Tracy Foote Week Three Discussion Questions

David Rivers MKT/421 Tracy Foote Week Three Discussion Questions †¢Select a product with which you are familiar. What stage is this product at in the product life cycle? Provide rationale for your answer. The chose Apples IPhone and currently it is the Maturity phase of the product life cycle. The IPhone is very popular and is often copied or remanufactured to look like and perform the same as the original.Apple is creating new features, products, and apps to allow users to do a lot more than ever before. Based on your knowledge of the product life cycle, what types of changes will occur to this product as it continues through the product life cycle? Apple is going to face tough competition as it tries to hold on to market share and maintain revenue. How will this affect marketing of the product? Once the IPhone it the market it took off like a rocket.The market wanted to get it in the action and flooded the market with so-called smartphones. It is my opinion that Apple will hav e to reduce the price of the phone and better serve the its customers with continued upgrades and apps. †¢Select a product or service. Then, select three different organizations that provide your selected product or service and compare the prices associated with it. What is the difference between the prices among the different organizations?What is the rationale for this difference? The IPhone, the Verizon HTC phone, and the Windows phone are in the ballpark as far as price goes, the difference will be in the plans selected to run each phone. Each of the competitors is trying to build a better mousetrap and price out the competition. However, technology is not cheap and the cost reduction will have to occur somewhere in the manufacturing process for one company to surpass the rest.

How Relevant is Reith’s Idea of Public Service Broadcasting in Relation to Contemporary Television? Essay

The beginning of the 20th century saw the dawn of a new form of power. A means to communicate with thousands, and eventually millions of people simultaneously, to convey your ideas across a whole nation in a matter of seconds. This power was broadcasting. Broadcasting at the time was seen as a public utility, and as the wave spectrum was limited, the government got involved in its distribution. It decided the best way to fund broadcasting was a license fee. A British Broadcasting Company (which in 1927 would become the British Broadcasting Corporation) was formed, and on November 14th 1922, after over a million ten-shilling licenses were sold, it started transmissions. The first managing director of this company was John Reith, a Scotsman with a background in engineering. When he signed up for the job he did not even know what broadcasting meant, and yet he would very soon shape the future of broadcasting in Britain for the next 80 years. In 1925, for the Crawford report, Reith was asked for his opinion on broadcasting. He came up with several ideas about it, ideas that are still in use to this very day. He also came up with this phrase: Public Service Broadcasting. Reith believed that broadcasting should be a public service. It was overseen by the government, controlled by the General Post Office, and paid for by the people who used it. As a public service, public service broadcasting (PSB) should have an ethos, and Reith put forth some ideas that would stay in the PSB charter (and in the BBC’s mission statement) for years to come. One of the utmost concerns of Reith was that PSB had to educate as well as inform. Not only did the BBC have to relate events as they happened but also to educate the masses with science, nature or history programming. We must not forget that in the 1920’s most of the BBC’s listeners would not have had any real education past the age of 14. Another of Reith’s priorities was that all that possessed a wireless anywhere in Great Britain, be it in the center of London or the far end of the Hebrides, could access the BBC’s services. This universality of access would ensure that wherever you lived, you would have the same opportunities to be informed and educated by the BBC, thus putting the whole population on equal terms. Important to Reith as well was the public sector status that the BBC should have. That way it was not run for some anonymous shareholders who would only be interested in higher dividends, but in fact financed by the people who actually listened to it and later watched it. This would ensure that the quality of the programs was rewarded, rather than fulfilling the agenda of a handful of bankers. The BBC also had to lead popular taste rather than follow it. As Richard Hooper, chair of the radio authority said, the BBC had to offer â€Å"the Reithian ‘what audiences need’ not just ‘what audiences want'†. The corporation’s task was to innovate and give the public new areas of thought to explore. However in doing so, the BBC had to remain popular, as it was still the people paying for the programmes productions. The BBC also had to promote social and national unity, making programmes that catered for minority groups, and as the same time, sending out an image of national identity that all these groups could relate to together, thus creating national unity, a difficult task in the United Kingdom which has an â€Å"immensely varied national identity† (John Birt, director general of the BBC 1998) The promotion of democracy was also a major issue, and this was put to the test during the 1926 general strikes. The result was seen as inconclusive by some as Reith only allowed the prime minister to have his say and not the opposing parties. His arguments were that the BBC is the people’s service and the government was the people’s choice, so the BBC backed the government. But above all, Reith wanted the BBC programming to be of exceptionally high standards, and this at every level. The engineering had to be of very high quality, as did the programs. The information contained in them had to be accurate and up to date. â€Å"Our responsibility is to carry into the greatest number of homes everything that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.†(Lord Reith). Reith also wanted a high moral tone to be respected at all times. Dress codes had to be respected when broadcasting, even if the BBC only produced radio programs at the time. Reith stopped a divorcee violinist playing on the BBC, as divorce was not in accordance with the moral tone of the BBC. Reith had very precise ideas about how he thought public service broadcasting should be run. These ideas were turned into the mission statement of the BBC. However this ethos was thought up nearly 80 years ago. Those 80 years have seen a lot of changes; changes in society that makes our contemporary lifestyle very different from life in the 1920’s. Are Reith’s ideas of public service broadcasting relevant to contemporary television? Can we apply the same ideas we did 80 years ago to media today, or are we forced to modify them? Or even change them completely? Some of Reith’s ideas are actually still applicable to contemporary public service broadcasting, and are still a part of PSB’s ethos. However with the arrival of satellite TV, speciality channels, otherwise known as narrowcasting, some of his ideas seem more difficult to apply to contemporary television. We know have in England four analogue public service broadcasting channels: BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Even though the two latter ones do carry advertising, they are still public service broadcasting channels, in comparison to ITV, which is privately owned. There are some PSB digital channels being rolled out by the BBC, like BBC choice (soon to be replaced by BBC3), Cbeebies, a children’s channel, BBC4 and a learning zone channel). However these are not yet widely available, as not many households possess digital receivers yet. Let us look at the â€Å"terrestrial† channels, and how they measure up to Reith’s ideas. Firstly Reith wanted to inform and educate. BBC1 carries the BBC’s news bulletins as well as documentaries and educational programs. BBC2 carries a lot of educational programs for children in the mornings, many factual programs during peak time in the evening, and learning zone at night. Channel4 also has educational and factual programs but only one news program albeit of high quality. Channel 5 has short news bulletins on the hour every hour and â€Å"super serves for the pre-school age group† (C5 corporate web site).However, these do not make up the most of these channels’ programming grid. The majority of it is filled with dramas, soaps, gameshows and films. The BBC, as do channel 4 and channel 5 now set out to educate, inform and entertain and not necessarily in that order. However a technique known as hammocking which consists of putting a â€Å"low rating† show in between two â€Å"high rating† ones does try and educate us: having finished wa tching one show and waiting for the other, we can learn about the life of wild flies in Africa for instance. Unfortunately, in the days of cable and satellite, when people have scores of channels to chose from, research shows that viewers tend to change over to other channels rather than watching these shows. The competition between the PSB channels and cable or satellite TV is forcing PSB to include more entertainment. Reith wanted PSB to be accessible all over Great Britain. The BBC and C4 have met these requirements. However C5 has not. The reception of this channel is very irregular: good in some areas (depending on the weather), bad in some others, and non-existent in a few areas. Channel 5 is trying to remedy this by being carried by many different technologies: cable, satellite and digital, but not everyone has this diversity of receivers. Public sector status was also one of Reith’s priorities, as it meant independence. The BBC has the same status as it did when it was launched, however it has been forced to start selling its shows abroad to make profits. Channel 4 and channel 5 have both public sector status. Even though they carry advertising, they do not have to report to a board of shareholders. Public service broadcasting had to lead popular taste. The BBC, true to its nature still does, with a wider variety of innovating shows. Channel 4 prides itself as being an innovative and experimental channel, and it does offer us some shows that make us think, even at the cost of risking heavy criticism. This happened in 2001 when a spoof news show â€Å"Brass eye† offended many viewers while trying to make a serious point. Channel 5’s programming however resembles more the private commercial channels’, using lowest common denominator programming. Reith wanted PSB to promote national and social unity, to cater for minority groups, and also to establish a sense of identity. The BBC still caters for many minority groups, showing a wide variety of different genres, from opera ( a typically low rating program) to The Simpsons. Channel 4 carries a very wide spectrum of shows catering for many different minorities: a few years ago it shocked the nation by showing the first totally gay drama â€Å"queer as folk†, but it shows more the different communities in Britain rather than establishing a national unity. The promotion of democracy was also among Reith’s ideas. This is done by the BBC with party political broadcasts, or news shows and satirical takes on the British politics. However occasionally the BBC, especially in times coming up to it’s licence renewal, has been said to favour the government in place at the time, to be sure it’s licence would be renewed as it would like it to be. Channel 4 promotes democracy in the form of documentaries and current affairs programs. One of the most important aspect of Reith’s vision of public service broadcasting was high standards and a high moral tone throughout. High standards for the BBC and channel 4 are usually met. The quality not only of programming but also of the production is one of the highest in Europe. Channel 5’s programming however could not be called high standard. Reith demanded high moral tone. The director general of the BBC John Birt told this anecdote about the BBC under Reith in a speech he made in 1998 to celebrate the 75 years of the corporation: When the most popular comedians of their day, Clapham and Dwyer, had cracked a seaside-postcard joke (which does not quite – I warn you – stand the test of time) ‘What’s the difference between a baby and a champagne cork? One’s got the maker’s name on its bottom’ – they were banned from radio and an apology was broadcast on the Nine O’clock News for their grave lapse of taste. This shows that moral tone has changed in 80 years, and that if PSB were to observe the same moral code as in the 1930’s, TV would not be credible. This kind of tone can only be found in comedy shows like â€Å"Harry Enfield and chums† where we see two characters observing this code. Nowadays, if PSB is to cater for all minorities, the moral code has to change: if any of the public service channels banned a violinist as Reith did because she was a divorcee, they would be fined by regulations authorities. Our society has become much more tolerant, and public service broadcasting reflects this on all channels. Most of Reith’s ideas about PSB are relevant to contemporary PSB channels. However commercial channels do not abide by these ethics. Graham Murdock said that â€Å"audiences are addressed by PSB as citizens, not consumers† as they are by commercial channels. The aim of these channels it to make as much money as they can through advertising, and to achieve this they need ratings. This compromises on quality and does not allow them to do things that PSB can and must: address audiences that advertisers are not interested in, thus catering for everyone. The future is bringing a new challenge: digital channels. These will be able to target much more precise audiences: catering for minorities or better aimed advertising? Only time will tell, but if PSB has managed to survive 80 years, with changes as radical as the introduction of TV, there is no reason to think it will not survive in the digital age. Auntie is here to stay. BIBLIOGRAPHY Articles: A.C. Grayling The man who made the BBC (Financial times 8.10.93) Paul Valley Lost in a moral maze (Independent 26.03.96) Great Scots: lord Reith (Sunday herald 19.12.99) Books: Branston and Stafford (2001) Media student’s book second edition Internet: BBCi http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/743171.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/thenandnow/history/1920s-1.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/news/news245.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/news/ieelecture.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/thenandnow/educate_home.shtml Channel 4 http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/promises_2001/promises_intro2.html Cultsock http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/media/peacock.html Radio authority http://www.radioauthority.org.uk/newsroom/speeches/archive/A%20Sound%20View%20of%20Public%20Service%20Broadcasting%20-%2029.1.htm

