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A musician is an individual who writes down or conducts music as an occupation. In addiction, a musician can be described as an artist who plays a musical tool as a vocation. Musicians can be categorized through their functions during performing or producing music.For instance, a singer or a vocalist makes use of her/his own voice as a tool, an instrumentalist occupies himself/herself with a musical tool, a recording musician produces a documented music, like MP3 folders and CDs, a conductor guides a musical group while a songwriter, composer and an arranger produces songs, melodic pieces of music as well as arrangements which are able to be transcribed into music notation, documented or performed. (Pitts 19)In ancient time, being a musician was assigned to individuals who learned music for a number of years. Once they had perfected their tool, supposition as well as comprehended the music notions, they would labor through commission as musicians.For instance, within Western music th is would be accomplished through working for places of worship, courts as well as off a commission from individuals who desired to hire a musician to produce or for concert. Starting the mid 1800s, the thought of being a musician was not focused to these specific regions of composition and presentation.Musicians started to grow to be more self-reliant with concerts on diverse stages as well as more independence to work as writers, artists as well as entertainers in their own manner. Nowadays, music has developed into numerous vocation fields, all of which include an amalgamation of compositions, concerts, working and recording in diverse music areas, either via other units or as an autonomous artist.For this to be achieved in today’s time, the musician has to be passionate. The following description shows what it means to be passionately engrossed in something, activity of a musician as well as how a musician is different from somebody who simply enjoys listening to music. (P itts 20)Musicians require to have the drive and passion to devote a large fraction of their lives to doing practice, taking part in shows as well as doing promotions. A musician’s passion is his/her music. It takes an individual endurance, talent as well as practice to become passionately involved in music.A musician differs from a person who merely listens to music in that a musician has a passion for his music, is dedicated and knows the message he wants to sent to his/her audience whereas the listener does not have such dedication not to forget that most listeners simply listen to the music without familiarizing themselves with the composer’s message. Essentially, most listeners simply enjoy the beats/tunes whereas the musician enjoys both the tunes as well as his /her choice of words. (Pitts 34)Being a musician takes more than just enthusiasm and beginning to play an instrument. Being acquainted with what is entailed to turn out to be a competent musician can aid a n individual to work in this profession as a complete vocation, whilst letting an individual to move toward being a musician in the right manner.An individual who has the musical abilities essential to play one or more tools might have the yearning to grow to be a professional musician or toil within an associated field. The following are the activities professional musician engages in an effort to achieve his /her objective and as a result make a contented living. (Pitts 34)One of the most vital issues to think about when going into whichever musical field is for the musician to find out if there is a necessity for the service that he is offering. Whatever the musician tries has to be profitable in order to make earnings. The musician performs by offering entertainment, and is given cash in exchange for his/her services. He/she turns out to be successful through performing regulary. (Pitts 62)The musician’s market comprises a grouping of citizens, or organization that needs the particular service i.e. music. Therefore, one of the activities of the musician is to market that product i.e. his music by merely getting it ready and making it accessible to the customer.For instance, a rock and roll association requires rock gangs whereas a Las Vegas band requires members who produce to have style. Essentially, the musician should be determined to accomplish what it takes to entertain his customer’s and be a success.

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies Essay

Carrefour Company Introduction                   The modern business world has changed and organizations have embraced new technologies for them to achieve effectiveness, efficiency and competitiveness. One of the most important technology for business prosperity is Information Technology commonly known as IT. Information is an important and integral part of any organization that determines whether a firm will make sound decisions or not. Carrefour Company is one of the well-known worldwide companies that has embraced Information technology in its business processes and this has played a majorin earning a competitive edge. Carrefour IT and Business Processes                   The company runs convenience stores, supermarkets, cash and carry supplies, hyper-cash store and hypermarkets. Carrefour also engages in non-food and food e-commerce websites and it functions as multi-location, multi-channel, and multi-location trader with its initial origin in Europe. Its products range from electronics, leisure, ornamental products, clothing items and non- food products(Koller, 2011). Carrefour contacts a large amount of its business on an online platform using its portals, ooshop.fr and Carrefour.fr. This calls for a good understanding of Information Technology for the firm to succeed and earn competitive advantage in the industry. Carrefour Company integrates Information Technology in its various business processes. Some of the ways are in communication, inventory management, data management, management information systems, security, business culture, research capacity and customer relationship management.                   Being a multi-factor company, Carrefour requires a well-structured communication channel to enable transactions and business communication to happen smoothly. The company has adapted new information technology by setting up a wide variety of communication platforms to reach the maximum number of clients and potential customers globally. Examples of the platforms used include the official company’s website, email support systems for both clients and employees, phone directories and social network accounts.                   Inventory management at Carrefour has also boosted their performance due to advanced information technology. The inventory systems gather all the information of each items stored and keep track of the quality and quantities. This enables the company to minimize on inventory costs such as carrying costs and also minimize wastages especially for the food products with low shelf life.                   Information technology has also improved data management practices at the company. Employees do not to keep large file of documents, they save everything through data systems. The systems are also able to record information which is important for business decisions and this automated systems also reduce malpractices among the employees.                   Customers are the most important stakeholders to any business organization and, therefore, the need to maintain a good relationship with them. Carrefour has achieved this aspect through customer management systems (CRM) which enhances communication with the clients. The company is able to respond immediately to customers’ concerns and the information is stored for future reference if the same client makes another call. This improves customer experience and increased customer loyalty to Carrefour products. Technologies Used at Carrefour Company                   Carrefour Company mainly employs four technologies to manage its information. These systems are Transaction Process Systems (TPS), Management Information Systems (MIS), Enterprise Information Systems, and Decision Support Systems (DSS). Transaction Process Systems monitors and records all the transactions in the organization. The system mainly is responsible for recovery of data during system failures, stabilize the data, and it also integrates and connects other systems.                   MIS on the hand, does systematic study and analysis of available data to enhance decision-making. Carrefour joint forces with a company called PeopleSoft which is in charge of their global operations by offering platforms such as Customer Relations Management(Farrel, 2013). Management Information Systems enable the company to heighten their operations by frequently updating processes, procedures, and stored data.                   DSS is a unique technology that promotes sound decision-making processes at different levels of the company’s hierarchy. Its main advantage is the ability to break down large volume of data and evaluate them for decision-making. The system retrieves the ideal information from the stored volumes of data and it can work both as an online or a batch process.                   EIS is important information tool mainly for the management of Carrefour Company. It makes summaries of the transactions and turns raw data into information which is applied internally. The management team at Carrefour use EIS to get summarized information from complex graphs and in the process speed up decision-making process(Koller, 2011). Company’s Success with IT adaption                   90% of the company’s success is attributed to its use and early adoption of Information Technology into its business activities. The technology has improved customer relations, business process, employee relations, and product development. These are the main activities of any organization and therefore making Information Technology a major player to the success Carrefour Company is enjoying today.                   Information Technology has helped Carrefour to minimize most of the cost associated with conducting business. It has enabled the organization reduce on the space required to store information through the use of computers. It has also enhance inventory management and reduced wastages and carrying costs(Koller, 2011). Due to customer relation systems, the company is able to make more tailor products and services according to the clients’ tastes and preferences. This has led more product differentiation. References Farrel, J. (2013). The Economics of Information Technology: An Introduction (Raffaele Mattioli Lectures). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Koller, T. (2011). Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies (Carrefour Case). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Source document

