ? follow the lame uncertain curves? t refers to the husband that may lead the narrator to commit suicide because of the way she listens and obeys him. Although he seems to say the things that would make her better and assure her that she is getting better, he is not really letting her do what would make her better, which is what she wants. As a physician who recog nizes and treats his wife’s condition, it would appear to be that he understands her best, but he does not seem to realize how severe her state is. Neither does he have an adequate way of treating it, like not letting her do what she wants like for instance writing.I believe he underestimates the state of her mind, and he has a lot to do with the outcome of her condition. This leads to her obsession with the wallpaper. At first the narrator hated it, and then she got used to it. She started letting her imagination wander about this wallpaper, she saw in her mind's eye people, scenes: ? there is a beautiful shaded lane that runs down there from the house. I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy at least.?By focusing on these fantasies or dreams, I believe it expresses her feelings and makes her more confident. Despite what John thinks about her fantasies, she continues to imagine things. He thin ks she is getting better in spite of her speculations, she knows she is getting better because of these speculations, her illness has its own certain effect and it even develops. John warns her several times that she must use her self-control to rein in her imagination, which he fears will run away with her. Of course, the narrator’s eventual insanity is a product of the  repression  of her imaginative power, not the expression of it.She is constantly longing for an emotional means, even going so far as to keep a secret journal, which she describes more than once as a â€Å"relief† to her mind. This illness progresses in a way that lets her see a woman in the wallpaper. She sees the same woman in different places and she thinks that the woman only gets out in daytime. She says, ? It is the same woman, I know, for she is always creeping along, and most women do not creep by daylight.? Lori Voth explains this part in a way that I totally agree with.She says that the woman who for some time is hidden in the background of the paper symbolizes the main character’s fear of presenting herself and her opinion. I agree that it is a symbol of fear because the narrator is a reflection of the hidden woman behind the wallpaper, which relates much to her. She is hiding in this house away from society, scared to say what she feels or what she wants. In my opinion, I think that this is one of the things that led to her depression, if the narrator was able to express herself from the beginning and not let her husband or anyone control her, as a result she may be in a better condition.Reaching the end, she doesn’t really care much about what anyone thinks. She starts showing certain actions that may confirm that she going insane, like peeling off all the paper, locking the door and throwing the key in the front path. On one hand it seems that she is gone insane, on the other hand, I think she is getting out of her cage, expressing what has been t here all along may be in a certain way that only satisfies her.In my own view as I discussed it before, each individual has a certain way of expressing their illness or more likely their feelings, and it comes with different ways of behaviour (outcome) depending on the person. This story takes the reader’s mind to different view of women. Women are usually known for being the quiet, sophisticated, and reasonable characters in society. This time the reader may be taken into the inner-most realms of women’s mind and experiences. The experience of the narrator in the ? The Yellow Wallpaper? hows that she is gone mad because her role in society is limited and her ability to express herself creatively is constricted. This inability for her to express herself in a meaningful way eventually leads her to associate herself with the woman in the wallpaper who looks to be, like the narrator, behind bars or in a cage. Some important feminine critics have seen the â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† not only an accurate representation of a situation of woman in a harsh culture but also a model for their own reading and writing practices (Davison 120).The yellow wallpaper represents several ideas and conditions and every time I read it a new view captures my eyes. Work cited * Voth, Lori. Article about ? The Yellow Wallpaper.? http://voices. yahoo. com/literary-analysis-yellow-wallpaper-charlotte-11251. html? cat=38.? Lori Voth, November 21, 2005. Web. October 29, 2012. * Davison, Carol Margaret.? Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in ? The Yellow Wallpaper.? Women’s studies 33. 1(2004):47-75. Academic search complete. Web. 6 November, 2012.