A Synopsis of Amy Tans Book The Joy Luck Club

A Synopsis of Amy Tan's Book The Joy Luck Club â€Å"There are times when even the tiger sleeps.† This Chinese proverb is essential in understanding the character of Lindo Jong, mother of Waverly Jong, in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club. The book, written as a series of interwoven vignettes, delves into the world of Chinese mother-daughter relationships. The Joy Luck Club tells about four Chinese families: the Woos, the Hsus, the Jongs, and the St. Clairs. Waverly Jong’s mother, Lindo, has always been strong and stubborn, criticizing everything around her and not yielding to persuasion. This pugnacity bothers Waverly, who has spent her entire life subconsciously trying to impress her mother, a seemingly impossible task. Waverly has always been plagued by her mother’s criticism, becoming increasingly agonized thinking that she cannot live up to her mother’s lofty standards. After finally deciding to confront her mother about her implacable personality, Waverly realizes that her mother is just a vulne rable old woman despite her inner strength. The Chinese proverb, â€Å"There are times when even the tiger sleeps†, suggests that even the strongest have an Achilles heel. This proverb is particularly relevant to the sleeping scene with Lindo Jong because even though Lindo is strong and combative, she is still a fallible old woman who worries about her daughter. The proverb can be interpreted literally, but it also has a deeper figurative meaning. The tiger, a powerful predator, is seen as an almost faultless warrior in the animal kingdom. Always on its guard, the tiger is a fearsome creature that is not to be meddled with. As with every creature, the tiger needs to sleep, thus making it vulnerable to attack. Viewing tigers as a dominant adversary and viewing sleep as a universally held moment of vulnerability, this ancient Chinese proverb correctly asserts that no creature is without its weaknesses or moments of weakness. Waverly and Lindo’s contrasting personalities highlight both of their personal weaknesses. By the Chinese Zodiac, Waverly was born a Rabbit, making her â€Å"supposedly sensitive, with tendencies toward being thin-skinned and skittery at the first sign of criticism† while her mother Lindo was born a Horse, making her â€Å"obstinate and frank to the point of tactlessness† (183). These two an animal signs do not bode well together, leading to a plethora of conflicts between the two Jongs. Lindo constantly criticizes everything from the food she is eating to the people around her. A good example of Lindo’s hurtful criticism is when she calls Waverly’s expensive fur coat present from her fianc? â€Å"just leftover strips† (186). As stated by Waverly, â€Å"[Lindo] never thinks anybody is good enough for anything† (183). This insatiability infuriates Waverly, who simply wants her mother to accept her surroundings. The proverb’s pertinence to Lindo Jong becomes apparent when Waverly discovers her mother sleeping. Waverly has always been angry at her manipulative mother for her â€Å"scheming ways of making†¦ [Waverly] miserable† (199). Waverly leaves early in the morning to go to her parents’ apartment and yell at her mother. When she finds Lindo, she sees a side of her mother she had never previously observed: The back of her head was resting on a white embroidered doily. Her mouth was slack and all the lines in her face were gone. With her smooth face, she looked like a young girl, frail, guileless, and innocent. One arm hung limply down the side of the sofa. Her chest was still. All her strength was gone. She had no weapons, no demons surrounding her. She looked powerless. Defeated. (199-200) Upon seeing her mother in this state, Waverly’s immediate thought was that her mother was dead; dead while she was thinking terrible things about her mother. Waverly shouts at her mother, tears flowing down her face. Lindo then wakes up, and with a look of motherly worry, says to Waverly, â€Å"Shemma? Meimei-ah? Is that you? Why are you here? Why are you crying? Something has happened!† Lindo had not called Waverly Meimei, her childhood name, in many years. After this, Waverly had realized the true state of mother: she was just a tired, worn old woman who only wanted the best for her daughter. The criticisms and the subtle, sneaky comments were only made so that Waverly would make a better life for herself and analyze the faults of her present environment. This epiphanous moment for Waverly helped her realize the subtle meaning behind the Chinese proverb, â€Å"â€Å"There are times when even the tiger sleeps.† Although it is never explicitly mentioned that Wav erly is familiar with the proverb, she soon learns of its meaning and verisimilitude. Waverly had always viewed her mother as the proverbial queen of the chessboard, â€Å"Able to move in all directions, relentless in her pursuit, able to find my weakest spots† (199). After seeing her tiger-like mother not on her guard, Waverly realizes that even Lindo sleeps. Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club is not only a story of Chinese mother-daughter relationships, but it is also an insight into the nature and mannerisms of humanity. Lindo Jong is a feisty, critical woman who is never happy with her circumstances. Despite this, she is still old, caring, and vulnerable. For these reasons, Lindo Jong of The Joy Luck Club truly exemplifies the ancient Chinese proverb â€Å"There are times when even the tiger sleeps.†

Negotiating Strategy Negotiation practice of group Unity 04254 Essay

Negotiating Strategy Negotiation practice of group Unity 04254 - Essay Example Mainly, any trading process is including the parties like transferor and transferee. Firms have to maintain proper commitment in terms of maintaining post sales support and delivery products (Crump, 2011). In the current study, the negotiation process will be detailed out for Beaufort, XFM and Unity perspective. It is a Northampton, United Kingdom based high-end shoemaking firm. However, they are facing huge challenge from the shoe producers of Asia. Thus, they selected the strategy of ‘offshore’ production which will be done by XFM, China. This policy will be reducing the production cost as it reduces the UK based high rate workers. This study will be outlining the negotiation process between Beaufort’s management, XFM, and Unity, which is a UK trade union. The negotiation process will be outlining benefits of the UK based shoemaking employee, who are facing higher risk of job cuts for Beaufort’s offshore strategy. Druckman (2001) stated that the negotiation process of firms or other trading bodies are using the various strategies and theories for achieving best possible benefits of the involved parties. Mainly, any negotiator can use the negotiation strategies or approaches like structural approach, strategic approach, behavioural approach, processional approach and integrative approach. Organisations are adopting various types of negotiation process in order to increase commercial relationship and employee beneficiary. On the other hand, trade unions will be looking for the welfare of their members. Global firms and trade unions are using negotiation process for managing labour cost. The process also fixes up wage rates, working time and employment contracts. Organisational management can adopt various negotiation strategies for increasing the beneficiary of all the parties involved in the process. Dajani (2006) opined that structural