The State Of The Lebanese Curriculum Education Essay

On Tuesday April 18, 1996 Israeli 155mm mortars shelled UNIFIL ‘s Fiji BATT compound in the small town of Qana few kilometres south E of Tyre in Southern Lebanon. Around 800 civilians had taken safety at the base. The organic structures of 102 Arab civilian work forces, adult females and kids were shattered to pieces. Many similar accidents had occurred in the past, but this one was different. It triggered protests and presentations against the Israeli ground forces which has been busying Lebanon since March 14, 1978. During and since these events, the Lebanese acted as united and cohesive people, fighting to make the same end of release, and to bask its fruits – a free and incorporate state. Four old ages subsequently, the Israeli military personnels moved out of the country and May 25, 2000, was declared a national vacation in jubilation of opposition and release. Each twelvemonth, activities and visits are paid to the grave of the Qana slaughter victims, in memorialization of the 18th of April. Crowds of citizens, intellectuals and pupils from different countries of Lebanon visit the sufferer ‘ graveyard in Qana on the said juncture. The purpose is to supply approaching coevalss with cognition bases, good for the building of a hereafter rich in its national didactic lessons, peculiarly the national battle heroic poem against business. As a Lebanese, I truly acknowledge the function the Lebanese have ever played in engaging a war against the business of our land and resources. However, I am critical of the Lebanese course of study which has been meaningless and non built on facets and issues of the Lebanese world. I am even more critical of the insensitive and unresponsive nature of the math course of study we teach and survey, at least in the schools and universities in Lebanon, which is inactive and does n't experience anything of its milieus. There is no uncertainty about the extent of harm caused by many old ages of business in our instruction in Lebanon. Most significantly we are non able to cover with Western mathematics which is described by Bishop ( 1990 ) as â€Å" one of the most powerful arms in the infliction of Western civilization † . ( p. 52 ) Although the â€Å" business † of our land is an highly serious issue, the biggest danger we presently face is the battle for stoping the â€Å" business of our heads † because â€Å" The most powerful arm in the custodies of the oppressor is the head of the oppressed † ( Freire, 1970, p.14 ) . Since the development age was launched by Truman more than 50 old ages ago ( through declaring all societies outside the Western universe â€Å" developing † and, therefore, in demand of â€Å" aid † to â€Å" develop † them ) , mathematics instruction, development plans, and scientific cognition have been the chief tools used in interrupting the dorsum of societies. I was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Except for a few old ages when I had to travel out and work, I have lived all my life in Lebanon. When I was born, the Gallic system of Education was used because, for some clip, we have been colonized by France. After 1968, the British and American course of study became the course of study in schools. Since 2000, and after the terminal of the civil war in Lebanon, a so called â€Å" Lebanese new course of study † has been in the procedure of being developed. The intent of this paper is to cast some visible radiation on the Lebanese mathematics curriculum from a socio political position and to foreground some issues that defined and confined the Lebanese experience of learning math in schools. Specifically, I would wish to analyze what â€Å" business of heads † means in mathematics course of study and besides how â€Å" business † is reflected in the history of mathematics instruction in Lebanon. My peculiar attractive force to the impression of â€Å" business † lies in the fact that our heads have been controlled in Lebanon by restricting the options and options in how mathematics was taught and learned in the yesteryear. I am cognizant of this fact because of my past experience as both a pupil and instructor of mathematics in Lebanese schools every bit good as in other schools in the Middle East. We have been directed and driven so that we are unable to see possible options and options in both our instruction and acquisition of mathematics. The nature of mathematics learning has been such that pupils are non encouraged to talk up and show their different ( and sometimes opposing ) points of position and to admit the right of others to take his/her ain point of position.OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN LEBANONIn Lebanon ( besides true in many topographic points particularly the developing or Third World Countries ) , we are committed to a position of mathematics as a scientific discipline that is absolute and unconditioned. We have considered mathematics to be a complete system stand foring nonsubjective, ageless truths. In his chapter, Math, Culture and Authority, Fasheh ( 1997 ) excellently gives a vivid, thick description of how math, in Third universe states, â€Å" aˆÂ ¦.is normally taught as a set of regulations and expressions that pupils have to memorise, and a set of problems-usually absurd to students- that they must work out † ( p.275 ) . This is every bit true for the Lebanese schoolroom and Lebanese course of study which is extremely compartmentalized and decontextualized. Teachers are the exclusive authorization in the schoolroom every bit good as the major beginning of mathematical cognition dictated as a set of nonnegotiable regulations and processs that challenge topographic point and clip. In short, mathematics course of study is considered as the unquestionable hegemony which is to be followed and respected by both pupils and instructors. Reflecting on the province of the field, a closer expression at the history of how findings from international proving led many states to oppugn the substance of their school course of study and how this testing has led to divisions and wars been what the best math course of study for the twenty-first century is, confirms the incontrovertible position that when political relations intervene in instruction worldwide, the good intended messages are lost. Possibly a well known illustration is the California math Wars where terrible diminution in the sum of educational budgets made it more purposive the usage of standards-based appraisals as a motivation for acquiring more support, the beginning being private organisations.RETHINKING MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE: ETHNOMATHEMATICSâ€Å" A common misconception in the instruction of math has been, and still is, the belief that math can be taught efficaciously and meaningfully without associating it to civilization or to the single pupil † ( Fasheh, 1997, P. 281 ) . Extensive research acknowledges the function that civilization dramas in act uponing the manner people see things and understand constructs. This, and non the trouble of the topic, impacted the position that math is nonmeaningful, stiff and beyond one ‘s apprehension. â€Å" Math can be used to emphasize one ‘s ain civilization with its particular and beautiful features. At the same clip, math can be used to do one aware of the drawbacks in one ‘s ain civilization and attempt to get the better of them † . ( Fasheh, 1997, P. 284 ) . My ain experience, and the experience of many others that I knew or read about, made me progressively believe in the sociopolitical facet of math as a tool to stamp down and rule minorities in the universe. Mathematicss has played an of import portion in globalisation ( English, 2002 ) . First, the topic itself is a merchandise of centuries of cultural exchange between East and West. In the head of many, it has achieved a position of an international linguistic communication independent of cultural association and context of development. The similarity of many mathematics instruction plans around the universe is partially a merchandise of this thought. Second, besides mathematics is seen as a ticket for draw a bead oning persons and states for technological, and therefore economic, development. This image of mathematics promotes the copying of course of study from the economically more successful to the less successful states. Further, the position of mathematics in the course of study is similar in many states where it is given a particular importance, 2nd merely, if non equal, to linguistic communication instruction. In many states mathematics is tied to scientific, technological, and therefore to economic development. Undoubtedly, these similarities have added ammo to the often-expressed position that mathematics is a â€Å" cosmopolitan linguistic communication † . These similarities have given rise to the term â€Å" planetary course of study † in mathematics instruction.The Role of EthnomathematicsFrom prehistoric ages, worlds have been roll uping cognition to react to their thrusts and demands. Such responses vary from part to part, from civilization to civilization ( Bishop, 1990 ) . Possibly the most of import philosophical difference between a traditional and an ethnomathematical position is that ethnomathematics recognizes, encourages, and awards the belief that all people do mathe matics within their ain unique and personal context, and that this ability may take many signifiers ( Borba, 1997 ) . Indeed it emerges from within each person through their single interaction with their cultural and physical environment. It besides recognizes that everyone does mathematics, hence there is no such thing as a non-math individual – ethnomathematics is closely tied to issues of entree and equity ( Anderson, 1997 ) . In his chapter, Ethnomathemtics and Education, Borba envisions â€Å" ethnoknowledge † as the starting point for the pedagogical procedure in which pupils ‘ cognition is â€Å" compared with the ( ethno ) cognition developed by the academic subjects in a manner that this academic cognition can besides be seen as culturally bounded † ( p. 269 ) . Harmonizing to Borba, this study can be accomplished by pupils and instructors discoursing â€Å" the efficiency and relevancy of different sorts of cognition in different contexts † ( p. 269-270 ) . It is going clear in the heads of many the fact that instruction has transformed cognition and larning into trade goods, and pupils and instructors into consumers ( Kilpatrick, 2003 ) .I still retrieve how my female parent, run uping apparels for us and for our friends, used mathematics unwittingly in her pattern. She used to routinely take rectangles of cloth and with few measurings turn them into beautiful, absolutely fitted vesture. The mathematics she was utilizing was beyond my comprehension. Sing her mathematics in context made me understand my mathematics in context, the context of intent, significance, and power. I feel that my female parent was much freer than me. She learned by detecting, making, reflecting, associating, and bring forthing. She constructed her ain apprehension. In contrast, I was an impersonator, work outing jobs, most of which have been solved for a trillion times, in tiring repeat in schools around the universe for the past 100 old ages at least. While sh e was invariably involved in the human facet of math, my cognition and thought were confined chiefly to text editions, which I studied and taught. Detecting my female parent ‘s math and cognition helped me detect how deeply my cognition was entrenched in text edition during my surveies, and during my instruction. As a consequence of colonial instruction, in Lebanon and in other Third universe states as good, we come to see mathematics by and large as a merchandise of the West. The addled course of study organ transplant -during the 1960's- from the extremely industrialized states to ‘Third World ‘ states reinforced this image. Although, during the 1970 ‘s and 1980 ‘s, there emerged among instructors and mathematics pedagogues in developing states, a turning opposition against the Eurocentrism, ( Powell & A ; Frankenstein, 1997 ) , in Lebanon this misconception is accentuated due to the unstable political clime that swayed Middle East part up-to-date.What can be done?In an effort to reform our math instruction and acquisition, we are in the procedure of constructing a new math course of study which extremely acknowledges criterions put forth by NCTM. We are now, more than of all time, aware of the importance of stressing job posing/problem-solving attacks to larn, curri culum dialogue and incorporate course of study planning supported by appropriate appraisal schemes including non-competitive appraisal. I would wish to visualize that in the future our teaching method could be community – based and community focused and that it helps develop the pupils ‘ accomplishments in the defense mechanism, care and farther development of our rational heritage and civilization. The position and intent of math course of study is closely linked with the different socio-political ambiances that reign from one state to another. While we, as Lebanese, view math as an indispensable tool for release from the business of land and head, others see it as a agency to remain in front in the battle for political power. In Lebanon, now, we are fighting to specify ourselves through reflecting on our lives, and seeking to show that in every bit many signifiers as we have in our â€Å" dirts of civilizations, † and through discoursing what we do and what we are. In the concluding analysis, a chief issue is to specify ourselves or else be defined by others.

7.5 part 1 review questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

7.5 part 1 review questions - Coursework Example Planning should also encompass an anticipation and evaluation of the impacts of future developments (Oz 98). Planning should also entail building a shared vision and undertaking decisions on what goals an organization wants to obtain. The action plan for the organization should explain on what actions to undertake to reach their set goals. Prototyping refers to the rapid development and testing of working models of new applications in an interactive and iterative process that involves both IS specialists and business professionals. Prototyping ensures the development process is faster and easier for business professionals and IS specialists. Prototyping has opened up the application development process for end-users as it simplifies and accelerates systems designs. The advantage of prototyping is that it is extremely useful where there is uncertainty about design solutions or requirements. Prototyping is also useful in producing systems that meet user requirements. Prototyping is also vital in designing an information system’s end user interface. The disadvantage of prototyping is that when it is rapidly conducted it can gloss over vital steps in systems development. Prototyping can also fail to have essential security controls built in. rapidly constructed systems can also fail to accommodate large volumes of data or users. What does SDLC stand for? What are the phases of the SDLC? Explain in one or two sentences of your own words what happens in each phase. If problems occur during the SDLC, is it better to identify and solve those problems near the beginning or the end of the SDLC process? SDLC stands for systems development life cycle. It refers to an application development life-cycle. It is a commonly used term in information systems, software engineering, and systems engineering. SDLC gets used to elaborate a process for planning, testing, creating, and developing an information system. There are several stages

The Concept of Customer Perceptions and Expectations With Respect To Essay

The Concept of Customer Perceptions and Expectations With Respect To Service Quality - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the service quality of the travel and tourism industry has declined over the years with the rise in the number of passengers and decrease in the price of the tickets. The dimensions of service quality are also measured that are presently delivered by the industry. A comparative analysis of quality perceptions among a number of organizations in the same industry had helped in determining the gap in the quality of the perceived and expected service. The present article has focused on an exhaustive study and the findings are based on a number of tools and strategies, which is recommended for the success of the industry. These tools help in improving the service quality of the travel and tourism industries. Academics and researchers have been constantly focusing on measurement and conceptualization of factors associated with service quality as well as its influence on the performance of businesses. Despite the extreme importance service quality exerts on the o verall strategic planning procedure and corporate success, no precise or ideal definitions have been developed surrounding the concept of service quality. The most precise and followed concept of service quality was given by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry which defined service quality as â€Å"a global judgment, or attitude, relating to the superiority of the service†. Most of the researchers and academics agree to the aforementioned definition and follow it regularly. Service quality can also be explained as the overall impression of a consumer regarding the relative superiority or inferiority of an organization as well as its services. Delivering unparalleled service quality required conforming to the expectations of the customers on a regular and consistent manner and offering them a better quality service that their expectations.

