What Was The Effect Of The Space Shuttle Challenger Essays

What Was The Effect of The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster on NASA and the Future of the United States Space Program? This was the major question proposed during the late 1980's. What was the future of NASA going to be after this terrible disaster? Would there be enough funding for the continuation of the United States Space Program? This Challenger explosion was one of the major catastrophes of the entire Space Program since the beginning of funding for the Space Program was started. It seems, out of all the mistakes that NASA and the United States government has ever made, this one made a lasting impression on many Americans, and foreign authority figures all over the world. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a major tragedy. However, it was a tragedy that could have been prevented with a closer inspection of one of the shuttle's parts that had been of concern since the entire Space Shuttle Program had been started; the O-Ring. Inside the Solid Rocket Booster, there exists certain seals which were the rubber O-rings. The objective of the O-rings is to act as a seal that is meant to prevent gases from escaping through the Solid Rocket Booster. One of the main reasons for the explosion was that O-ring "flexed" and let the gases escape, which in less than seconds later, caught fire and created the explosion. Among the other minor problems were those of electrical problems and faulty gages which were just "overlooked" because the problems were only minor and they posed no real threat to the safety of the mission or the crew of seven(7). 11:39:17am, Tuesday, January 28th, 1986. As the Space Shuttle Challenger soared into the sky that morning, 74 seconds into flight, it exploded, killing all 7 crew members on board including one High-School teacher. This was the worst accident in the history of the U.S. Space Program. It was witnessed by thousands of spectators and visitors who watched at the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded before their eyes. Among the crew killed were: Francis R. Scobee, Commander; Michael J. Smith, Pilot; Judith A. Resnick, Electrical Engineer; Ellison S. Onizuka, Engineer; Ronald E. McNair, Physicist; Gregory R. Jarvis, Electrical Engineer; Christa McAuliffe, High-School teacher. For most of the crew, it was just an ordinary mission with the exception of the school teacher. For Christa McAuliffe, it was everything out of the ordinary. She was the one out of many applicants that had the opportunity to ride in the Space Shuttle to help teach children all over the country about the experiments she was going to accomplish in space. As the spectators at Kennedy Space Center watched, everyone was in disbelief including many of the technicians inside the control room communicating with Francis Scobee, the Commander of the Shuttle Challenger. This experience is best described through a passage between Challenger and the Control Room which occurred as this: "Challenger lifted off...and passed Mach One, the speed of sound, at 19,000 feet. The computers throttled back the three main engines to 65 percent of thrust, anticipating the stress that the engineers call Max-Q, maximum aerodynamic pressure. 'Okay, we're throttling down,' Scobee reassured his crew as the thrust dropped. For fourteen seconds they swayed and jolted silently in their seats while the shuttle chopped through wind shear. 'Throttling up', Scobee called, watching the bright lines of his flight data screen. 'Throttle up', Smith confirmed from his own instruments 'Roger', Dick Scobee formally acknowledged. 'Feel that mother go', Smith called, noting the violent surge of power. As the Challenger climbed, its computers processed millions of bits of data, sifting, sorting, and sending it down to the Cape where it was instantly re- transmitted to the Mission Control Room at Johnson Space Center in Texas. Inside the control room, the technicians saw that the Challenger's engines had returned normally to full thrust, and that the ascent was proceeding perfectly. CAPCOM Richard Covey hunched at his console, his face tight with concentration. 'Challenger",... "go at throttle up." On Challenger's noisy flight deck, Commander Scobee punched his transmit button and replied, 'Roger, go at throttle up.' It was exactly seventy seconds after lift-off. The Shuttle was near 50,000 feet...but in the next three seconds Challenger slammed through increasingly violent maneuvers. Mike Smith voiced sudden apprehension. 'Uh-oh.' In Mission Control, the pulsing digits on the screens abruptly stopped. At the top of each console screen, a frozen while "S" was now centered. Static, no down-link. Challenger was dead. Mission Control spokesman Steve Nesbit sat...he stared around the silent, softly lit

The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay Example