Write a tight, spare story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write a tight, spare story - Essay Example Henry was in his office when Alice, boss’s wife came into his room, she dressed to kill in a red tightly fitted dress. She stood there in front of his desk staring right into Henry’s eyes. Henry inhaled. He clearly knew what the woman was all after and the thought of it terrified him to his bones. He lit a cigarette to try and ease the tension that had started to build up. A chemical smolder build in his lungs, somewhat stinging the raw flesh of his body, through his throat to his nose making his eyes water. Exhaling into the dark room Alice was still there standing plotting on how to trick this man into her fantasy. After a while they chanted about all sorts of things and the relationship between them started to blossom gradually. That day was the beginning of their clandestine relationship. They began to meet often for dinner and would occasionally spend the night at restaurants without the knowledge of anyone who knew them. However, as time went by, the husband, the boss, began suspecting the two after observing some of the behaviors the two showed towards each other. He decided to hire a private investigator to look into the matter well. It was a fateful evening when Henry and Alice embarked on their affairs as usual in one of the most secluded hotels in town near the beach. The sky was calm and so was the breeze. The two were enjoying their lustful acts when the boss emerged all of a sudden in the hotel room they were! The two were perplexed and petrified beyond words; the bossed looked at them disappointed and then left without uttering a word. The following morning Henry was sacked and embarked on a journey back to London wondering where to

Professional Identity of Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Professional Identity of Nursing - Essay Example The professional image can be recognized as the insights, feelings, beliefs, and ideas that people tend to possess regarding the nurses and the nursing. In the last ten years, it has been observed that there have been major alterations in the images of the nurses. Media has been largely responsible for creating a somewhat derogatory image (Andrew, 2012).     It will also highlight upon the impact of professional regulations and the role of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the protection of the public. Value of Modern Nursing In the nineteenth century, nursing was not considered as an identity as well as self-conscious occupation. Until the year 1923, one was free to describe him/herself as a nurse. A sick person was generally provided care at home by the members of the family or he/she was assisted by one or two paid workers. Nursing was regarded as a duty which was an extended part of a woman’s domestic roles (Mortimer, 2005). ... Nursing essentially involves providing care to the vulnerable, needy and weak patients. However, the works of the nurses are often taken for granted and thus they go under-compensated (Stockwell, 2010). The value of nursing is often impacted by cultural alterations and factors associated with globalization, progresses made in the fields of technology as well as medicine (Braxter & Bramfitt, 2008). These factors are crucial in offering a structured as well as evaluated view regarding what nursing is, which will lead to greater job satisfaction among the nurses, better nurse maintenance as well as improved patient care within a supportive as well as the peasant organization (Horton & et. al., 2007). It can be observed that since the mid-1970s, nursing commentators have become highly conscious of the images of the nurses with regard to professional identity by moving in the mass media, claiming the fact that nursing is distorted and poorly comprehended by producers, writers as well as v isual image makers (Horton & et. al., 2007). The modern dilemma faced by the nursing profession has been related to the gendered identity of healthcare professionals. Most of the people have the wrong perception that nurses are generally female. However, the fact is that nurses may either be male or female (NursingTimes, 2010). Social, Cultural and Political Values Physical and emotional closeness along with intimacy are considered to be values that are stimulated by modern nursing feeling in the nurse-patient relationship. They are administered through a form of knowing the patient thereby creating a feeling of proximity (Charles-Jones & et. al., 2003).  Ã‚  

Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War Term Paper

Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War - Term Paper Example Term paper "Lincoln and coming of the Civil War" briefly demonstrates all historical picture of that times with key dates and persons, which affected the course of this war. The political conflict finally grew up into cruel brother-killing war without any intimation of democracy and justice. It all started with Abraham Lincoln election and separating of United States into Southern Democrat, Northern Democrat, and the Constitutional Union. After Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861, seven states had seceded. These states formed the Confederate States of America and elected Jefferson Davis as its president. One month later, when Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard fired on Union-defended Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the American Civil War began. President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to crush the rebellion. The author tries to figure out the main dilemma in these events. For example: Was the slavery the only reason for Confederacy to be involved in this war? Was it possible to find a peaceful way for this conflict? Critically analyzing the main actions and strategies of historical important persons, the author finds his own and unique, devoid of prejudice opinion, which shows motives of both sides in the best way. Also. this paper contains different summaries of chapters alongside with some kind of philosophical question: "How would you personally do, being on the Abraham Lincoln place?". This paper is high-quality, solid-structured student's work with the A+ potential!... George Meade to capture the Army of the Potomac. On July 1, these two armies clashed at Gettysburg, PA. The fighting lasted for three days; Lee’s forces were crushed and they retreated. A few days after, Grant besieged Vicksburg and opened the Mississippi to shipping. This divided the South into two and decreased access to critical resources. In the summer of1863, Gen. William Rosecrans and his Union troops went to Georgia, but tasted defeat at Chickamauga. They fled to the north, but experienced further defeat at Chattanooga. Grant was instructed to save them, and he amassed victories at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The next spring, Grant left and turned over leadership to Gen. William Sherman. Sherman went south and became successful in taking Atlanta, and then his forces marched to Savannah. Once getting to the boundaries of the sea, they pushed the Confederate forces until their commander, Gen. Joseph Johnston, capitulated at Durham, NC on April 18, 1865. In Marc h 1864, Grant commanded all Union armies and dealt with Lee at the east. On April 1865, Lee was forced to abandon the city and go to the west. Grant took Richmond in the process. On April 9, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House. Summary of Gettysburg Address On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln conveyed the Gettysburg Address to the public in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Through this speech, Lincoln commemorates the sacrifices of those who died to preserve the Union. In a very short speech, Lincoln reminded the public why the war had to be fought and how the Union won the Civil War. He stressed that the war is not about quashing the Confederacy rebellion per se. More than that, it is about the promotion of equality and freedom for all. We should not

New Jersey Homeowners Force Majeure - Soil Erosion Research Paper

New Jersey Homeowners Force Majeure - Soil Erosion - Research Paper Example As far back as the 1970s, the United States government was already helping states that were afflicted with soil erosion debacles.   The United States Congress crafted and passed the Model State Policy for Erosion and Sediment Control Law during the 1970s. The law focuses on monitoring, controlling, and alleviating soil erosion within the 50 states, including New Jersey. The law penalizes violations that would aggravate the current soil erosion problems of any United States community. Furthermore, the government’s Army Corps of Engineers went on a massive beach replenishment program. The soil erosion management program Included New Jersey’s Sea Bright to Monmouth beaches. The two beach communities are normally the first to be hit by rampaging hurricanes entering the United States east coast territorial areas.   During 1991, the New Jersey government spent $1.2 billion to repair the soil erosion that cropped up along the beaches lined from Sea Bright beach to Monmouth beach soil. In 1991 and 1992, the New Jersey soil erosion damages reached $250 million. In 1992, the Federal Government allocated $15 million annually for the coastal soil erosion control and rehabilitation program.   The United States government pays for 65 percent of the cost of soil erosion program. The remaining 35 percent is paid by the local New Jersey government’s counties and other private contributors. The soil erosion program includes the soil replenishment of Cape M ay City, Sea Isle, Union Beach, Harvey Cedars, Spring Lake, and Atlantic City. Moreover, many people are heading towards coasts to engage in their favorite pastime, beach activities.   Research conducted shows that 4/5 of the United States coastlines, including the New Jersey coastline, are eroding. Some eroding locations reach as high as five feet a year. Likewise, the global warming’s side effect, ocean level rising, significantly contributes to soil eroding as the ocean encroaches into the low areas of the coastal areas, including the New Jersey coastline. The research also indicated that the United States East Coast is slowly sinking below the ocean level, leading to coastal flooding.

Three year strategic digital marketing plan Essay

Three year strategic digital marketing plan - Essay Example g the fact that Gap 360 is a relatively new company in this market, the success achieved by the company in its first and second year of trading is noteworthy. Having enjoyed a successful stint over the past two years, the company should aim to achieve a higher ground that provides robust foundation to become an undisputed leader in the market. In order to be able to reach the pinnacle in this market, Gap 360 must aim to attain a higher customer satisfaction index. This is precisely because a widening base of satisfied customers will serve as a sustainable source of profit for the independent travel service provider. However, the objective of higher customer satisfaction level can only be achieved if the company is able to increase its base of potential passengers which in actuality is the second objective that is specific to the requirement of the company. The objectives are very closely associated to each as one can only be attained if the other is accomplished. The fact can be evid enced with the third objective of the company which is to widen its products and service offerings (in terms of increasing number of destinations and types of trips) within five years of its launch. By doing so the company endeavours to attract greater number of passengers which in turn will provide them with the opportunity to offer superior quality services and hence, increase their customer base to a further level. Measureable: Gap 360 has to focus on increasing the amount of bookings done every year. In addition to that, they will also have to implement appropriate strategies in order to attain growth in the level of repeat sales per annum. As far as measurability of this objective is concerned, a target of 11,000 booking has been set which is to be achieved by 2016. On the other hand, a measurable target of 10% of the total bookings has been placed for repeat sales. Attainable: Given the size of the market in UK, the target that has been set in the section above is attainable.