"Faith" Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

"Faith" - Essay Example I believe that Prophet Mohammad was a true messenger of Allah; I believe that prophet Mohammad was the final and the last prophet of Allah. The main reason why I believe that Prophet Mohammad was the final prophet of Allah was because Allah revealed to Mohammad the truth about himself; Mohammad was the messenger of Allah. I also believe in Quran as the holy book of Allah; I believe that Quran contains the messages of Allah as revealed to Allah’s prophet, Mohammad; I believe that Allah revealed his eternal message to Mohammad in its definitive form. The main reason why I believe that Quran contains the messages of Allah is because Allah himself gave the Quran to his prophet Mohammad. Besides Mohammad, I also believe in other prophets of Allah. As the Quran says, God sends his messengers in every human age to reveal to his people his will for them, â€Å"To all peoples and in all ages, God sent prophets or messengers to proclaim the Oneness of God and to warn humanity of the future judgment (Quran 10:47; 16:36)†. For that reason, I believe in Allah’s prophets such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, Elijah, Isaac, Joseph, Aaron, Solomon, Ezra, and Isa. I, however, believe that Mohammad was the greatest and the last prophet o Allah. I also do believe in angels messengers of Allah. I believe that Allah sends angels to his people on earth to reveal to them the messages of Allah. For example, Allah sent angel Gabriel, several times, to Prophet Mohammad to reveal to him the messages of Allah. I also believe that angels act as intermediaries and that they ask Allah to forgive the offences of his people (Quran 40:7). Also, I believe that when human beings die, their soul are received by angels who have kept a record of their actions, and the angels will witness for or against them on the day of judgement as the Quran notes (Quran 21: 203, 13: 24). My beliefs in angels are based on what is written in the Quran about angels. I also believe in the last day of

World Class Operation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World Class Operation - Essay Example According to the report findings the main role of benchmarking is to provide the management with the necessary information and knowledge of what composes the best performance in a certain field. Superior performance is mainly connected to output, efficiency, quality and other parameters that are related to performing a certain job. Therefore, benchmark not only investigates the best practices to improve the performance in the organization but the ways to achieve this performance. As a result, benchmarking is not a process of understanding the measurements but understanding the conditions necessary to achieve the desired results, the necessary results, and competency required in order to achieve top performance in the organization. As the research declares benchmarking has an important role of enhancing transparency in the organization. This is through enabling the organization to scrap off different aspects that hinder the flow of information from one department to the other. Through information sharing, the organization is able to understand the best practices to put in place in order to improve service delivery to the customers. The level of transparency and accountability within the organization is enhanced tremendously. The purpose of benchmarking is to enable the organization to develop realistic goals and strategies that will improve the performance of the organization. Benchmarking has an important purpose of providing the organization with a sense of urgency for improvement.

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Economics - Essay Example (Simpson, et al., 1) The Federal Reserve System is made up of twelve regional banks located in San Francisco, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Cleveland, Richmond, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Private banks own stock in the twelve regional banks, this is what funds the twelve Federal Reserve Regional banks. The twelve regional banks are made up of regions listed below: Another component of the Federal Reserve System is the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors is appointed by the President of the United States of America, but confirmed by the Senate. The seven member board serves can only serve a maximum of fourteen years, with a member serving one term at time of two years. The only exception is the Chairman of the Board and the Vice Chairman, who serve four year terms. However, the fourteen year limit also applies to them. The only way a board member can be removed is by the president for cause. The current board members are Ben S. Benmanke, Chairman, Donald L. Kohn, Vice Chairman, Susan Schmidt Bies, Kevin M. Warsh, Randall S. Krosnzer, and Frederic S. Mishkin (The Federal Reserve Board). This Board of Governors is an independent governmental agency. They oversee the twelve regional banks, plus the numerous private banks owning stock in the regional reserve banks. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is a committee made up of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, plus four other Federal Reserve Regional Bank presidents that serve on a alternate schedule. This committee reviews the open market. The open market being the buying and selling of government securities. This way the committee can determine monetary and credit conditions. The FOMC also oversees the foreign currency exchange rate. The FOMC is extremely important part of the Federal Reserve System,

Effect of Shot Peening on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties Essay

Effect of Shot Peening on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties - Essay Example The subsequent literature based understanding can enable dissecting further into this field for the purpose of future developments, research and studies. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a method through which the various components are joint together for the large purpose of creating a substance related to the 3D model data set, commonly layered one over the other, in contrast to the other methods such as that of the subtractive manufacturing methodology [1-5]. This particular method is believed to bring about the new methods and techniques which will generally make the overall process of structural design and crafting much more easily as compared to the previously existing methods and techniques. With the given modern day advancements and developments in the form of automation supported features, without the tool technique or AM supported functioning units, each will benefit from the given method and new techniques incorporated in this regard [6]. A commonly used and implemented method in this regard is that of the AM support unit in the form of Direct Metal Laser Sintering, which comes along with the feature function of generating a net-structured part and can further extended for the entire process of manufacturing through the use of the pre-alloyed powders [7-10]. Components that are generated through this method yield more accurate results and the crafted outlook is much more appreciated and encouraged in terms of quality and general outlook. [10]. Hence, shot peening is possibly an option towards making use of the techniques that enable designing any structure and any outlook based object.

Technical education Essay Example for Free

Technical education Essay I think technical education is more of a valuable asset to society than liberal arts educational fields. Technical schools offer job specific coursework which are usually jobs that are high in demand. When it comes to the cost of your tuition, its way less expensive than a four year college . Technical schools cost less than most colleges. It takes less time to complete because you don’t have to take two years of history and English courses for a simple career like becoming a massage therapist. You spend more time really learning things about the field, while others in traditional colleges are in a classroom. According to Mech Institute 23.6% students take 7yrs to obtain a bachelor’s degree, and cost double the tuition to go to get a liberal education than a technical education. You learn in a more hands on way. You learn from a person who is a master in the field you’re learning about. Technical colleges offer apprenticeships and when done with training you will be able to do the tasks needed to be done. You can go right to work without any additional training. For employers this is huge because a lot of companies spend a lot of money training employees that sometimes just quit. It costs employers a lot of money to train people just for them to quit over time. Traditional colleges are not for everyone. Technical colleges are offering a wide variety of career paths to choose from. Your classes are made to learn you about the career field you choose to major in. Technical education is a great way to start a good career. You can choose a career and learn the skills needed for it. If you want to have your dream job sooner without the years it takes in a traditional college technical education is for you. You learn what is needed in order to succeed.