Prevention

Prevention can be taken to mean, a process of offering advice, guiding and educating a certain group of people in the name of promoting their well being in the society. It is a critical decision one makes to meet the choice aimed at meeting ones challenges of life by creating a condition favorable to promote good lifestyles and healthy behaviors. Prevention of diseases involves three levels, according to the stages of the target disease (Sieving 1997). They are primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Primary level is the process by which various methods are used in to avoid a person initiating a p disease (Piccinino   1998). They are used prior to that person getting the disease. Methods used in this level would be like, campaigns from public service, school and community programs and of course constant communication with the intended group. This helps in avoidance of the disease. According to (Sieving 1997) the second level of prevention is the secondary level that is used in the early stages of disease detection. In this case the disease has already occurred in the person but the patient is not aware the main objective of this level is to detect and treat the disease early enough. Tertiary level of prevention aims at reducing the negative consequences of the disease already in the person. It helps to slow down the rate of spreading the infections or complications in that it prevents pain from the disease. Public health programs are the set activities by the government or other organizations with intentions of meeting certain objectives in health prevention. Health programs aims at reducing incidences of diseases, improving the social conditions of a person .One of the most common activity in the health programs is vaccination. Public health programs go hand in hand with levels of prevention. One of the major problems today is how to cope with the high rate of adolescent pregnancy. This issue can be addressed by using various programs to create awareness. It can also fit in all the levels of prevention though sutes best in the primary level of prevention. Despite the fact that the teen rate of pregnancy has declined by a big margin in U.S. Since early 1990s, it is said and justified that over 1 million Americans adolescent girls get pregnant. Many of these pregnancies are usually accidental or unplanned though others are usually intended It is said that about fifty percent of teenage girls who were once pregnant become pregnant again within two years. It is also said that the second baby of the teenage girl is usually at a risk of being underweight and at the same time there is the high chance of drop out in school. (Piccinino 1998) There are a number of public health programs that are being developed at least from each level of prevention targeted to children and adolescent boys and mainly girls. According to (Aboma 1998) &( Joseph 1999) This may include abstinence programs, school-based sexuality programs, Involvement by the community, family planning clinics, school-based programs and public healthcare programs. (Aboma 1997) Many of these programs call for either abstinence or use of contraceptives. Abstain ace could be the best method however, adolescents don’t take it as a reality .Some institutions have criticized the issue of using contraceptives arguing that it promotes sexual engagement.( Piccinino 1998) observes   that,   a survey has shown that contraceptives like condoms do not motivate teens to engage in sex and thus they should be introduced in schools. The initiative by the community can help reduces the high rate of illiteracy .Parents have a greater influence on their adolescents on either becoming pregnant or impregnating. Parents communicating with their children freely about issues they come across like sex, relationships and love ( Aboma 1998). As parents one should talk to them what you feel about this issues, be honest to them have courage to tell them the truth that having an early pregnancy is risky to both the child and the teenage herself. In case she is already pregnant, let her know her responsibilities like visiting a prenatal care center, avoid drugs especially smoking and to eat nutritional food (Sonenstein 1998). Parents ought to be opening minded and begin a talk concerning these issues; if you are not capable, use other methods like letting them watch a video or a movie. There is the need to super vice your children as they grow up to adolescence and give them lots of guidance counseling (Sonenstein 1998). This should be for both the boy and the girl .The secondary and tertiary level of prevention could constitute the issues of caring for the born child and more so the teen. There is the need to have programs that will address this issue. The tertiary level of prevention can really help at this stage (Aboma 1997). There is the importance developing programs that would look at issues of child-rearing responsibilities, relationships with their friends and the rest of the community. Educational activity programs, counseling and life skills training need to be developed (Sieving 1997). These educational programs would include offering remedial classes for the teen parents, family planning, parenting skills, food and nutritional advices for both the child and the mother In conclusion, prevention is a process involved in offering guidance and educating a certain group of people with an aim of promoting their wellbeing. It has three levels consisting of the primary level-prevents occurring of diseases, secondary level-aimed at detecting early diseases and tertiary-help the patient cope with the already established problem. In the case of the teenage pregnant group, all the three levels of prevention can help them to cope with the situation, and even prevent further occurrences if proper programs are put in place. References Aboma CD (1999). State-Specific Pregnancy Rates Among Adolescents—United States, 1992-1998, Oxford University press. pp 45-67, 77 Aboma JC, Chandra A, Mosher WD, Peterson LS, Piccinino LJ (1997.). Fertility, Family Planning, and Women’s Health, New York. Abma J, Driscoll A, Moore K. (1998). Young Women’s Degree of Control over First Intercourse: An Exploratory Analysis. Family Planning Perspectives 30(1):12-18. 1998. Piccinino LJ, Mosher WD (1998.). Trends in Contraceptive Use in the United States: 1982-1998. Family Planning Perspectives, Oxford University press: 4-10, 46 Sieving R, Shew M, Ireland M, Bearinger L, Udry JR (.1997.)   Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. London pp57-97 Sonenstein FL, Ku L, Lindberg LD, Turner DF, Pleck JH (1998.). Changes in Sexual Behavior and Condom Use among Teenaged feMales: 1988 to 1996.   London.pp 956-959, Ventura SJ, Mathews TJ, Curtin SC. (1998) Teenage Births in the United States: New York pp 66-79.      