Quantitative Methods for Computing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Quantitative Methods for Computing - Assignment Example This paper involves discussion and analysis of a questionnaire carried out in united kingdom on their view on adoption of near mobile technology by the banks and other financial institutions (NFC forum 2011). Some of the companies which are carrying out experiments on the use of near field technology into the mainstream use are: NOKIA, SAMSUNG and GOOGLE. However adoption of this technology has come with several issues in terms of drawbacks, though this technology come several too which will be described in this paper. This paper will discuss the pros and drawbacks of this technology in UK and help banks which are attempting to add value to their core business function through the adoption of this technology. Based on several interviews, this paper provides some recommendations for managers wishing to take full advantage of the business benefits of NFC technology (rose 2012). This technology is ISO-based and tends to build on radio-frequency identification (RFID) communication protoc ol and also incorporates standards used in other contactless card technology (NFC forum 2011). Contactless payments involves the use of devices that make use radio-frequency identification so as to make secure payments, these include: debit and credit cards, smart cards and key fobs. The RFID chip and antennae enables users to wave the card or fob across the reader when making payments. The use of NFC technology in United Kingdom was started in the year 1997 by Mobil gas stations but financial institutions like banks adopted the technology in 2008 which involves the use of master card. These banks are; Citibank, American Express bank, Barclays bank, HSBC and the royal bank of Scotland group. Barclaycard was the first institution in UK to offer contactless cards in 2008. The use of NFC technology in United Kingdom was initiated by the orange mobile phone firm when it partnered with Barclaycard in 2010. Mobile phone with contactless technology was initiated in United Kingdom in 2011; these phones had master card paypass and visa Paywave, these services were assigned to the embedded secure element and SIM card. The number of these secure phones is increasing in united kingdom though initially they were available in small scale(carton et al. 2012). The Near field communication technology has been incorporated in contactless card standard hence making it possible to use devices which are NFC-enabled instead of credit and debit cards thereby reducing the weight to customers, For instance, there has been a prooval of a number of NFC – enabled smartphones to be used with Paywave, NFC-enabled makes it possible for users to make payments by using their phone devices in the place of credit or debit cards (visa 2012). Procedure A questionnaire containing several questions which focused on the financial industry in UK was designed. These questions were meant to review on the views of bankers and other financial institution managers on the adoption of NFC technology in banking focusing mainly on the limitations and advantages of NFC technology. The research was about contactless technology in UK though a lot of emphasis was put on NFC technology. Thirty people were given the questionnaires and were given a period of two days to fill them. The study ensured none of the questioned could interact with the other since it was carried in different part of United Kingdom. The questions asked are

Role of Human Resources Function Essay Example for Free

Role of Human Resources Function Essay Nowadays, the world of business is shrinking day by day, technology has conquered almost every place of the business sector with its different technological instruments and equipments, which perform and accomplishes the role two times greater than a human accomplishes. In midst of these innovations, a number of companies give credit to the role of human resources for their success and prosperity in their business and service sectors. (Frembrun, 1984) Subsequently, the role of human resources and the need of proper human resources management have been significantly given importance for their proper management, in order to achieve better and long-term positive results in a company. In this regard, we will try to define, analyze, and discuss various aspects of human resources management and their different functions of recruitment, selection, and planning of human resources in a company in this paper. An educational hypothesis or a business practice, in which employees are managed through its theoretical and a practical procedure, is termed as Human Resource Management. (Goss, 1994) Mainly, the employees with varying needs and goals are given primary importance in this hypothetical discipline, and do not allow the consideration to think of them as basic business resources, for example, filing cabinets and trucks. (Ferris, 1995) Practitioners see the Human Resource Management as a more innovative analysis of workplace management, rather than the older traditional approach. (Frembrun, 1984) Managers of an enterprise are forced through its methods to express their goals with specificity, so that workforce may understand and undertake them easily. The academic theory of Human Resource Management’s basic assertion is that humans are not degraded as just machines. (Marta M, 2005) Therefore, an interdisciplinary assessment of populace is necessary in the workplace. As a result, psychosomatic, sociological, industrial fields, and post-structuralism, post-modernism critical theories engage in recreating a major role in the aforementioned regard. (Zwieg, 1991) In recent years, varieties of performance enhancing and progressive human resource management practices are adopted by the U.S. companies, to improve their competitiveness in the global marketplace. These recommendations may be unsurprising, because the way of managing people in an organization influence its performance was more emphasized by the professionals and academics. (Mckenzie, 2002) Therefore, many testimonials were produced in the last decade to the value of progressive human resource management practices and their regarding systems. While assuming the staffing selection and its quality, many employers seek fresh graduates for the colleges, with a major in human resources, industrial or labor relations, human resources administration. (McNeil, 2004) Rest of them seems to be looking for the graduates with a business background or a kind of arts education. Previous experience is an asset for many specialized jobs, for example, the jobs of arbitrators, mediators, and managers. Due to overwhelming supply of these qualified college graduates, keen competition for the jobs is expected from the employers. (Burke, 2005) In particular, improvement of the performance of organizations is widely due to the staff involvement, empowerment, job redesign, extensive employee training; team based production systems, and performance-dependent inducement compensations. (Hutton, 2004) The success of any organization is very significant in regard of attracting the qualified employees and their matching for the suited jobs. (Chelladurai, 2006) However, it is impossible for many large enterprises to allow the top management to be in the close contact with the employees. This connection is provided by the labor relations, training, and human resources managers and specialists. (Tayeb, 2005) In the past, the performance of the managerial functions of an organization was related to these abovementioned workers, such as handling employee benefits, interviewing, recruiting, and hiring new staff as per the policies and the requirements of the top management of the organization. (Dransfield, 2000) Nowadays, top executives are consulted regarding the strategic planning to manage the tasks by these human resources employees. These workers have come up from their behind the camera work to leading the corporation by their suggestions and improving the policies. The financial success of an organization is due to the significance of the human resources management department, and therefore, is recognized by the senior management. (Bach, 2005) These workers are also helping the organizations, in an effort to augment their productivity and morale, performance and their business results by using employee skills and providing required training and giving opportunities to develop themselves, to increase the satisfaction of the employee in their working environment. While some jobs do not require close contact with the public, but still, dealing with people is an important key factory of the human resources job. (Jackson, 2006) A human resources generalist in a small business handles every aspect of human resources work and may require a variety of knowledge for this purpose. However, in a large corporation, the management and development of human resources programs and policies is frequently done by the top human resources executives. (Dransfield, 2000) Several departments are supervised by the human resources director, with an experienced manager, likely to be specializing in any one human resources activity, like benefits, training, compensation, development, and employment or employee relations. However, the placement and employment managers do the supervision of hiring and supervision of workers and various employees. (Jackson, 2006) In the recruitment, the college campuses are often visited by the aforementioned specialists, and screening the applicants occasionally. In order to discuss wages, promotional opportunities, and working conditions with prospective employees, these specialists must familiarize themselves with the policies and the organization, itself. They should also update themselves with the equal employment opportunity and affirmative actions guidelines, like, Americans with Disabilities Act, etc. (Marta M, 2005) Equal employment opportunity statistical reports are complied and submitted by the equal employment opportunity officers, and delegations, in an attempt to investigate and resolve grievances regarding corporate practices for possible violations. (Mckenzie, 2002) Employer relations representatives are usually seen in the government agencies, maintaining working