Theories of Punishment: Durkheim and Marxist

Theories of Punishment: Durkheim and Marxist Compare and contrast a Durkheim and a Marxist analysis of punishment in modern society. Emile Durkheim is well known for his work on suicide related issues. However, Durkheim is not exclusive to the area of suicide, he had ample experience and expertise in other areas of sociological interest and one prominent field is crime and punishment. Why do societies punish offenders? This is a question that has been deeply explored by many sociologists including Binding who felt that a society’s â€Å"right to punishment†¦was nothing but the right to obedience of the law, which has been transformed by the offender’s disobedience.† The main objective of punishment thus was â€Å"the inmate’s subjugation under the power of law for the sake of maintaining the authority of the laws violated.† Thus, punishment was meant to â€Å"represent the holiness and inviolability of the duties to which it is attached.† Durkheim assigns the power of punishment to the state for the purpose of restoring and maintaining social and collective conscience. He felt that crimes shatter societal solidarity and when there is a right to punishment, and then society can restore its faith in each other by punishing the offender. However, Durkheim contends that in complex modern societies, collective feelings of revenge have been somewhat replaced by Anomie. And this anomie has weakened punishment which leads to more crimes and offences against the society. Durkheim argues that people are shaped by their social experiences and it follows that if the collective conscience is weakened by, for example, too much criminal behavior, the moral ties that bind people together are also weakened. When this happens, the concept used by Durkheim to express this weakening of moral ties was that of Anomie. For Durkheim, anomie occurred when traditional norms of behavior were undermined without being replaced by new norms. In the absence of clear moral guidelines for their behavior, people experience feelings of anxiety, aimlessness, purposelessness, disorientation and so forth. Anomie, therefore, was seen by Durkheim to be a very dangerous phenomenon, mainly because when people no longer believe in their obligations to others, they revert to self-interest. In effect, they attempt to look after themselves without bothering too much about how this may affect the lives of others. How has this change occurred if at all? Is the criminal justice system really more lenient in modern societies than it used to be? This is the question that forms the basis for Durkheim’s entire premise on the subject of criminal justice in modern society. The fact that there is a close connection between Durkheim’s concept of anomie and changes in the criminal justice system cannot be denied. One of his sternest critics acknowledged that â€Å"there is also an underlying validity in the importance that Durkheim attaches to the law for any understanding of society† [9] p. 36. Certainly the phenomenon of law was of crucial importance in Durkheim’s sociological model because it was an external indicator of a level of social life at which moral forces became crystallized and institutionalized to a degree where they were formalized and backed by sanctions. Durkheim could see the difference between the law prevailing in traditional and modern societies. Though he went slightly overboard with his divisions, it is a fact that Durkheim was among the first few to highlight the differences that had led to a shift in punishment from corporal punishment to institutionalized revenge. On a milder note, Durkheim said, â€Å"The duty of the statesman is no longer to propel societies violently towards an ideal which appears attractive to him. His role is rather that of the doctor: he forestalls the outbreak of sickness by maintaining good hygiene, or when it does break out, seeks to cure it. (Durkheim, 1982: 104) Let us now study the differences in more detail. What was the primary difference? According to Durkheim the difference lied in the intensity of punishment. In traditional societies, punishment was more corporal in nature; it focused on the body of the offender. In modern societies, things have become more complex and focus has shifted to institutionalization. This institutionalization has led to a lenient form of punishment. And a lot of this can be attributed to breakdown of social cohesiveness. The modern society is different from what you would expect a traditional society to be. Modern society is usually more â€Å"progressive,† â€Å"industrial† but at the same time materialistic. This aspect of the society makes it highly individualistic too. The individualism factor leads to the creation of what you would call a self-centered culture. In this self-centered zone, people are more concerned about their own welfare than the welfare of the society on the whole. Durkheim blames this individualistic streak for the breakdown of social cohesiveness and collective conscience that is the primary cause of social decay as well as lenient punishment. I agree with Durkheim that punishment today is lenient. It does focus on revenge but there is a greater focus on rehabilitation of offenders which gives the whole picture a compassionate view thus resulting in leniency which is not often desired. Leniency is not desirable in all cases and in traditional societies or old world societies when punishment was stricter, crime rate was lower and recidivism was almost negligible. There is another important concept which should be instilled here. Conformity is what Durkheim would want in a social system today but this conformity factor has been missing since people want to have their own individualistic streak. They do not want to conform. But for a society to care about each other’s welfare and to build cohesiveness, conformity is desirable. Morals and values can often take a backseat or they lose their intensity when there are too many groups and each has its own view. (Anthony Giddens, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory. An Analysis of the writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press (1971), 103). When there is lack of conformity, there is also an increased risk of conflict and this can endanger the greater interest of the society. Durkheim feels that lack of conformity is one of the main reasons for growth of conflict and for further division of interest and for this reason; he suggests that conformity should exist. He also suggests the use of restitutive law as a possible solution bringing and maintaining law in a modern organic society. Durkheim’s view of modern society’s law and lenient punishment emerges from his views on anomic division of labor. According to this concept division of labor of anomic type takes place when norms regulating activities break down or fail to emerge. One source of this anomie has been the rapid growth in economic conditions which gave rise to new â€Å"interests in conflict (which) have not yet had time to be equilibrated† p. 370. Another major source was the discrepancies that existed between a group’s expectations and their achievements. In such an air of â€Å"relative deprivation†, rules that previously governed the means to goal attainment break down, and anomie and increased disorder could result. Some sociologists have sought to make international comparisons, maintaining that, on the basis of this theory, it should be possible to predict that in countries with an advanced division of labor, greater inequality and/or deprivation and/or rapid rate of change would be important predictors of higher levels of political instability and conflict. One general consequence is that the absence of regulation can lead to unspecified desires, and the other is that for the individual specialist worker, work itself can lose its meaning. With regard to the forced division of labor, the possible consequences are, firstly, a resentment of exploitation and an attempt to meet force with force (resistance or revolution); secondly, there is the response of fatalistic acceptance of domination. In a society where anomie and forced division of labor are combined, the unlimited desires/resentment and meaninglessness/fatalism pairs reinforce each other. Some critics (Horton) have sought to contrast Durkheim’s concept of anomie with Marx’s concept of alienation, but the contrast only holds up if anomie is kept separate from the forced division of labor; whereas in practice, as Durkheim perceived, they are frequently combined. There can be absence of regulation (anomie) at one level and coercive regulation at another level (forced div ision of labor), as exemplified by unrestricted competition and lack of agreement over the regulation of prices and incomes, on the one hand, and inequality of opportunities on the other. However, in Durkheim’s view, spontaneous attachment to norms (as distinct from coerced attachment deriving from an imposed ideology) could only occur when the forced division of labor was mitigated. Durkheim drew a sharp contrast between two systems of law: one dominated by repressive sanctions and corresponding to mechanical solidarity, and the other characterized by a predominance of restitutive principles corresponding to organic solidarity. Critics pointed out that the contrast was overdrawn, and also that many of the societies he used as examples of mechanical solidarity and repressive penal systems were in fact not simple tribal or clan societies, but already possessed the rudiments of central state organization, as in the case of the ancient Jewish and Roman societies. The most important additions or modifications to his original thesis were concerned with his classification of crimes, and with regard to the political factor. Whereas, in the original thesis, the main contrast was between repressive and restitutive sanctions, in the later article the contrast involves a classification of crimes into those that are fundamentally religious in character—offences against shared moral tenets that constitute the collective conscience—and those that are â€Å"individual†, in the sense of involving the essentially private interests of increasingly autonomous individuals. Penal sanctions also change in quantity and quality, with a movement away from corporal punishment and toward depriving the individual of possessions or freedom, i.e. fines and imprisonment. This development corresponds to the increasing differentiation within society, and the increasing focus on the individual, in this case as criminal or victim. Durkheim makes an inte resting point about prisons only coming into existence when a society reached a sufficiently advanced stage of material development to permit the existence of secure and fortified establishments, such as castles or other large dwellings of a king or class of notables. This was the kind of institutionalization I mentioned earlier in the paper. Now that a country has driven towards institutionalization, it has resulted in automatic leniency. Offenders do not suffer corporal punishment because it is generally disapproved of in the society. Such an attitude leads to leniency of punishment which may often prove to be damaging for social cohesiveness and general peace. One feature of Durkheim’s social thought—one that most modern students are likely to notice—is that he can be placed upon either side of the political spectrum in a fairly straightforward manner. This certainly suggests something about the density of his thought, as well as the numerous ways in which his writings can be misunderstood. Essentially, Durkheim borrowed portions of what he considered to be â€Å"social facts† from the left and the right. This should not be surprising considering Durkheim’s primary understanding of society: society, to him, is a moral reality. The social truths can only be grasped as such if they are reflected in moral beliefs. In other words, he believes there is an objective reality because social struggles serve to indicate to individual human beings that they are fighting for something independent of their own sense perceptions; something abstract