Employee Retention and Interviewing Essay

When Southwest Airlines wants to hire employees, they tend to have 142,000 applicants. They obviously want to choose the person who will suit their organizational culture the best. To achieve this objective they need to ask the right questions when interviewing the applicants. These questions should be such that they provide a clear picture as to which applicant will be best for the job and the organization as a whole. You can use behavioral-based job interview questions to help you select superior candidates. Ask interview questions that help you identify whether the candidate has the behaviors, skills, and experience needed for the job you are filling. (Top job interview questions to help you select the Best, Susan M. Heathfield) Before starting the interview the interviewer should describe the essential functions of the job and ask the interviewee if he can perform those functions with or without accommodations. (http://www. alllaw. com/articles/employment/article13. asp) The first competency question should be related to the ability to recruit and interview applicants, ‘how often during your last job did you need to interview applicants and describe a situation in which the first impression of the applicant could have altered your judgment. ’ Through this question the interviewer may get an idea of the prejudices the person might or might not hold. Southwest Airlines need to make sure that their employees do not discriminate against certain races and are able to handle all sorts of situations hands on. The second question is related to the employee’s ability to perform reference checks on potential employees. ‘When a former employer was not willing to provide information about a potential employee, how did you handle the situation and perform the necessary reference check? ’ this question will help the Airlines figure out if the employee is responsible enough to go through the necessary procedure or would overlook some things and carry on. The third question is about the employee’s ability to plan and conduct regularly scheduled organizational orientation programs. Tell me about an incidence where last minute changes were made in the orientation plan, these changes were not known to you. How did you cope with these lat minute changes? ’ this question will help identify the employee’s capabilities in a chaotic situation. For airlines these situations are quite common and such a characteristic will be beneficial for the organization. The fourth question is connected with the employee’s ability to prepare and explain HR policies and procedures. ‘Tell me about a situation where there was a revision in the company policy and the employees did not take the change well. What did you do? This will help the employer or interviewer for Southwest Airlines find out the opinion of the employee about some policies and procedures that may be adopted by the company or already exist within the company. The fifth question is about the employee’s ability to develop and maintain up-to-date job descriptions. ‘How many job descriptions have you developed in your time as an employee here at Southwest and what were some of the major difficulties you faced while carrying out your work? ’ this question will help understand if the employee will be able to assess the applicant’s capabilities and send him to the department that suits him best. The sixth question for the employee should be based on his ability to administer a compensation program and monitor salary increase recommendations to ensure compliance with merit increase guidelines. The question here will be, ‘what is your view on performance appraisals, are they necessary or not, do they motivate employees to do better on the job? ’ This question will help understand what the employee’s are expecting and what benefits they want for the jobs they perform on a weekly or daily basis. By asking these questions from the existing employees, the top management at Southwest Airlines will know the sort of employees who will be screened out from the 142,000 applicants. The number of employees they actually need is 4000, thus the company needs to be careful as to who they hire and retain. By interviewing the interviewers beforehand the organization is making sure they hire the right people. Also, when your interview questions ask the applicant to tell you about behaviors and actions she has actually demonstrated in the past, your selection process will improve.