relationships with local employers. Promotion of use of the public employment programs and services is also sustained by these rep resentatives. Specialization programs in specific areas like position classifications or pensions are conducted by job analysis specialists for the employers. These analysts collect and examine job duties information, which explain the training, skills, and duties, required for each job. Expert knowledge of the job analyst is also required, whenever an organization introduces a new job or when reviewing existing jobs. (Tanke, 2000) Research and planning work is conducted by occupational analysts in large firms. Studying the effects of industry and professional trends upon employee relationships and occupational classification systems is also a concern for these analysts. However, compensation managers establish and maintain pay system of a firm as their principal job. Staff specialists assist them, devising ways in order to ensure equitable and fair pay rates. (Buhler, 2002) Surveys are also conducted to examine the comparison of their rates with the other companies, and to examine the pay scale of their firm with the changing laws and regulations. Reward systems such as pay-for-performance plans are also designed by these managers to manage their firm’s performance evaluation system. (Carrell, 1992) As a part of the planning process, the health insurance and pensions plans are managed by the employee benefits managers and specialists. In addition, life, accidental death, and dismemberment insurance, disability insurance are also offered by some firms, to meet the necessities of workforce change, for example, child and elder care, employee assistance, and wellness programs, etc. Changing Federal and State regulations and legislations should be updated, which may affect employee benefits. (Buhler, 2002) Training plays a significant role in the success of an organization. Therefore, training and development programs for employees are conducted by training and development specialists. Increasingly, management recognizes that business results are achieved by increasing individual and organizational performance, building worker’s loyalty to the firm and enhancing productivity by developing their skills and quality of work. So, training is nowadays recognized as a business imperative, while presenting it as a method of improving employee morale and developing their skills. (Rothwell, 2003) The complexity of the work environment, the organizational and technological change’s rapid pace, the constantly generation of the new knowledge due to the growing number of jobs, determines the need of training in an organization. In addition, insights have been provided by the advances in learning theory into the ways of adult learning and the different ways of organizing an effective training for the employees. Planning, directing, and organizing this wide range of training is done by these training specialists. New employees are given the opportunity of on-the-job training and orientation sessions, in order to improve and maintain their job skills and simultaneously, preparing them for the jobs requiring greater skill. Supervisors are also helped by these specialists in order to deal with employees effectively. (Ferris, 1995) International human resources managers are also emerging specialties, which requires the handling of human resources issues related to an organization’s foreign operations. Secondly, human resources information system specialists process human resources information through their developed and applied computer programs, for the matching of job seekers with different job openings, and the handling of other human resources matters. (Ferris, 1995) Classes for the enhancement of the marketable skills of the workers are also offered by most of the specialized organizations in human resources. Certification programs are also offered by some institutions, which help in the advancement opportunities. The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is an example of these programs, where a designation is conferred to the persons after completing a college level courses series and passes the related exams. (Ulrich, 1997) In terms of selection and recruitment, a thorough job analysis for the determination of level of the skills, technical abilities, flexibility of the employee, competencies is considered very important by the professionals. At this point, the consideration of both the internal and external factors is imperative, which can have an impact on the employees’ recruitment. Current and future trends of the labor market, such as education level, skills, government investment, etc. like issues and that out-with the power of an organization are the external factors. On the other hand, organizational culture and management styles can be controlled, predicted, and monitored easily as the internal influences. (Ulrich, 1997) Consideration of the ethical and legal implications should be necessary in an organization regarding their decisions concerning human resources management policies, which are made to protect employees from racial or ethnic conflicts, such as white employees in the comparison of African-American subgroups. (Foulkes, 1989) Awareness of the rise in discrimination, unfair dismissal, and harassment cases regarding different race and sex, and their harmful effects on employees and organization should be in the employers. A foundation for an increasing interest in diversity during work has been provided by the Anti-discrimination legislation over the past 30 years. In order to understand the different responses of individuals to the labor market’s changes, one should try to understand the different perspectives, such as geographical spread, professional structure, and generational disparity. The organization should consider the distance of traveling for the work while offering the pay. When deciding the requirements and eligibilities of a post, one should also think about the influencing factors, like transportation and infrastructure of the area. (Webb, 1989) During the recruitment and selection process, there may not be any effect of blocking people on the discrimination of race, color, and creed. People with disabilities should also be entertained for the employment opportunities and promotions. Essentials functions should be reflected in the screening, recruiting and interviewing of the candidate. It is appreciable in the human resources, if the people of different color, and disable people may be included in the selection committee. (Mabey, 1998) In the recruitment, an organization can also employ, based on targeted approach. In this case, a request is post to the human resources administrator, in order to approach jobseekers for the vacancy. This request is then reviewed by the administrator to check the arrears at its extreme extent. After the request is approved, the targeted recruitment plan is implemented and then the aforementioned specialists match the jobseekers with the required vacancy. Â  Regarding the affirmative action, it does not end when an employee is placed after the employment process. All the employees should be treated fairly and equitably are some of the logical and subsequent efforts of this action. The goals of workforce diversity will be accomplished greatly, if the administration of reasonable and sound human resources policies will be in a consistent manner. (Frembrun, 1984) In addition, steps should be taken to ensure that equal opportunities are provided to the ethnic or racial minorities, women, and disabled people. It should also be equally important that the workplace environment should be a positive one as these minorities move into the more depressed state where they are considerably unrepresented. (Hristozova, 2006) Conclusively, we have tried our best to explain and understand the Human Resources Management in relation to its recruitment, staffing, training, placement, and planning in a business organization. All these abovementioned aspects play a vital and crucial role in the success of a particular business association, which has been significantly dealt with sensitivity and importance by the professionals and company managers. References Charles J. Frembrun. (1984). Strategic Human Resources Management. John Wiley and Sons. David Goss. (1994). Principles of Human Resource Management. Routledge. David Ulrich. (1997). Human Resource Champions. Harvard Business School Press. Dr Christopher Mabey. (1998). Human Resource Management. Blackwell Publishing. Dr Gerald R Ferris. (1995). Handbook of Human Resource Management. Blackwell Publishing. Elena Hristozova. (2006). Human Resource Management in Consulting Firms. Springer. Fred K. Foulkes. (1989). Human Resources Management. Prentice Hall. Gerald R. Ferris, Sherman D. Rosen, Darold T. Barnum. (1995). Handbook of Human Resource Management. Blackwell Publishing. Gisela M. Webb. (1989). Human Resources Management in Libraries. Haworth Press. J. Steven Mckenzie. (2002). Opportunities in Human Resource Management Careers. McGraw-Hill Professional. Janice (EDT) Simmons-Welburn, Beth McNeil. (2004). Human Resource Management in Todays Academic Library. Libraries Unlimited. Mark C. Zwieg. (1991). Human Resources Management. John Wiley and Sons. Marta M. (2005). Managing Human Resources in Latin America. Routledge. Mary L. Tanke. (2000). Human Resource Management for the Hospitality Industry. Thomson Delmar Learning. Michael R. Carrell. (1992). Personnel/Human Resources Management. Maxwell Macmillan International. Monir H. Tayeb. (2005). International Human Resource Management. Oxford University Press. Packianathan Chelladurai. (2006). Human Resource Management in Olympic Sport Organizations. Human Kinetics. Patricia M. Buhler. (2002). Streetwise Human Resources Management. Adams Media. Robert Dransfield. (2000). Human Resources Management. Ca-Print-Harcourt_Heinemann. Robin W. Hutton. (2004). How to Set Up an HR Department. Lorman Business Center. Ronald J. Burke. (2005). Reinventing Human Resources Management. Routledge. Stephen Bach. (2005). Managing Human Resources. Blackwell Publishing. Susan E. Jackson. (2006). Strategic Human Resource Management. Blackwell Publishing. William J. Rothwell. (2003). Planning and Managing Human Resources. HRD Products.