and universal. Nevertheless, sociological explanation must fundamentally be concerned with what is independent of psychology and individual points of view; it consists of the search for the objective within the context of the subjective. To Marx, however, even if this form of understanding proposed by Durkheim is attainable, the material world surrounding humanity is inevitably altered through the process of knowing it. Accordingly, human perception is not fully capable of grasping the truth behind events; it is only able to develop some representative illustration of it. So, the scientific observations of the world and the knowledge gained from these observations enable humans to recognize and impose patterns of behavior upon the physical world, thus, to manipulate it in a manner that can never be completely comprehended. History, to Marx, has been misconstrued by the notion that some conceptual model can be used to characterize the history of production and labor. He attacks this way of understanding the progression of human history: â€Å"Thus, history must always be written according to an extraneous standard. The actual production of life appears as something unhistorical, while the historical appears as something separated from ordinary life, something superterrestrial,† (Marx 125).There is no such thing as objective truth, but our patterns of thought can evolve if human surroundings are also to evolve. Accordingly, to uphold the status quo is to selectively ignore the continuing processes of human thought and exploration. Durkheim, on the other hand, is concerned with making broad sociological and psychological assertions about humanity. In order to accomplish his goal, Durkheim must make use of a rather difficult term: milieu. Broadly, Durkheim contends that every feature of social phenomena must be viewed through the lens of the particular time period in which it exists—its â€Å"milieu.† Put differently, if we are concerned with sociological analysis, then the unit of measure of the â€Å"individual† is nearly extraneous; the only unit that can be profitably employed is the milieu. Accordingly, Durkheim believes that the social perspective is the most fundamental standpoint to view human life; therefore, psychological theories are inconsequential. So it should not be surprising that Durkheim argues that the social division of labor is not merely an abstract social phenomenon; instead it is a natural law of human existence. Although mankind interacts intimately with his environment, the social realities of his life trump the more concrete realities: â€Å"The same cause which increases the importance of the collective environment weakens the organic environment in such a manner as to make it accessible to the action of social causes and to subordinate it to them,† (Durkheim). The most prevalent objection to Marx’s theory of the state is that the mechanism needed to assure this equality of the classes is an authoritative state. Historically, this is why communist states have never been truly successful in the way Marx envisioned. To Marx, the continuation of class conflicts can only result in a form of communism. Others have asserted that the situations that are ripe for communism are merely situational and not unavoidable. As a result, capitalism will not necessarily progress to communism, but may take an altogether new form. Broadly, the differences between Marx and Durkheim’s interpretations of social institutions reveal the weakness inherent to both. Durkheim chose to take a purely mystical perspective regarding society; it was the outcome of abstract notions and social norms. Marx, on the other hand, saw it as purely a materialistic structure; it was based upon tangible and physical realities. Surely, neither can be completely accurate, but both maintain a level of truth as well as value for the future. Movie: A Thousand Words Movie: A Thousand Words In this essay I am going to talk about the business and business ethics about a movie called A Thousand Words. Jack, who is played by Eddie Murphy a world known Hollywood actor and comedian is an overly energetic, fast-talking, and committed agent who is known to closing even the most difficult of authors and other deals with celebrities into his agency. His main goal was to land the (as quoted in the movie by Jack in a meeting) Most popular, nondenominational religious Deepak-Chopra like spiritual leader on the planet named Dr. Sinja as his client. Jack claims he is the best agent in town. He also quotes Hey, I can talk anybody into doing anything. In order to sign him as his client, Jack lies and pretends to believe in Dr. Sinjas philosophy and path towards inner peace. In addition, he tells his assistant that he does not read scripts and believes that the first five pages and the last pages of any script/book will judge if its worth having a look at it and signing a specific autho r or not. Later on that day, a mysterious tree shoots up in his back garden, and he notices that every word he says a leaf falls off from the tree. When Jack goes back to his office the following day, he gets shocking news from his assistant telling him that the book was a quick read and that it was five pages long. In this scenario, the first five pages and the last pages are the whole book, yet Jack still refuses to read it because he thinks its some kind of joke or prank on him by Dr. Sinja. Jack is looking for answers and asks Dr. Sinja for help when he realizes that he has about 1000 words left until he and leaf die. Dr. Sinja leaves for a spiritual retreat to Bolivia for three days as in the meantime advises Jack not to speak until he gets back and finds out about this problem. Unable to speak, write, or communicate with everyone in his life, jeopardizes his relationship with his wife, boss, and other colleagues in which results him losing his job (Sandie Angulo Chen, March 9, 2012). Business ethics is the study of what is right and what is wrong, duty and obligation, moral norms, individual character, and responsibility but in the context of business. Jack has violated a few moral standards in order to achieve his dream signing. First, Jack lied to Dr. Sinja saying he has read the book before and that he is all for inner peace and spreading his wisdom and his words to the world. Another violation of the moral standards was putting his interest before the moral standards which is wrong. A moral standard at all times takes priority over ones self interest no matter what. He quoted in the movie Dr. Sinja: whats it in for you? Jack: just the satisfaction of knowing that I helped my hero to save the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and 10% of course. Saying that shows that Jack was in it for the money all along. Knowing that he topped several celebrities in sales and potentially could be the next big thing, Jack has targeted him and is willing to do whatever it takes to sign him . Having said that, leads me to one of the theories in business ethics: Egoism. Egoism is a theory that believes in short term sacrifices in necessary to long term self-interest. There are two types of egoism; Ethical Egoism and Psychological Egoism. Ethical egoism is where a person chooses the way they behave. An individual who can do anything and as long as there is some sort of benefit as the end result all entirely based on ones self-interest. Psychological egoism on the other hand is where an individual has behaved and acted. They perform something purely because they wanted to do it for their own self-interest. Mentioning the two sides to this theory, it is clear that Jack is an ethical egoist. With Jacks job being an agent, you will have to play the part of being nice and putting a poker face and lie in order to succeed in the business world. Albert Carr (a businessman) mentions this in the relativism and the fame in business. He believes that business is a game and that busi ness professionals are expected to follow a code that doesnt relate to ethics in any way. He uses poker as an analogy of lying, or a bluff of some sort. For example; lying about ones age on a CV, or using conscious misstatement, lie to sell products. Furthermore, Jack is doing just that in his company to achieve his goals. He chooses to behave in such a way to pretend that he is interested in their work and to boost up his status and salary bonus. Another example in the movie as well is when Jack goes to a coffee shop and sees a long queue of people waiting to be served. He looks at his watch and realizes he is going to be late for work if he waits in line. He picks up his phone pretending to speak to his wife who allegedly is in labor. Therefore he shouts out loud saying: hello? What? Shes in labor? Look I cant miss the birth of my first child! I only went out to get some coffee! After shouting that out loud, he was let through by all the people waiting in line just so he cant miss the birth of his so-called first child. When reaches the front of the line he is stopped by two tall grown constructor workers whom gave him a fearful look meaning youre not going to cut in front of us. Jack at this point had to improvise and quick in order to get his coffee. On the spot he says: Twins? Its twin! Im having twins. Im having twins. Thank you. Its on the house? Thank you so much! Jack has quickly thought of a lie in order to get throu gh and get his coffee. Jack not only makes his way through to skip the queue, but he also got his coffee for free as congratulation for the birth of his twins. We can also link this to the Albert Carr theory that he acted and played a poker face to get what he wanted. Lastly, within the theory of Egoism there is a difference between selfishness and self-interest. Selfishness disregards the needs of everyone else including people whose needs should be taken into account by doing something purely for your own satisfaction. Whereas self-interest; is a behavior on doing whats best for you in order to achieve. Jack in this movie is a bit of both. For example: his valet guy who parks his car for him in the morning asks him if he has read his manuscript and Jack replied that he is getting closer to reading it because it has moved from his kitchen table to his nightstand and next to his toilet and thats where it gets read he says (4:08-4:40mins in the movie). He didnt read his book and yet was rude to him by telling him to park his car somewhere else because he doesnt want bird feces on his car. Another example is when he gets back home and discusses to his wife about the house. She advises him to change houses because there is an open pool with no fence where on the other side is a cliff which has a drop of 2000 feet. His wife mentioned that she changes the babies diapers at the bar rather than a proper room for the child here it is user friendly. Jack agrees to make some changes but once again to his self interest instead of changing houses he told her that we could change up the media room into the babys room which the opposite of what his wife wanted(16:10-18:00mins). Jack has violated a few of the moral standards and has created an ethical dilemma. These results in affecting the environment around him, the society and the people involved in his life. For example: his wife, his assistant, his client, and his colleagues. As mentioned earlier, Jack is aware and realizes he has only 1000 words left until Dr. Sinja comes back with a solution. This situation makes it difficult for jack to communicate with people at work and his family. Jack needs to use his words wisely and know when to speak. Whatever happens to the tree happens to him. As the tree loses its leaves, jacks gets more and more sick, and when the tress loses all its leaves it is known that the tree dies which could result in Jack dying a well because they are connected. One of many examples of this is when Jack goes in to grab coffee in the morning and cannot talk or explain to the guy what he wants. For that reason, Jack uses sign language to communicate with the guy and ends up buying s everal coffees because he didnt understand the order (28:15-29:28mins). Secondly, he approaches the road trying to cross onto the