The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay Example The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay The Marketing of Jamiroquai Essay Sony Music International, whose head office is based in New York, comprises sixty different affiliate companies world-wide, one of which is Sony Music UK. Sony Music UK became a pure record company in 1965, with two of its main objectives being to discover and market UK artists, and to penetrate the UK market using international artists. The organization became increasingly popular and successful throughout the 1970s and 1980s and is now one of the most powerful record companies in the world, and generates more annual revenue than any of its competitors, as illustrated by the bar chart below However, despite its strength and success, Sony Music has recently suffered from a major decrease in turnover and profits, as illustrated in the graphs on the following page. This is the result of a drastic change in the singles market; the UK sales of singles have plummeted, with figures for singles sales currently being the lowest on record for the past 25 years. Unfortunately, this trend does not appear to be changing; singles sales in 2002 totaled less than  £100 million in the first time since 1994, down 13.7% on 2001. Jamiroquai In 1991, Sony Music decided to launch the sub-label Soho Square. Jamiroquai, a multi-cultural English band led by singer Jason Kay was formed a year later in 1992. They released a song called When You Gonna Learn? on the independent London-based label Acid Jazz which generated a lot of attention, and were immediately inundated with offers from numerous record companies. Soho Square offered Kay an eight-album contract for  £1.3 million in 1992, but were not interested in signing the rest of his band. Kay accepted, but decided to keep his original band and pay them himself. Since 1992, Jamiroquai has continued to be Soho Squares most important and profitable artist. The band has a very distinctive musical sound which is not easily categorized and best described as a fusion of disco, jazz, funk and soul, and has consequently allowed them to attract a multi-racial fan-base. The bands image is very strong; their name incorporates the words Jam (as in a musical jam session) and Iroquis, the name of an indigenous American-Indian tribe who value the environment highly, which reflects both the bands love of music and their concern for the environment. Jamiroquais debut album on Soho Square, Emergency on Planet Earth, released in 1993, went straight to number one, and made them the top-selling English band of that year. Since then, Jamiroquai have continued to be very successful, selling a total of 16 million albums worldwide, having a dozen Top 30 chart hits, and winning numerous awards. Although Jamiroquais importance to Sony Music as a whole is not great, Jamiroquai is Soho Squares most successful act, and is a high priority to the sub-label as the band has allowed Soho Square to achieve its objective of successfully breaking an unknown UK band. Also, the fact that Kay is signed to Sony Music for 8 albums, a figure much higher than the US average 4 album contract offered to other artists, it is clear that Sony Music has long-term aspirations for the band. One of Sony Musics main objectives for Jamiroquai is to exploit its past marketing experience to allow Jamiroquai to break and conquer the US market. Sony Music, as the largest record company in the industry, has a wide variety of tools and resources available, in particular its extensive network of contacts within the music media, which, if managed effectively, can help to meet this objective. Sony Musics Environment Sony Music recognises the importance of managing its micro-environment in order to ensure efficiency and success in its marketing campaigns, as well the importance of interacting with and adapting to its macro-environment in order to preserve its competitive advantage and remain ahead of its competitors. Sony Musics Micro-Environment The company The process of setting up a marketing campaign for the band is carried out by Sony Music as follows: Management will set objectives stating desired single and album sales and other strategies for Jamiroquai, and will communicate these to the rest of the company. It is then up to the marketing department to work with other departments, such as Research and Development, to assess how to attract its target audience. Suppliers The company is responsible for all of its own supplies; it is self-sufficient in that it owns its artist and produces its own CDs and other forms of media (e.g. LPs and DVDs). Marketing Intermediaries Sony Musics marketing intermediaries comprise the following: Resellers- The number of reseller mediums available to Sony Music have increased dramatically in the past decade, with CDs being sold at specialist music stores, online companies, supermarkets and music mega-stores such as HMV and Tower Records. Physical Distribution Firms- Instead of working with external firms, Sony Music UK has its own warehouse located in Aylesbury, where all CDs and other forms of media are stored and shipped, allowing the organisation to keep costs down. Marketing Services Agencies- Sony Music is able to reduce its marketing costs by arranging the vast majority of its marketing itself. In Sony Music, it is not only the Marketing Department that is responsible for marketing, but also the Press and Public Relations Departments, ensuring that publicity and advertising for all artists are maximised. Financial Intermediaries- Being a multi-billion pound organisation, Sony Music does not rely as heavily on financial intermediaries as other organizations, but its recent decline in profits could change this trend in the near future. Customers Sony Musics products are targeted to specific consumer markets, but although market research is carried out via Sony Music mailing lists, and a recently-launched Sony Student Website which aims to gain information from the student population, the market research aimed specifically at Jamiroquai fans is limited, with it being more focused on a range of Sony Music artists. Competition Sony Music faces fierce competition from others within the music industry, namely the other members of the Big Five: EMI, Universal, Warner Bros and BMG. With Sony Musics current profit and turnover dives, it is essential that