Trends and the Future of Public Service Essay Example for Free

Trends and the Future of Public Service Essay Introduction Public service organizations are the sectors that always receive considerable attention form the government. Beside their currently lower level of performance compare to private organizations, the attention is given due to governmental responsibilities is fulfilling demands of the people. Recently, the public service sector is evolving, partly due to the influence of a new management system called Outcome Based Management. In this paper, I am discussing the contents and philosophy of the Outcome Based management approach and how it influenced the public service sector in United States. Outcome Based Management II.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Emerging Trend Outcome based management (OBM) is the managerial framework that emphasizes more on forward looking activities. This managerial approach focuses on why are things done and what have actually been done. In a simple sentence, the term encourages managing for actual results. The term is often identified with the sentence: â€Å"better planning generates better outcomes†. The managerial framework first gained attention of public organization’s managers because of its commitment toward results. The public service is always known lo lag behind the private sector because of its weak commitment toward real achievements. This is reveled in various sectors of the public sector, including the environmental sector, health sector and even child-care. These sectors required a system that works based on real-hard results, and OBM’s characteristic that put forth alignment between services delivered and actual goal achievements is a dominant catalyst in the adoption of this concept into the public service sector.   II.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Elements of OBM There are several elements of OBM. The first is the outcome itself. Outcome is the impact, result or consequences for the organization of related parties. If the outcome of a particular project matched existing corporate objective, then the company have successfully performed the OBM. The second element of OBM is the services given. They are tools to achieve the outcomes determined earlier. The third element is the Key Performance Indicators. The performance indicators function as an analysis tool that determines whether the targeted outcomes are achieved or not. The traditional perspective perceived a company to perform three important activities, which are: planning, budgeting and reporting. According to the OBM perspective however, these activities can be explained further using a chain of detailed process, which includes: Formulation of corporate goals and strategic outcomes Formulation of mission statement and the strategic plan Formulation of budgets, including key performance indicator targets Delivery of services Performance reporting in annual reports Performance assessment Outcome Outcome is simply the reason why corporate activities are performed. There are actually three levels of outcomes, the first is corporate goals. It is the highest level of outcome and the most general one. The second is called strategic outcomes, which relate corporate goals into these parties: the people in general (community), the environment, the economy, the region and governance. Considerations of these factors brought to the finding of strategic outcomes. The third is called agency-level outcomes, which functions are to detail the general outcomes into more specific targets. The formulation of agency-level outcomes is the final step before performing the services Clearly defining corporate outcomes are important element of the OBM application. This is true because the outcome information will be used to direct the organization within its activities. For example, the outcome information is generally used by the corporate management to: trigger corrective actions like identifying problem areas that requires attention; identify best practices; motivate employees and to perform planning and budgeting activities. The outcome objective can also be used by external parties to: perform economic analysis, provide informed commentary, and perform benchmarking. Services   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next step in OBM after properly defining the right goals, strategic level outcomes and agency level outcomes is defining how each unit could contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. OBM stresses on the importance in finding the link between the desired outcome and the services delivered. This is necessary because according to the OBM resource should be allocated to any unit unless it can contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. Alignment between the goals and the service provided is a must because once such an alignment is achieved; the collection of costs and performance data is easier to perform. After defining the specific agendas of each unit of the organization, the next step within OBM is reviewing the service agendas. The common practice in OBM organizations is by developing a service checklist that will enable them to evaluate whether the services delivered are the right ones. Performance Indicators   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third step in the application of OBM is developing performance indicators. The presence of the right performance indicators will allow performances to be measured, evaluated, and improved. The general performance indicators in OBM are divided into two categories, which are: effectiveness indicators and efficiency indicators. The two categories should have at least three characteristics, which are: relevance, appropriateness and fair representative ness. Defining these indicators enables the organization to perform continuous improvement by identifying emerging issues and specify the best services to deal with the issues, and furthermore, improve organizational accountability.   II.3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Expert’s Opinion about OBM   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The ideal implementation of the OBM concept supposedly generates the following conditions: Encourages information sharing between employees and externally with clients, partners, etc Encourage communication of organizational achievements Easier and more effective reporting activities Increased flexibility and scalability Lead to effective use of available business information for analytical reporting, decision making and forecasting. Improve operational efficiency Increased profitability from relationship with partners and suppliers Drive operating staff toward the achievements of strategic results, etc Taking account of these achievements, the OBM concept is generally benefiting organizations as a whole, particularly the less committed public service organizations. There are however, obstacles that must be faced. In the process of defining outcomes and unit contribution to that outcome, there are individuals and parts of the organization that are reluctant to share data due to fear of inaccuracy or more often, unfavorable interpretation. The second challenge is caused by the tendency of people that have invested in their data collection to be unwilling to share the information due to the loss of credit in the work involved. The third challenge is cost oriented. Some data required to achieve accurate measurement are more expensive than others. The fourth challenge is simply caused by the fear of being judged for something that we cannot control. In many sectors, like the environmental and health sectors, there are often uncontrollable variables that considerably affect the achievements of organizational goals. Including these factors in the evaluation system will be inaccurate and furthermore, most likely become the source of discontent ness among employees.   II.4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Identification of the Trend   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizations and institutions that use OBM concepts generally have specific characteristics within them. The implementation of OBM is similar in various sectors despite the different services offered by the sectors. The implementation can be detected in the form of steps performed to identify goals and linking them to services performed. The amount of resources and time dedicated to each step might differ from one industry to the others depending on the difficulty of performing each step, but the steps that are performed are generally within the same order. For example, in the environmental public services, the amount of resources committed to define the desirable outcome is quite enormous and significantly larger than other sectors; This is due to the difficult nature of defining the suitable environmental targets to be achieved from environmental projects. In health care sector and child care sector on the other hand, identifying what services to perform in order to achieve identified goals are the most difficult step and the one requires most observations. These sectors however, are all performing similar elements of the OBM approach. Implications for the Public Service III.1.  Ã‚   Unique Sector   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Public service is generally known as governmentally-run organizations which all resources are generated from the government and thus, from the public themselves. If we are to study the development of this sector however, it is necessary to reveal how the public service sector is rationally different from the private sector. The most basic difference is the fact that in the private sector, most activities started at the supply side. Technology, for instance, is known as a tremendous catalyst from the supply side of business in the private sector that generates dramatic changes in various industries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the public service sector on the other hand, the main intervention that leads to change originated from the demand side. Ironically, there are generally little chances to charge the public directly for the services they receive. Governmental taxes are the media that connects the payment between the public and the public sector workers. In addition of becoming a tool of delivering what the public needs, the public sector is also the tool to create a balance in the private sectors’ operations. In the transport and utilities sector for example, where networks grows and the element for natural monopoly is strong, public involvement is required to prevent market failures and the abuse of market positions (Franà §ois, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the light of this unique structure, we can logically guest that the problem with public service sector is actually the presence of the government as an intermediary party itself. In the private sector, people are working for their customers and they gain payments from them as well. This trade between service and payments happens dynamically and each side can influence the trade. In other words, it is easier for the private sector workers to influence the amount of payment they will receive. In the public sector on the other hand, people are working for the government.   Workers are not in direct trade of service and payments as the private sector. It is harder for them to influence the amount of payment they will receive (Glaeser, 2003).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In discussions of why productivity and efficiency in the public sector is often considered worse than the private sectors, many factors are mentioned, but the condition revealed above is one of the reasons often mentioned. The private sector workers are generally more motivated because in their frame of mind they have a way of influencing their own destiny. The public sector workers on the other hand, are working for different people than the one signing their checks. Knowing that the quality of their work will not influence their salaries, public sector workers are subject to a declining working motivation (Disney, 1998).   III.2.  Ã‚   Challenges   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition to the general problem mentioned above, there are also other issues that are parts of the new development of the public service sector in United States. Political leaders indicated the need to recruit the next generation of public sector workers. It is believed that the public service sector environment today has already evolved into phases that are out of the older-generation’s league. The new system of management requires new workers with the ability to learn and adapt to the evolved conditions of the public service sector. Others however, believed that such a change will not be beneficial due to the similar image of the job. Workers at the public service sector are still viewed as a ‘public servant’, a phrase which are highly unpopular in American society. Despite the enhanced system of management, if the government is unable to maintain change this image, the new workers are still going to be the ‘new generation of public servants’, in the sense that they have minimum bargaining power over the services they provide and salaries they receive. Another issue in the public service sector, particularly in the United States is the ageing structure of the public service workers. Statistics indicated that with the reluctance of young people in entering the sector leave only old people within the sector. This will obviously mean a degradation of management quality within the public service sector. Another study indicated that information deficiency is significant problem in managing public services. The information regarding desired outcome are generally owned by the lowest people in the managerial chain, while the strategic decisions are made by the government which has little access to the information (‘Challenges’, 2008). III.3.  Ã‚   Implications of the OBM Approach III.3.1. New Systems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The application of the OBM approach to the public service sector might address several of the problems mentioned earlier. For example, the lack of motivation could be solved by better focus on actual results and linking organizational objectives directly to services performed. Successful application however, requires adaptation to the steps and elements of the OBM approach.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the public service organization, the desired outcomes can be those specified in the annual budget statements or those identified in legislation and specified by the related authority. For example, the general outcome of a public sector could be: accessible, reliable and safe public transport system, or a fair and independent criminal prosecution service. In the public service organizations, these general outcomes can then be translated into the agency-level outcomes. Furthermore, the use of outcome information in the public service organizations, can internally improve the budget setting process, while externally it can improve agency control, make it easier for other agencies to make contributions to the organization (Hundley, 1991).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the next step, OBM leads the public sector organization to specify agency-level services that are required to achieve the agency-level outcomes. This is generally performed by the making of a service checklist. The service checklist consist of questions like what service are delivered, what outcome are the services addressing, what results are the service addressing. Afterwards, the OBM approach takes the public service organization to developing performance indicators.   For the public service organizations, cost efficiency indicators could be: cost per student graduated, cost per license issued, etc; productivity indicators include: students taught per teacher, cases resolved per officer, etc. Overall, the benefits brought by the new approach include: Greater public transparency Enhanced knowledge in identifying best practices Increased ability in assessing performance against target Increased ability in investigating reasons of failure in meeting specified targets (Hatry, 2003) III.3.2. New Skills Required   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In light of the elements and process demanded by the OBM approach, the new skills required are: Sensitivity to new Information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To better perform the first step of the OBM approach, which is defining goals and outcomes, members of the public service organization need to be sensitive of the demands exist in the surrounding environment. This is related to the fact that public sector organizations exist to serve the public rather than to achieve organizational profit. Communicating information The people that are exposed to new information generally come from the lowest structure of the organization. Thus, the organization must design a system and furthermore, the skills to communicate information up to the highest level of management. Linking service activities to established goals Under the OBM approach workers at the public service organization are demanded to constantly see the linkage between the goals, outcome defined agency-level outcome and finally the service performed. This will provide them with clear logical frame of thinking, especially in decision making activities. Reference: ‘Challenges and Trends in Public Administration’. 2008. Retrieved January 2008 from   unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/ public/documents/ASPA/UNPAN006965.pdf Disney, R., and Gosling, A. 1998, ‘Does it Pay to Work in the Public Sector?’, Fiscal Studies, 19(4), 347–74. Franà §ois, P. 2003, ‘Not-for-Profit Provision of Public Services’, The Economic Journal, 113(486), C53–61. Glaeser, E. L. 2003. ‘The Governance of Not-for-profit Organizations’. Chicago, IL, University of ChicagoPress. Hatry, H. P., Morley, E., Rossman, S. B. Wholey, J. S. 2003. ‘How Federal Programs Use Outcome Information: Opportunities for Federal Managers’. National Academy of Public Administration Hundley, G. 1991. ‘Public and Private-sector Occupational Pay Structures’, Industrial Relations, 30(3), 417–34.