other side, where a blind man comes and asks him to advise him when its safe to go. At this point Jack is pressured and cannot talk to the guy. The guy asks him could you tell me when its safe to cross? Are you deaf? I said can you tell me when its safe to cross? Jack stands there in silence not know how to answer the guy, he hums to the guy meaning that it is not but the old guy misinterpreted what Jack was trying to say so he walked into the road while there was traffic flowing past by. Jack quickly reacted and went after him trying to help him cross the road while cars were driving by. In the process of that, Jack has dropped several of his coffees and when they reached the other side in one peace, a bus passing by smacked the last coffee in his hand resulting in him not getting not only the coffee that he ordered but any coffee in general. Following up on this example, Jack affected the society around him which included th e old man almost getting run over by cars and also car drivers swerving left and right which can cause accidents on the road and affecting their lives. Another example of Jack affecting the society is when his wifes friend advises her to improve her relationship with her husband because he is slacking. So she rents a hotel room and tells her husband to meet her there. When Jack arrives, she tries to make love to him and get him to say I love you but Jack once again fails to respond to her which jeopardizes their relationship and leaves things between them complicated and unsure of what might happen to their family. Shes scared that Jack has lost his love for her which worries her. The last example of Jack affecting the society is when two offers come in and he fails to close any deal between them due to the lack of words he says. He asks his assistant to talk for him in one meeting where it goes all wrong and they lose their offer. On top of that, Jack gets a second chance at closing the book deal, but when they found out that the book is only 5 pages long, they declined the offer and stormed off. After the incident, his boss looks at him and asks him why he failed to mention that the book was five pages long. Jack still remains in silence and does not answer her which led him to get fired from his job. All in all, Jack has affected the society and the people around him to a point where he no longer has control of his situation. Towards the end he tries to explain his problem to his assistant who later monitors how many leaves he has left till it runs out and he dies. In the meantime, he goes around town trying to be nice and be moral and good person. For example: giving bread to the poor, giving money to charity, and trying to help a little girl get her cat from the tree in hopes that the leaves will stop falling from the tree. The problem with this, it is not done from pure goodness or performing good will. This leads us to Kants theorem, which focuses on the type of action rather than the consequence of the action. Goodness is the main requirement of the existence of the good will according to Kant. He believes that people should act morally regardless of the consequences. There is a difference between Good will and Happiness. For example: a person could be healthy, successful, h ave power, wealth, satisfied with his life, looks and considers himself a happy person. When people see this person they would assume he is a happy person and hes doing well in life. According to Kant, he questions the matter whether this persons happiness have moral bases. He also states the absence of good will such as kindness, ability, to judge, courage, decisiveness and many others may result in these qualities in becoming evil because they are not supported by the good will. From Kants opinion a good will forms, the most essential condition not of being happy, but worthy to be happy. There are two types in where we can determine morality in any situation, and in order to do so we must do things according to certain maxim, such as Universal Acceptability and Ends and Means. Universal acceptability everyone globally should act upon a specific rule and follow the rules stated. Ends and means is where we treat people like how we want to be treated. For example if you ask someone t o do you a favor, its only fair for you to reward or repay them back with the same effort they have put in to do that one thing for you, also to recognize their value of their hard work. Jack in the beginning of the movie treated people as means rather than ends as well. He didnt care of the people around him and used people by telling to do thing s for him and not appreciating their value of work and effort put in so that he gets what he asked for. Kants moral theory has application for organizations. Meaning just like other theories, they all have principles and approaches. Kants first principle points out that the categorical imperative (which are the universal acceptability and ends and means) gives us firm rules to follow in moral decision making. Second principle he introduces an important humanistic dimension into business decision, in other words forbids treating humans as means to ends. The third and last principle he stresses the importance of motivation and acting upon principles, which means doing the right thing is not necessarily enough. The individual has to perform an action that has moral worth and that its done with desire and real drive to do the r ight thing for its own sake. After mentioning these theories, Jack realizes he is wasting his time and nothing working out. So he goes back to his house to find out his wife packed all her stuff and left. He goes upstairs and looks at old photos of his family and a few pictures of his dad. In the beginning of the movie he was against his dad and never forgave him for leaving him and his mom behind a long time ago. His father has passed away and many years later Jack still hasnt forgiven his father for what he did to them. There was a picture of all three of them, he removed it from the photo album and went outside by the bodhie tree and started to pray. Jack meets Dr. Sinja at a diner to be let down hearing that Dr. Sinja couldnt find a cure for this curse. Jack sits there helpless and feeble having lost his family and his job in the process of all this mess. Dr. Sinja asks him that there is a reason why he is still there, its because he wants to seek advice from him and the only advice he can give him was for J ack to find the truth about himself, to quiet his mind and only then will he find the out the truth. He then goes back to his house under the influence of alcohol and his assistant follows him there where he tells him to be quiet and to stop talking. Jack gets furious and starts singing and talking as revenge to the tree trying to waste the leaves so he dies. He wakes up the next morning with his mouth taped, walks up to the bodhie tree and starts crying, he asks the tree what to do by talking to it from his inner voice in his head. While watering the tree he sees a butterfly landing on Dr. Sinjas book that he never read, so he sat down and started reading it. Later on that day, he visits his wife and with only a few words and facial expressions he shows her that hell be back and he truly loves her. On top of that, he goes back to the store where he usually gets his coffee in the morning and hands over a record of the Beatles which was the cashiers favorite CD/band. Also Jack heads to the valet guy that parks his car every morning and hands him his script saying that it was brilliant and sold with a cheque of $10,000 dollars, but when his car pulled up it was covered up in bird feces although didnt care and carried on with his day. Jack does all this with good intentions and good will just like I mentioned in Kants theorem. When he visit his mother, he accepts the fact she thinks he is her husband Raymond. She notices he cant speak so she starts speaking to him about how he was so angry at his father on leaving them and that he should forgive him and know that he father loved him and never stopped loving him. Mid way, she calls him jack and realizes that it was jack that visits her all along. Lastly, leaving to the cemetery to see his fathers grave, he prays and says his last three words which were I forgive you. Lightning struck and Jack McCall fell to the ground experiencing a heart attack. Soon after jack wakes up to the ringtone of his phone and it was his assistant informing him that all the leaves on the tree reappeared again and that he is able to talk again. In the end, Jack writes a book about is experience and named it a thousand words, Dr. Sinja was proud of him and his accomplishments, and his assistant took Jacks place at work as an agent. When his assistant (now agent) finds out he has a delivery he tells them to bring it in and also mistreats his new assistant, but as they bring it in, it was another tree and he finds out that he going to be going through the same curse as his ex-boss Jack did because of his bad intentions. In addition, he gets his wife a brand new baby-friendly home by the suburbs like she always wanted and asked for earlier on in the movie and reconciled with his family again. In conclusion, personally I think the best ethical and moral theory that Jack should have applied was Utilitarianism. Its a theory in which if an action produced more good than bad then it is a good action. Although the theory is demanding under two reasons: to do the most and maximize values and also put aside personal self-interest. Jeremy Bentham who is known to be the father or founder of this theory believes in pleasure, quantity and temporary (short term) actions, whereas the developer of the theory John Mill believed in happiness, quality, and long-term actions. I think John Mills theory is right and that Jack should consider happiness as well as other peoples happiness. This was just one of six points about the theory. Another point about it is an end justifies the means, which means anything is morally right if it brings better results in the end. Third point is to maximize happiness for a longer period of time. Fourth point is no-one can predict the future consequences rega rdless of the action implied. Moreover, should consider pleasure and pain as well as the others and not your own only. Lastly, the same action applied could give different results for different people. For example if you were to take action and take down a bad guy who is holding your sibling as hostage, the situation would be different and you would be hesitant and careful when taking down the bad guy rather than it being someone random that you dont know. The principles of utility in organizational are: provides clear and straight forward basis for formulating and testing policies, in other words allows us to test their worth against standard utility, also provides objective and attractive ways resolving conflicts with self interest and looks at the general good and lastly provides flexible, result-oriented approach to moral decision-making because utility focuses on results. There are also two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism looks at the consequences each time an act i s performed, whereas rule utilitarianism looks at the consequences each time anyone follows the rule by calculating if it is accepted or rejected. The disadvantages of this theory are that it doesnt work properly because you are responsible of your actions; also some actions are wrong even though they produce good action. For example sacrificing a bad guys life for the sake of the hundreds he could have harmed, and lastly the theory is dubbed as unfair because it puts your emotions and self interest aside. Another theory I would think would apply is Kant theorem because it is all about doing things morally with good intentions, but the disadvantages are; it is very strict, if any act alone is based on self interest then it has no moral worth. Second disadvantage is regardless of the consequences we cannot lie to save our lives, no exceptions to the rules. Last disadvantage states that it is unfair; this is due to people being used as means in order to reach their ends.