Friedrich Froebel’s Ideas On the Role of Play In the Early Years Education Essay

Play is probably the very first thing that comes to our minds when we start thinking about our childhood. Certainly it’s hard to talk about early years without referring to play, as it is a part of children’s natural behaviour, embedded in their spontaneous day-to-day life. The fact that the play is enjoyable is generally agreed, but the value of play in school, however, has been in the centre of much debate in the past (and it seems like that debate is still going on today). The roots of contemporary understanding of the role of play in early childhood education extend clearly to Friedrich Froebel, a German educator, who organized and systematized the methods of early childhood in accordance with the idea of â€Å"the spontaneous, self-sustaining nature of children† (E. Evans, 1971, p. 43). Froebel believed that every child had within him all he was to be at birth, and that the proper educational environment was to encourage the child to grow and develop in the most favourable manner. â€Å"Young children are to be regarded and tended essentially like plants. Like these, if they were given the right conditions, they would grow and unfold and flower, by their own law, each according to its individual capacity and destiny. † (E. Lawrence, 1969, p. 195) In his study of child-nature one of the most marked characteristics, which attracted Froebel’s attention, was the child’s inborn desire for activity, which reveals itself in play. According to Froebel, â€Å"play is the freest active manifestation of the child’s inner self which springs from the need of that inner living consciousness to realize itself outwardly. † (H. Bowen, 1907, p. 116) Froebel made a significant contribution to early childhood education by seeing play as a process in which children bring to realization their inner nature. He recognized that children began to learn as soon as they began to interact with the world, and he reasoned that since the interaction was mostly in the form of play, the way to educate a child was through play, â€Å"as a means of awakening and developing the active and presentative side of his nature; wherefore none, not even the simplest gifts from a child, should ever be suffered to be neglected. † (F. Froebel, 1901, p. 77) Froebel’s continuous studies of the function of play in a child’s life came to fruition in the concept of the Kindergarten ? a place where children â€Å"instruct and educate themselves† and where they develop and integrate all their abilities through play. Froebel believed that play provided the means for a child’s intellectual, social, emotional and physical development. Games were not just idle time wasting, but the most important steps in the child’s development, and they were to be watched by teachers as clues to how the child is developing. â€Å"It is through play that the child learns the use of his limbs, of all his bodily organs, and with this use gains health and strength. Through play he comes to know the external world, the physical qualities of the objects which surround him, their motions, action, and reaction upon each other, and the relation of these phenomena to himself, ? a knowledge that forms the basis of that which will be his permanent stock for life. † (H. Bowen, 1907, p. 101) However, Froebel didn’t think that the play of young children should be unprompted at all times. For him the skill of adults was in knowing how and when to intervene, how to support and extend children’s play to help them â€Å"to grasp and to try out their learning in concrete ways. † (T. Bruce, 1997, p. 23) To stimulate learning through well-directed play Froebel designed a series of instructional materials, which he called â€Å"gifts† and â€Å"occupations†.

Company Law - See attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Company Law - See attachment - Essay Example 1 Liquidation can voluntary or even compulsory. It is said to be voluntary when it is initiated by the will of the company through a resolution of the equity holders. It is said to be compulsorily carried out when the order of the court becomes the cause of the winding up of the company. 2 In a nut shell, there are two basic kinds of Liquidation procedures whose nature is explained in detail below: Voultary Winding Up In this kind of liquidation the company goes on to willingly wind up the affairs of the company and distribute the assets of the company after paying off the liabilities of the company. ... nding up Creditors’ voluntary winding up is usually due to the company becoming insolvent and unable to pay off its liabilities in due course and the company is perused by the creditors in order to prevent further debts accruing and to receive the due liabilities through the realization of the assets of the company in a process of liquidation. 3 Compulsory Winding up This kind of winding up takes place when the company is ordered to be wound up by an order of the court. There are numerous potential ways of this procedure to institute however the most general one is through the petition filed by the creditors on the argument that the company is unable to pay off its liabilities in due course and since it has not been deemed likely to arrive at a voluntary agreement on liquidation, the compulsory winding up via the court is instituted. The nature of the compulsory winding up is such that the company comes under the process of liquidation under an order from the court on grounds of inability to pay the debts or where the company has certain going concern issues which cannot be resolved through a successful surgery of the company’s affairs or the provision of cash inflows or bailouts where the company may be able to restore the balance of its affair on the positive side.4 However, a request to obtain a leave to prosecute a company which is being compulsorily wound up may be made to the Court who gave the order of winding up of the company. Consequences of Winding up When a company goes into liquidation, mainly due to the compulsory winding up process there is usually a cause of inability to pay its debts whereby the company has to face certain consequences during and after the liquidation and the victims of those consequences are mainly shareholders, employees and even