Online Education And Traditional Education Education Essay

Online Education And Traditional Education Education Essay Thousands of people turned to online teaching them to complete their education to rise to the high level in their jobs and them to take qualifying courses or improve their level of education .It has influence in our society such as helped a lot of people who can not come to the seat of education, and it has its pros such as gives us with an chance to develop technology skills for teachers and students, and cons such as It is known that online education is not for all people, not for the uncontrolled educated or inflexible instructors , and there is a difference between online education and traditional education, and it has types. It is highly important to say that learning is no longer confined within the four walls of a classroom. The instructor, armed with a textbook, is no longer the sole source of educational experience. It is also known that Information resources are everywhere, often separated from the learner by time and space. Online Education defines the process of connecting learners with these remote resources. No one can deny that Learning is a lifelong pursuit where training and retraining become strategies for both individual and corporate success. It is noted that there are a variety of Online Education solutions for every educational need. It is thought that some people agree that Online Education has come a long way and opened new vistas in the field of education, some researchers are still questioning the value of learning through non traditional means. Whatever is the case, there are various opinions to consider and they are all true in their own right. This search for the purpose of to show people different between online education and traditional education .Many people prefer traditional education than online education. Introduction Online Education can be defined as a media based, remote, or asynchronous and supported by some instructional systems, it vans also be defined as it is a formalized teaching and learning system dedicated Because it can learn through electronic media and the Internet, and online education low cost and do not require specific places for education. It is noted that Online Education offers more opportunities Cases where it is difficult to traditional education of students with difficulty scheduling or distances as well as distance education can be easier and more flexible in terms of time and place There are three popular Online Education technologies include: is Voice-centered technology, such as CD or MP3 recordings, is Video technology, such as instructional videos, DVDs, and interactive videoconferencing, and Computer-centered technology delivered over the Internet or corporate intranet. Many surveys, studies and researched highlight the fact that Online Education Can be online education such as traditional education to provide appropriate ways for teaching assignments, and no interaction between student and teacher, and can be for students and teachers formulation their opinions in a timely manner. No one can deny that this type of education has merits and demerits, in our research, we will focus on that fact, we will do our best to discuss it I a manner that helps us to develop the Saudi educational system and upgrade its output. One of the most important benefits of Online Education is that beneficial for gifted and slower Students for many reasons such as : one hand, Provides advanced education and good for all ages, especially for students who have been deprived of the school environment . On the other hand, it provides students with individualized Online Education classes allow interactive. Stimulate and support and boost the morale of students that will enable them to progress in our time. Help develop and expand the horizons of children from gifted students through improved curricula. On the other hand, one can not deny that online education works to save money, and one of its advantages. While in traditional education to provide a budget for many requirements such as housing and gas, and other needs of students both in online education do not need them, with the students ability to full education at But, we can conclude that Become rare to use and transport, and they only need a computer and a quiet place suitable for the study, and there are a lot of students dream to go to the headquarters of the study. In our research we will identify the importance of online education and the pros and cons, and its effects on society and types. Figure 1.1 Online Education. Discussion First of all, we a student group would like to say that our research report will be forwarded to all people who want to complete their education, but they still have some problems in time or anything, also for student in higher education or secondary student in some country. Due to the developments in Information Technology and the industrial revolution as well, it is agreed that there are many new ways and modes of transfer and accommodate materials for students .Which make education floppy in nature ,and also not strictly obliged by time and place . Some studies mentioned the fact that: there is information already collected by the researchers and findings reached can be extrapolated across all the universities imparting education in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the applicability of certain previous studies in gathering data and then inferring concrete results may not be quite fully applicable to Saudi Arabia, Taking in to consideration that any comprehensive On-line Education solution will often be a combination of technology options, creating a set of learning tools that meet the needs of both the instructor and the learner. It is worthy mentioned to say that Distance education is divided in terms of transportation into two types: Direct contact and indirect contact .It Is allows the possibility of combining start work life and study at the same time, its to reduce cost and its use the technical means and advanced technologies, such as the printed word , or recorded on cassette tape , or recorded on videotape or on CD and make the links between teacher and student and the delivery of material to the last . Online education not relies on the actual attendance but in traditional education you must attend every day for the study. Online education is reducing the administrative burden for the teacher .its a good way to teach some people because it has multiple ways . It is of paramount importance to mention the advantages and disadvantages of On-line Education in order to utilized the advantages and avoid disadvantage in the soon future to develop the Saudi educational systems a whole: First let us talk about the advantages: These advantages of online education include the following: Firstly, Gives us with an chance to develop technology skills for teachers and students . Secondly, It also gives us access to World Resources And experts through Internet connection and Internet resources. Thirdly, It states for an increase in access to education for those who otherwise have no other chances because of the labor , family or financial constraints. in addition, It give us for a modality of instruction best appropriate for certain students . Fourthly It states greater elasticity to schedule education students can select the time and Location of class time. Fifthly, It also gives greater elasticity in location for study . Sixthly, learners can participate course at house or labor or on campus or at library. Seventhly, bearing in mind that it is student Centered -DE places responsibility for learning with the student who should be more active and self directed. Eighthly, It facilitates greater learner instructor interaction, it also increased interaction with classmates. Ninthly ,Facilitates Pedagogic Development-Individual Instructor Development, Produces a carryover effect into the regular classroom of improved pedagogic techniques, and it allows for the internationalization of learning opportunities. Finally, it has the ability to equalize get to education. . Second, we will talk about the disadvantages to be avoided in order to reach our own target to develop and upgrade the Saudi educational system: These disadvantages of online education include the following, firstly, It is known that online education is not for all people, not for the uncontrolled educated or inflexible instructors. Secondly ,It provides us with sentiments of solitude from time to time . Thirdly, Is likely to be less group uphold for educated resulting to isolation and potential non-completion of the program .Fourthly, It requires a great voltage to establish and maintain the technological infrastructure .fifthly, It also requires considerable effort and cost to develop suitable materials.sixthly, It is noted that education design for group activities and group interaction more require on the teacher . Seventhly , it is also noted that learner should be more proactive and self-directed in online education environment. Eighthly, It depends on individual motivation and initiative .Online Education takes gap time between learner participation and feedback time interval between need for student support and decisi on .ninthly, It also needs occasional internet provider downtime and Finally, we can say that one of the big disadvantages of Online Education is time and frustrations participate learning how to access online for beginner. There are four types of Online Education but it is highly important to understand the difference between different types of Online Education when choosing the right course for you, you can choose the one that best suits your learning style and personal circumstances. Distance Learning: It has a lot in common with the original correspondence .Students can study in anytime, and at any place of their choice , and without face-to-face with a teacher. Self Study: It can be defined as a minimalist form of distance learning. , and considers a good method of education so that the person learns and understands himself. Enables person to take responsibility in the planning and implementation. E-Learning: e-learning gave to people many opportunities to learn through the Internet and to benefit Blended learning: It can be defined as a combination of Online Education and traditional classroom teaching. . Figure 2.2 Self Study . Conclusion Our research is focused onà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  Online educationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  , therefore, It is of paramount importance to mention the pros and cons of Online Education in order to utilized the advantages and avoid disadvantage in the soon future to develop the Saudi educational systems a whole. It is agreed upon the fact that Online Education Presents more opportunities in situations where traditional education has difficulty running. Students with scheduling or distance problems can benefit, as can employees, because distance education can be more flexible in terms of time and can be delivered almost anywhere and anytime. Online Education is the provision of academic courses and entire degree programs when instructor and students are geographically separated. Many surveys, studies and research highlight the fact that Online Education be as effective as the traditional format when the methods are appropriate to the teaching assign , there is interaction between student and teacher, and the teachers supply students with the appropriate and timely feedback. Online Education it has different types . It is highly important to understand the difference between this types when choosing the right course for you, you can choose the one that best suits your learning style and personal circumstances Finally, the success of the On-line Education depends basically on the environments surrounding us, many nation has succeed to follow this system as they apply it as appropriate, while others failed to do this but this is an important type of education to be observed and followed.

Delegation :: essays research papers

Delegation Human Resources Management Ever watch good delegates in action? They know exactly which jobs to hand and to whom. They know the old talents to tap and the new talents to test. Somehow, they even make the busiest people feel privileged to do even more. Delegating is a management tool that should be used in every company out there. Mark Twain once said, â€Å"To be good is noble, but to teach other’s how to be good is nobler—and much less trouble.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Webster’s Dictionary defines delegating as entrusting authority to another. The key to delegating is the word entrust. When you delegate, you entrust the entire matter to the other person along with sufficient authority to make it work. It involves authorizing others to carry out specific tasks under your general supervision. It forces the manager to be more organized because the supervisor must outline projects, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and check progress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several guidelines to effectively delegate. You must communicate fully the degrees of freedom and judgment you expect the other person to use. Delegate authority as well as responsibility. Your subordinate must have the authority to carry out the responsibilities they have been delegated. Setting performance standards also allows the individual to understand the outcome you expect. Finally, delegate your reoccurring work, and don’t dump. The supervisor must not abdicate his responsibilities, and must understand that the responsibilities are never lifted from his shoulders, and understand that the responsibilities of the results of the unit are still the managers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are five steps to delegation. First you must define the task completely. You then must determine to whom to delegate the project to. The most important step is to provide clear communication of what the instructions are and your expectations regarding the task. The delegator and delegatee must than reach a mutual agreement about the task and any deadlines you may provide. Finally, you must monitor and evaluate the results and provide feedback to let the individual know your thoughts on the task.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyone benefits from delegation by having time to accomplish the management duties that often get neglected. This may include long range planning, innovation, and coordination with your work group and representing your work group and its members to higher management. These things don’t get done well when you are heavily involved in the day-to-day work of your section. The delegator has more time for advance skills while the delegatee gains new skills and abilities.