Hyundai-motor-company-report

Hyundai-motor-company-report PART 1: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY REPORT Business Description Products and Brand: Hyundai Motor Company (hereafter, HMC) formed in 1967, was a part of the South Korean Chaebol the Hyundai Group. In the last four decades, HMC managed to establish itself as a most prominent automaker producing reliable, technically sound and stylish automobiles and commercial vehicles. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, HMC opened a new chapter in the history of the Korean automotive industry by exporting its first proprietary model, the Pony, to Ecuador in 1976. In the 1980s, HMC exported the Excel to the U.S. In 1991, HMC achieved technological independence by developing the first propriety engines and transmissions. Currently HMC has 78,539 employees around the world working in eight manufacturing plants, 12 RD centers, 5,300 dealerships and sales companies, and CKD plants. As of 2010, HMC established as a global automaker that produces more than three million high-quality passenger and commercial vehicles for sale in 190 countries each year. By enhancing Brand image through high quality products and unique marketing initiatives, once again, HMC is the first and the only Korean automaker to be listed in the Top 100 Global Brands in 2010 by Business Week and Inter-brand since it first entered the Top 100 Global Brands in 2005. Revenue and Profit: In spite of the persistent uncertainties in recent business conditions, HMC achieved some significant milestones in automaker markets in the past few years. In 2009, HMC succeeded in selling 2.4 million vehicles overseas, a meaningful accomplishment considering the global economic crisis. In particular, Elantra, Genesis, Genesis Coupe, Santa Fe, and Veracruz were recognized as the best sales and safest cars in their categories by leading agencies and the media in the US, also, HMC achieved cumulative export sales of 1 million cars in Africa. HMC pledges continuous growth by maximizing brand value in developed markets and expanding its sales capacity in emerging markets. In 2009, HMC posted 31,859 billion KRW in sales. Operating profits increased by 19% to 2,235 billion KRW. The operating profit margin increased by 1.19% to 7.02%. Net profit surged by 104.5% to 2,962 billion KRW and HMCs total assets increased by 12% to 22,029 billion KRW. Despite increased sales and profits, tax payments to the central and regional government decreased due to corporate tax cuts and increased tax exemptions associated with increased RD investments. Financial Performance 2007 2008 2009 Sales (in billion KRW) 30,620 32,190 31,859 Operating Profit (in billion KRW) 1,946 1,877 2,235 Net Profit (in billion KRW) 1,682 1,448 2,962 Operating Profit Margin (%) 6.36 5.83 7.02 ROE (%) 4.91 7.65 14.21 EBITDA (in billion KRW)* 3,111 3,197 3,649 Total Assets (in billion KRW) 18,203 19,652 22,029 (Source: 2010 Sustainability Report, Based HMC operation result only, * EBITDA =EBIDTA : Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) In 2009, HMC jumped to third on the list of Fortune Korea Top 20 Korean companies and generated 91.46 trillion won in revenue, up 14.7 percent from the year 2008 and 2.97 trillion won in net profit, up 246.7 percent (Source: www. koreatimes.co.kr). In 2010, HMC announced global sales of 3,612,487 units (domestic plants: 1,730,682, overseas plants: 1,881,805). Sales revenue rose 15.4 percent to 36.8 trillion won from a year earlier as the company sold more cars and improved its product mix, while operating profit also rose 44.4% to 3.2 trillion won. Net profit increased 77.8 percent to 5.3 trillion won. Hyundai aims to increase sales and enhance brand image in 2011 by introducing new models specifically designed for local customers. In the next decade, HMC will continue in its endeavor to become a leading global automaker company through driving growth the development of world-class eco-friendly vehicles. HMC is striving to develop environmentally friendly vehicles including hybrid electric vehicles; fuel cell electric vehicle and pursuing two-prolonged Blue Drive initiatives which focus on fuel efficiency and the development of alternative fuel vehicles as a fundamental solution for climate change energy security. In the future, HMC focus on vehicles that run on various bio fuels. For the U.S. and Brazil markets, HMC develops flex-fuel vehicles that run on a mixture of ethanol and gasoline. In Europe, where diesel cars are sold in great proportion, the EU has a set of technical standards for diesel fuels with biodiesel content made of palm, rapeseed, soybean and other plant resources, and all HMCs models are capable of running on diesel fuel mixed with biodiesel. Remarkable success since 2007: In 2007, HMC received National Environmental Management Awards Presidents Prize and sales in US exceed 5 million units; its products i30 selected as Car of the Year in Australia; Accent (Verna) selected as Best Car of the Year by the Indian automobile magazine Overdrive; Azera (Grandeur) ranks first in J.D. Power and Associates consumer satisfaction survey. In 2008, HMC received Global Green Management Excellence Award, Global Reporting Initiative Award; it ranked first in National Customer Service Index (NCSI) for eighth year in a row, Avante (Elantra) exceeds 5 million units in accumulated sales; In 2009, HMC was selected as Best Company in terms of customer satisfaction in the automaker category by a consumer research group in China; it ranked Top 60 in Global Brand Value by Business Week and selected as Best Marketer of the Year in the US; Its product i30 and Grand Starex awarded as Best Cars in Australia for the second consecutive year; TAU engine selected as winner of US Wards AutoWorld 2009 10 Best Engines for the second consecutive year; received Presidential Prize at the 2009 Korea New Technologies Award. In 2010, HMC placed in the Top 100 Global Brands in 2010 based on a joint study conducted by Business Week and Interbrand and was named Carmaker of the Year by AM, UKs leading auto trade magazine, in the AM Awards 2010. The TAU 4.6 engine was selected as a winner of the 2010 10 Best Engines of the US automotive media Wards AutoWorld for the second consecutive year. Corporate Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was the key issue in company society relations. CSR has taken a core position of Hyundai Motor included three areas: trust-based management, environmental management, and social contribution. For trust-based management, HMC focused on labor relations enhancement, mutually beneficial cooperation with suppliers, ethics management and transparent management. As for environmental management, HMC proactively responded to global trends and environment regulations. For social contribution, HMC enlarged its capacity and obtained expertise to effectively carry out global social contribution projects and participated in volunteering programs, contributed to development of local communities. In 2007, HMC established the Hyundai Motor Global CSR Network with primary production and sales subsidiaries around the world and also laid foundations by promoting global CSR activities and by developing and opening the Global CSR Web site for information exchange. Challenge of sustainability: Sustainable development satisfies the needs of the present generation without compromising the chance for future generations to satisfy theirs Brudtland Report (1987). Enhancement of stakeholder value through achieving economic profits, environmental soundness, and the fulfillment of social responsibilities in corporate activities with a long-term perspective is the goal of sustainable management. To social and political sustainability, HMC has increase value to stakeholders through engagement and collaboration. To economic sustainability, HMC has responded to fast-changing demands of global customers by fully utilizing strategically placed production and RD facilities and fulfilled fundamental responsibility as a corporation by sharing economic value with various stakeholders including shareholders, investors, employees and suppliers. To environmental sustainability, HMC has tackled the twin challenges of climate change and energy security by developing green technology. HMC develops environmentally-friendly vehicles and the establishment of low carbon value chains to achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, HMC has establish ed a comprehensive hazardous materials management system and making effort to minimize impact on air quality. Climate change: Climate change is the most important issue to be tackled among five core Environmental Management Areas including Recycling and reuse, Air pollution, Hazardous materials, Environment Management System, Climate change. Since increased consumers preferences for low carbon products, therefore, HMC has invested a large amount of resources into the vehicle energy efficiency improvement technologies. HMC has established and implemented a comprehensive environmental strategy throughout the entire lifecycle of products. Its Blue Drive is a strategy that focuses on fuel efficiency improvement of vehicles power by internal combustion engine and the supply of zero emission vehicles in the future. Facing to multiplied challenges of climate change, HMC has striving to develop vehicle that run on various bio-fuels and hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicle, environmentally -friendly vehicles and the establishment of low carbon value chains to achieve reduction in green house gas emis sion. As a first achievement, HMC is the worlds first LPG Hybrid vehicle using proprietary technologies in July 2009 and release in the North American market and the domestic market in 2010. Engages with external stakeholders: HMC conducts business in an open transparent manner to earn and maintain the trust of all relevant stakeholders including shareholders and investors, customers, suppliers, government and communities. HMC have been sharing relevant information with all stakeholders via its sustainability report since 2003. HMC also tries to promote fair trade, mutually beneficial transaction with business its partners. With customers, HMC has been operating a customer service center that handles customer complaints and inquiries for improving customer satisfaction, reflect customer opinions about product and service by means of including regularly scheduled customer satisfaction surveys, customer services hotlines. The success of a surprisingly bold campaign with a new assurance program, which guaranteed customers to be able to return newly bought cars with no credit damage in the case they lose their income amid the still prevailing financial crisis. For suppliers, HMC created the Mutually Beneficial Cooperation Fund and a number of win-win supplier support programs designed to ensure shared growth with suppliers. In 2008, HMC signed a fair trade agreement with approximately 2,400 suppliers to further increase fairness and transparency collaboration with parts suppliers its essential in achieving high product quality in automobiles. HMC has made a sustainable effort to maximize shareholders and investors value through the increasing value of HMC by cash dividends most important means of sharing company profits. In 2009, HMC declared cash dividends of 1,150 billion KRW per each common share. HMC also paid taxes to central regional government, local community and social distribution expense and launched tailored social contribution activities, organized an active employee volunteer service program which serves as the driving force for Moving the world together social contribution campaign. In 2009, 25,851domestic employees participated in volunteer community service. In conclusion, HMC is more likely to achieve success in the long term by taking responsibility for the economic, social, ethical and environmental impact of its activities. Crisis Management In 2007, the antitrust agency of Korea fined HMC an amount of $ 25 million for violations in businesses. At the same time, Hyundai chairman Chung Mong-koo came before the court for corrupting from funds $ 96 million and damage more than $ 224 million from 2000 to 2006 to bribe officials for Hyundai facilitate urban expansion in southern of Seoul. This incident influenced a lot to the company, especially in long-term strategy, reputation and revenue. The global automotive markets which expanded rapidly over the past five years from 2002 to 2007 had sharply declines from the fall of 2008 in consequence of the financial crisis. Under extremely severe conditions, automakers run a race for survival in the global market. To respond to the crisis, HMC and other automotive manufacturers must solve liquidity problems urgently and reduction in production cost. And they also have implemented creative marketing strategies to entice reluctant consumers. The global financial downturn in 2008-9 affected European and Asian automotive manufacturers. The automotive industry was weakened by a substantial increase in the prices of automotive fuels linked to the 2003-2008 energy crisis which discouraged purchases of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks which have low fuel economy. With fewer fuel-efficient models to offer to consumers, sales began to slide. By 2008, the situation had turned critical as the credit crunch placed pressure on the prices of raw materials. The result of the 2008-9 international financial crisis impact almost economic sectors and left a number of banks and other financial institution in severe difficulties, forcing some to collapse. As a result, inter-bank, corporate and personal lending was drastically reduces, share price fell, and all the companies found themselves in financial difficulty. The world economic downturn led to falling sale and profit, exchange rate and share prices and a shortage of credit finance for business and consumers, unemployment and social hardship. As a result, automotive industry is one of the first industries to suffer from the 2008-9 world recession. Clearly, consumers incomes were falling, business were cutting down on their purchases, credit was in short supply, thus consumers exercised caution and either bought a used car instead a new one. It is not therefore surprising that there was a significant fall in the demand for new cars. In some country, Government responded to the situation by offering financial incentives to persuade consumers to buy new cars. So HMC focused on making effort to make economizing fuel vehicles with minimize cost to respect customers need and have implemented creative marketing strategies to entice reluctant consumers as most experienced double-digit percentage declines in sales. Although the worlds automotive market remains sluggish, and some of the worlds largest carmakers have been sorely tested on how to survive, HMC has weathered the global crisis relatively well. In the midst of the global crisis, Hyundai planned a standalone strategy, because their product line up is not expected to synergistic effects through MA. Despite difficult market conditions, in 2010, HMC succeeded in increasing its sales and strengthening its internal capacity. Strategy over the past few years HMC developed five mid-and long-term