Management . Hidden value book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management . Hidden value book - Essay Example The difference here begins with the CEO who has a whole different outlook on the world of business. He believes that business will flourish only if the customers have respect for the work you do and the goals you have for your company, that this is more than setting goals for increasing revenues but increasing the overall respect by his employees and his customers. He believes that begins with "realistic" goals about accomplishing something with meaning and he does not mean financial goals (OReilly &Pfeffer, 2,000 pg. 121). He believes that any employee can accomplish the goals of the company, if the goals are understood and essentially set by them. He does not look for employees that have great degrees but employees who are enthusiastic about the business and what it should accomplish. He will train them once hired. The company is successful with this goal setting and people policy because the employees are involved. They understand the goals that are set and they are within the locus of their control. Regular people who have a desire to lead and want to drive the company forward are given the opportunity to do that and many accomplish great things. They are all given more responsibility. For example when salespeople are given the ability to write up their orders, they are given more responsibility and with that responsibility comes the success that is driven by success. The CEO is also involved at the ground level as he respects employees and customers, so they respect him. He does not feel he needs to hire degreed employees but dedicated employees. In the past the focus in hiring employees has been to hire the best which at that time meant education and degree, certifications. It was often found though, that these people did not stay long in one place unless there was a great opportunity for improving their status or an ability to move up the ladder in that company. However, most newly trained management would agree with this CEO. You need to put

Why Did The Scramble For Africa happen When it Did Essay

Why Did The Scramble For Africa happen When it Did - Essay Example European countries headed by Germany, France and Britain. During the conference, the African continent was divided, and different countries given colonies which were to be considered as their territories. This meant that if a country had been allocated a colony then other countries were not allowed to venture into such a country. Before missionaries came to Africa, the continent was neglected by Europe since they felt it was not of any value to them. But after the missionaries went back to Europe and reported on how Africa was rich in raw materials and minerals, European powers started to have an interest in the continent. Otto Van Bismarck came up with the idea of the Berlin conference because it was inevitable for conflicts to come up between European powers who wanted to own many colonies in Africa (Evelyn, 2010). The conference aim was to make sure that this did not happen by dividing the African continent instead of countries fighting over them. The African continent was divided as follows: France was given much of western Africa where it controlled countries such as Senegal and Mali. It was also given part of North Africa such as Algeria. Britain was given most of Eastern Africa such as Kenya and Uganda and part of North Africa, for example, Egypt. Germany got countries such as Tanganyika and Namibia. Other countries that were also given some partitions in Africa included Spain which controlled Morocco, Portugal which controlled Angola and Italy which controlled Somalia. Causes for the Scramble for Africa to Happen when it Did One major factor that contributed to the partition of Africa at the time it happened was the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution happened in the late 1700s to the early 1800s (Evelyn, 2010). After the industrial revolution, there was a huge demand for processed goods. This in turn resulted in the demand for raw materials such as coal, cotton and minerals in order for factories to keep up in satisfying the huge demand fo r processed goods. Getting these raw materials from Europe was becoming a headache since they were being depleted. This resulted in European countries looking for raw materials in Africa. The only way they would have been certain that they would fully exploit these raw materials is by colonizing African countries (Hodge, 2008). The abolishing of slave trade also resulted in the