Essay on The Jungle and Things Fall Apart -- comparison compare contra

The Jungle and Things Fall Apart Frederick Douglass once said "Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." Frederick Douglass was a runaway slave turned abolitionist, and while his history is quite amazing, what is even more intriguing is that this quote sums up the theme behind two books that have nothing to do with slavery or each other. One can conclude, therefore, that oppression, whether by law, in tradition, or by circumstance, is a universal theme. It's sting knows no bounds, geographical, racial, or otherwise. The African American slave suffers from the same plight as the impoverished immigrant and the indigenous peoples subject to the invasion of Christian missionaries. Oppression, as a result, is a tie that binds two very unique novels together, or perhaps, just maybe they are not so different at all. Their parallels can best be analyzed by taking a closer look into the environments, the main characters, and the chilling symbolism present in The Jungle and Things Fall Apart. The environments of both novels stand in stark contrast with each other; one a world of metal and machines, the other a land of straw huts and bare necessities. The common theme, however, is painfully simple. Both cultures are governed by the land, Chicago by the economy and Umuofia by it's traditions. In Chicago, when the economy suffered so did the packing industry. When the world demanded less meat people would be laid off. In Umuofia so long as all people lived by the traditions and l... ...tion and all people obeying said traditions. When the environment crumbles so do the societies that are dependant upon them. The two main characters are driven men who despite heroic efforts fall victims to circumstances they are powerless over. Jurgis and Okonkwo both fight the good fight, but lose to a world the cares not for their troubles. Finally, through symbolism the novels truly come alive. The symbolism present gives the reader a clear depiction of the cruelty that is to befall both men. It is truly tragic how close these horrific stories are, a sad testament to dark chapters in time honored establishments, American economy and Christian missionaries. If these are the consequences of such highly thought of establishments, is there anyway to stop oppression from overcoming the world? It tends to make one think.

The Funding of Making Chemical and Biological Weapons :: Chemical Biological Weapons War Essays

The Funding of Making Chemical and Biological Weapons Will the human race still be in existence in fifty more years? Although likely, there is a very real possibility that we will not be here. For example, after the Gulf War, we found Saddam Hussein stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction. Did you know that he had enough weapons to kill every single human, dog, and cow on the face of the earth? When I found that out, I thought it was very interesting, so I decided to do a report on it. If you keep reading, you’ll find out what I’ve found out. Who funds the making of chemical or biological weapons? The answer is many people. However†¦ the government is the main source of money. For example, they make labs built to find defenses against new chemical or biological weapons. The catch is that in order to find new defenses, they must first build new weapons. That brings us to terrorists. Government officials make the information on how to make these weapons of mass destruction too accessible to terrorists, which eventually results in successful terrorists attacks that injure or harm many people. An example of this was in the spring of 1995 when a Japanese mafia gang set off sarin gas and killed 12 people in a subway, while injuring over fifty. Now, you might be asking yourself, what’s the difference between chemical and biological warfare? Some major differences are when each has been used in history and / or what makes up a chemical or biological weapon. First, there’s the obvious difference of what makes up a chemical or biological weapon. Chemical weapons use chemical agents while biological weapons use bacteria from the earth and weaponizes the bacteria. While biological weapons have never been used for a modern war, they were once a very common weapon. You see, biological weapons were used for centuries in such ways as throwing dead bodies into their enemies’ water supply to sabotage it. Chemical weapons were never used in ancient times, as they didn’t have the technology. They have however found much use in our modern world. In fact, during World War I, chemical weapons found more use than ever before. The main weapon was mustard gas, it was responsible for two percent of the total deaths during that period. The next time chemical warfare was used on a large scale was during the Vietnam War. The Funding of Making Chemical and Biological Weapons :: Chemical Biological Weapons War Essays The Funding of Making Chemical and Biological Weapons Will the human race still be in existence in fifty more years? Although likely, there is a very real possibility that we will not be here. For example, after the Gulf War, we found Saddam Hussein stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction. Did you know that he had enough weapons to kill every single human, dog, and cow on the face of the earth? When I found that out, I thought it was very interesting, so I decided to do a report on it. If you keep reading, you’ll find out what I’ve found out. Who funds the making of chemical or biological weapons? The answer is many people. However†¦ the government is the main source of money. For example, they make labs built to find defenses against new chemical or biological weapons. The catch is that in order to find new defenses, they must first build new weapons. That brings us to terrorists. Government officials make the information on how to make these weapons of mass destruction too accessible to terrorists, which eventually results in successful terrorists attacks that injure or harm many people. An example of this was in the spring of 1995 when a Japanese mafia gang set off sarin gas and killed 12 people in a subway, while injuring over fifty. Now, you might be asking yourself, what’s the difference between chemical and biological warfare? Some major differences are when each has been used in history and / or what makes up a chemical or biological weapon. First, there’s the obvious difference of what makes up a chemical or biological weapon. Chemical weapons use chemical agents while biological weapons use bacteria from the earth and weaponizes the bacteria. While biological weapons have never been used for a modern war, they were once a very common weapon. You see, biological weapons were used for centuries in such ways as throwing dead bodies into their enemies’ water supply to sabotage it. Chemical weapons were never used in ancient times, as they didn’t have the technology. They have however found much use in our modern world. In fact, during World War I, chemical weapons found more use than ever before. The main weapon was mustard gas, it was responsible for two percent of the total deaths during that period. The next time chemical warfare was used on a large scale was during the Vietnam War.

19th Century American Literature Essay

The nineteenth century gave readers a plethora of literary genius. Perhaps the most recognized literary movement was Transcendentalism. This literary concept was based on a group of new ideas in religion, culture, and philosophy. Transcendentalism paved the way for many subgenres, it’s most significantly opposite; however was the emergence of Dark Romanticism. The Romantics had a tendency to value emotion and intuition over reason and logic. Many of the writers of the nineteenth century placed themselves into one or the other category. In its most specific usage transcendentalism refers to a literary and philosophical movement that developed in America in the first half of the nineteenth century. It first arose among the liberal New England Congregationalists who departed from the orthodox Calvinists, whose approach to Christian life emphasizes the rule of God over all things. (in text citation) Transcendentalism also involved the rejection of the Puritan values that were once the basis of New England culture. American Transcendentalism began with the formation of the Transcendental Club in 1836, in Boston. Ralph Waldo Emerson lead the group of literary minds including, Margaret Fuller, a feminist and social reformer, and Henry David Thoreau, a naturalist and author. Together they and their other members published The Dial, a short-lived but influential periodical. Emerson, the father of Transcendentalism, wrote some of the major works of the movement. Self- Reliance and Nature are two of his well known. In Nature, Emerson conveys to the reader the belief that each individual must develop a personal understanding with the universe, and that there is a relationship between man and nature. Henry David Thoreau was also a major contributor to the Transcendentalist movement, in two of Thoreau’s most influential pieces, Walden, he writes of his strong beliefs of nature’s impact on man. In Resistance to Civil Government, Thoreau writes of his issues with organized government:  "That government is best which governs least, That government is best which not governs at all† His libertarian views of government’s involvement in every day life lead to his arrest in 1846 for nonpayment of poll taxes. His refusal to pay was based on his beliefs that one should not support a government that supported such atrocities as slavery. Walden was an account of Thoreau’s time spent living in a hut in Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts; he explores such values as self reliance, and the simplicity of nature. The Transcendental movement inspired authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Alan Poe and sparked another literary movement known as Dark Romanism. Unlike Transcendentalism the Dark Romantics believed that human nature is not necessarily good, that the darker side of humanity had been being ignored by the transcendentalists. The works of the Dark romantics is filled with tales of revenge, obsession, shame and madness. The conflicts between good and evil set a gloomy, dark mood of the tales written by the Dark Romantics. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrot e the Scarlet Letter, a story of shame and hypocrisy, his ancestor’s Puritan values and his lack of belief in their ways lead to the creation of this piece. His main character, Hester, is labeled an adulterer and is forced to wear a scarlet â€Å"A† that symbolizes her sin of adultery. While those who see her see a symbol of shame and guilt, Hester sees it as a symbol of strength and pride, and above all, a symbol of the town’s hypocrisy. This romantic piece of literature also has gothic elements. Hawthorne’s use of imagery and dismal tones lend it to the genre of Dark Romanticism. Other works by Hawthorne, specifically, My Kinsman, Major Molineux, are filled with dark and light imagery, from the main character, Robin’s, meeting of the ferryman to his realization that his kinsman is not the respectable man he once believed he was, this story had dark undertones that go along way in conveying the strange and secretive ways of the townsfolk that Robin meets. Edgar Alan Poe also writes in the Dark Romantic genre, he had a great dislike for the transcendentalists calling them, â€Å"Frogpondians†, after a pond on Boston Commons, he ridiculed their writings and his piece, Never Bet the Devil in You Head, was a clear attack on the movement. Poe, who is sometimes considered a gothic writer, uses ideas such as dementia and paranoia in his works. Supernatural behaviors of characters and personification grace the pages of many of his  best tales. Many of Poe’s tales are distinguished by the author’s unique grotesque inventiveness in addition to his plot construction. Such stories as The Pit and the Pendulum is a spine-tingling tale of cruelty and torture, while the Tell -Tale Heart, is a story a maniacal murderers overbearing guilt and shame, then actual confession of his crime. The dark romantic authors embraced the concept of weltschmerz, or world pain, a phrase coined by German author Jean Paul.