strategies: global management, higher brand values, business innovation, environmental management, and strengthening product competitiveness. Especially, HMC selected environmental management as to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations and the society. HMC also intends to promote sustainability development and preservation of the environment. Blue Drive is HMCs low carbon green technology strategy designed to reduce CO2 emissions by boosting fuel efficiency. Blue Drive also stands for HMCs technology development strategy focus on improving fuel efficiency of internal combustion engine-based cars, and with an ultimate goal of developing vehicles with zero CO2 emissions. HMC has focus on three technology areas for improving energy efficiency of the power-train energy efficiency improvement, minimizing energy loss, and creating renewable energy in order to lower CO2 emissions from vehicles. In Europe, HMC succeeded in low CO2 emissions products including the Blue Drive variant of the i30 diesel model, Blue Drive variants, the i10, the i20, the i30, and the Tucson ix blue. In the US, HMC is the most fuel efficient brand with an average combined (passenger vehicle-light truck) fuel efficiency. In the domestic market, a great number of vehicle models including the Click(Getz), the Verna(Accent), the i30, the Avante (Elantra), t he Tucson(Diesel model), and the Santa Fe(diesel model) earned a first class energy efficiency. HMC has expanded its vehicle lineup by including more luxury sedans and eco-friendly cars in order to keep up its strong performance in the U.S. market. HMC sold more than 500,000 vehicles in the USA in 2010 and it is the highest number of cars it has ever sold in a single year since tapping into the U.S. market in 1986. HMC have been aggressively pushing into China as the country has become the worlds largest automobile market. As its first achievement, HMC launched the worlds first LPG-Hybrid vehicles, the Elantra LPi Hybrid, which is developed using proprietary technologies in 2009 and released the Sonata Hybrid in the North American market in 2010 and in the domestic market in 2011. HMCs high product quality innovation was proven in engine technology-the heart of an automobile. Its technical capabilities and the development of high fuel efficiency-related technologies become a true global environmental leader. Under the philosophy of putting quality first, over 5% of its revenues are invested into RD to secure world-leading quality, marketability and technology. HMC has already taken environmentally-friendly investments and research that have resulted in a range of innovative breakthroughs from fuel-saving technology to new materials and responsible treatment of end-of-life vehicles. By adding blast furnaces to its operations, HMC was able to complete what it calls resource circulating business structure that goes from molten iron to automobiles, and from scrap back to unprocessed steel. Since its first concept model Blue Will in 2009 with light-weight bodies made of carbon-fiber, a panoramic sunroof with solar cells minimizing power loss, HMC will launch plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicle (NEV) are optimized for in-city use, especially well-fitted for commutes and short trips. Innovative vehicles that pioneer changed in the auto industry through continuous investment in RD and advanced dealer network programs and highly recognized for its sharp sales increase, first-rate dealership programs, and growth in brand awareness. HMC beat other candidates including Ford, Jaguar, and Landrover to be selected as the winner of the coveted title. Vision, Mission, Goals Hyundai Motor Company has grown rapidly to become one of the largest automobile companies with global top five production capability and superior quality, reaching a tipping point the qualitative approach, bringing bigger ideas and relevant solutions to its customers. At this opportunity to move ahead, HMC have developed a new brand slogan that encapsulates the willingness to take the next big step up. Led by new slogan and the thinking behind, HMC will become a company that keep challenging ourselves to open up new possibilities for people and the planet. HMC established a long-term vision of Innovation Humanity and selected five core strategies directions including a global orientation, respect for human values, customer satisfaction, technology innovation and cultural creation. HMC desires to create an automobile culture of putting customer first via developing human-centered and environment-friendly technological innovation. HMC vision is to secure world-best innovations and raise its profile as a premium automaker. Its quest also includes making this world a better place for all by popularizing next generation eco-friendly technologies and creating a new auto-culture through people-centered technologies that move customers hearts. HMC goal is to become a respected global company that contributed the creation of an automobile consumer culture that respects customers need and innovation in environmental technology that minimize the environmental impact of automobile. HMCs success, watched closely worldwide, is a result of continuous and aggressive innovations that have been implemented on behalf of our customers. HMC considers its most important mission to bring the enjoyment of elegance and confidence to its customers, rather than just selling products. Hyundai strives to bring its customers luxury and style. Therefore, Hyundai will continue to stabilize its global management by establishing an effective cooperation system among production bases around the world. HMCs management goal is customer-oriented management and continuous execution of global management. Motivation employees HMC has human resource management policy with fairness and reasonableness as the guiding principle, ensuring protection of human right and maximizing employees satisfaction at the work place. HMC does not discriminate against its employees or job applicant on the basis of race, age, religion, sea, nationality, physical characteristic or any other facture for all personal decisions including recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation, training, rank or promotion. HMC respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and fully comply with related laws and international labor practice norm including the UN Global Compact principles and ILO guidelines. HMC provide fair compensation for all work at our business sites according to the work guidelines, compensation policy and relevant laws. Also, HMC have created an ethics charter that calls for respect of the right of all workers. HMC focus in increasing health service for workers in the older age group, implementation of policies to recruit and support female employees and provision of more employment opportunity to non-Korean nationals and people with disability improve working conditions for female workers, HMC offer benefits including monthly days off and 90 day maternity leave. Some operation sites offer childcare centers for working mother as well. HMC ensures employees safety pre-assessment, accident prevention activities, increased investment in safety-related facilities and safety training. Therefore, HMC pursue a long-term relationship that is mutually beneficial to both employees and management. Desirability as an employee I would like to work for HMC because HMC is a leading global automaker with competitive edge in product quality, innovation, appealing to the ever-growing emerging markets, as well as the rapidly changing global market. Moreover, it contributes to society, as part of our global corporate responsibility, as well as to secure leadership for future growth through environmental management, forging the way for green growth and the development of world-class eco-friendly vehicles. Actually HMC is an ideal work place, safe and healthy working environment because of its human resource management policy with fairness and reasonableness to ensure human right protection and maximizing employees satisfaction. HMC regards employees as important assets for corporate growth so it has established the HMC ethics charter, the employee code of conduct, and the Guideline on Ethical Business Practices to help employees make the correct decision in the business conduct. It endeavors to provide all employe es with environment training program. HMC is stepping up efforts to ensure fairness in HR decisions, to introduce a rational compensation system, to collaborate with the UN Global Compact for human rights protection, talent development, welfare improvement, and health and safety enhancement. References: Main sources: Hyundai Motor Company. Available from [Accessed 4th March 2011] The road to Sustainability-Hyundai. Available from [Accessed 8th March 2011] The road to sustainability Hyundai. Available from [Accessed 8th March 2011] Global Crisis Enables Hyundai to Grow Bigger, 04-21-2010Â  19:37, Available from [Accessed 9th March 2011] Hyundai Motor joins top 3, in Fortune Korea 500; 10-24-2010Â  18:54. Available from [Accessed 9th March 2011] PART 2: Critically discuss the contention that Leaders are born not made Leadership is the process of influencing people towards achievement of organization goals (Naylor J. (2004) 2nd ed. Management, Harlow. Prentice-Hall) Are Leaders born not made? The answer is both. In todays world, many believe that it is possible to send employees to a series of leadership training classes and make them a leader. In fact, they may promote into a position of leadership, but they lack any of the qualities of a true leader. In short, leaders have something within that the others dont have. It is an intangible characteristic that cant be explained but can be recognized. This is due to certain in-born talent that can never be cultivated via training (e.g. charismatic, verbal approach to persuasion, ability to influence through persuasion). Most of these qualities essential to being a leader can be linked directly to ingrown personality traits, the ability to have a vision and intuition, the natural intelligence factor, the enjoyment of obsessing with self improvement, mastering the natural talents they were born with. These are all aspects of personality and are extremely difficult to learn. It is true that people can be trained through leadership programs; however these trained people will be often pale in comparison with those who have in-born characteristics. Perhaps it varies from person to person. It is really not easy to determine what part of leader abilities is acquired and what part is inborn or natural. Not every leader is born and not every person can be groomed to be a leader. It is not just the amount of training an individual receives that creates a leader; rather it is the in-born abilities an individual possesses and the willingness to learn (e.g. ability to adapt). The training just accelerates the development of the natural talents. True, those born with leadership abilities have distinct traits that separate those from the rest, sometimes even from childhood, but others who are keen enough and intelligent enough can be trained to become good leaders. What if Im not a born leader? Not being born with the skills to lead doesnt mean you dont have chance to become a leader. There are plenty of positions that require leadership skills that also allow to being underdeveloped. Those with ingrained leadership qualities dont get to rest on their talents. Like any skill, if you continually work on improvement and the pursuit of perfection, you will soon find yourself goal. You can only harness your potential by continually striving to improve. With the appropriate demonstrated levels of willingness and ability, a person with potential can be molded into a leader through training. Those continue to learn and develop whatever skills they possess; training or practice will give the character, vision or presence to be a great leader. But the environment will determine whether potential leaders can develop their talents. All of us are born with one trait in common potential. There is much potential of course, but the key in dealing with potenti al is the stimulus and environment that brings it out. So it is seen that leadership characteristics are most likely inherent and can be developed in the right environment. References: Leaders Are Born Not Made. Available from [Accessed 4th Feb 2011] Leaders Are Born Not Made. Available from [Accessed 4th Feb 2011] Leadership. Available from . [Accessed 4th Feb 2011] Leaders Are Born Not Made. Available from [Accessed 4th Feb 2011] PART 3: Critically discuss the following statement: The best way to ensure constant innovation is to hire young, newly-graduated candidates with an interest in innovation and set them up in a think-tank, separate from the main organization so they can develop new ideas unimpeded by the existing business. If you were an employer, what kind of people would you want to hire? Well, the perfect candidate that meet every aspect of the job description of course. Employers know, People who have years of experience may either require a salary too high, may not have knowledge of the newest technologies whereas recent graduates dont have important years of experience, professional knowledge, or highly developed skills but employers realize that if they hire the most qualified and suitable talent from outstanding universities and continue to educate and mold recent college graduates to fits their needs, they will provide enough quality clay to work with to create that perfect mold. Knowledge is the prerequisite for innovation and new technology distributes knowledge. Todays young employees have grown up with the latest technology and they often have a quicker grasp of the newest technical knowledge than older candidates. Many people have a bias that young people are better at innovation, coming out of school fully prepared, multi-skilled, capable of creative thought, much new ideas. The harsh reality is that in the technology world, companies prefer to hire young, inexperienced engineers because hiring fresh graduate with no skills takes less money and they will rapidly learn the latest coding methods and techniques. Â  As well, the older candidates likely have family and need to leave by 6 pm, whereas the young can pull all-nighters. In addition, companies nowadays are increasingly working on an international level in financial jobs and careers in telecommunications, so newly-graduated that study abroad will often have a desired global perspective. Their multi-cultural learning and experience, being bilingual is valued in many fields, especially in existing business innovation. However, the statement that the best way to ensure constant innovation is to hire young, newly-graduated candidates with an interest in innovation so they can develop new ideas unimpeded by the existing business is not really true in individual case. Almost leaders and managers often respect and listen to elders ideas in the company because they know well about organization structure, business strategy, mission, related stakeholders as customers, partners and they can take full advantage of their experience, knowledge by contributing practical ideas to constant innovation in products, processe