the company remains aware of its competitors plans and marketing strategies. Sony Music tries to position Jamiroquai in its consumers minds as a band that transcends an array of music and racial boundaries, and sees this as its main source of competitive advantage. The organisation aims to maintain its success, like all other record companies, via its Artists and Repertoire Department which is constantly on the look-out for new talent and which also tries to persuade artists signed to other labels to sign to Sony Music. Publics The two publics that most affect Sony Music are: Media Publics- The media can have a negative effect on Jamiroquais album and single sales. Sony Music try to control this by setting up publicity stunts that they believe will help boost sales, and by maintaining good relationships with editors of publications and heads of music at radio stations, to ensure that Jamiroquai gets the best ratings, reviews and airplay possible. General Public- Sony Music understands the importance of keeping Jamiroquais image as consumer-friendly as possible, and does this by changing the bands image where necessary. For example, when trying to break Jamiroquai in the USA, Sony Music decided to change the lyrics on the bands Return of the Space Cowboy album to suit the American populations views on cannabis: Cheeba Cheeba (slang for cannabis) was changed to Freeba Freeba Gotta get high was changed to Gotta get sly Sony Musics Macro-Environment Economic Environment It is expected that by 2010, the Asian Tigers, India and China, will have a combined GDP of 28%, which is 10% higher than the predicted GDP of USA, and of Western Europe and Japan. These developing markets represent potential markets, as their standards of living, wealth and demand for technological goods are all on the increase. Demographic Environment The UK, like the majority of developed countries, has an ageing population; it is predicted that 38% of the population will be over 50 years old in 2031. This older generation will be likely to spend a significant percentage of their income on leisure activities (including music). It is therefore wise for Sony Music to investigate targeting this audience. Another trend is increasing European integration, leading to the creation of the Euro-consumer. Sony Music has the advantage of Jamiroquais multi-racial and multi-cultural band appealing to the diverse inhabitants of EU member states, and should maintain this image to attract more of these new Euro-consumers. Cultural Environment Celebrities and music groups have a considerable effect on peoples attitudes and appearance. Kays strong and unique image (he is famous for his flamboyant hats and his collection of fast cars) means that Jamiroquai is distinctive and easily-recognisable. However his numerous violent outbursts and bad behaviour have also caused him to be regarded negatively by many, as his behaviour goes against the moral beliefs and values of the general public (Reference: Page A1). Political and Natural Environment The growth of public interest groups have proven beneficial to Jamiroquai, as Kays much-publicised support for the environment has gained him many supporters. Jamiroquai recently performed a benefit concert for Friends of the Earth and played a short set near the Danish Embassy in protest at whale culling around the Faroe Islands. Technological Environment Technology has had a big impact on the music industry, its biggest threat to date being music-swapping software, as companies such as Napster have caused significant dents in Sony Musics profit margins because of the fact that their 51 million users do not want to buy music that they can obtain for free on the Internet. There have been ongoing legal battles between Sony Music and Napster, with a resolution yet to found. Fortunately, success was found by Sony Music with MP3.com: joining forces, the Big Five record companies (Sony Music, EMI, Universal, Warner Bros and BMG) deluged MP3.com with lawsuits charging the company with enabling Internet piracy, with the result being MP3.com paying Sony Music $20 million. Sony Music also introduced a revolutionary idea to try and combat music-swapping software: the production of non-copiable CDs which cannot be uploaded onto the Internet or burnt onto other CDs. This idea has been met with mixed reviews, as many consumers have turned against Sony Music for doing so. Also, it has been rumoured that Taiwanese companies are secretly developing hardware to read these CDs.

Character education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Character education - Essay Example Character education has been part of educational curriculums since long. Schools have played an essential role in passing on the cultural and ethical values of a society through the generations. It was seen as a moral responsibility of the teachers to involve and impart character education. But trends changes in the second half of the last century and character education completely disappeared from schools. Main reason for this is that teacher’s involvement in character development would infringe the right of the parents. Also the church/state debate added fuel to the argument. Martin Luther King said that â€Å"Intelligence plus character – that is the true goal of education† (Norris et al., 2004). Hence, it becomes the moral responsibility of the teacher to be involved in the character development of the students. And it also makes logical sense as children spend majority of their time in schools interacting with teachers, and hence teachers will have a long lasting impact on the children. Another reason why teachers must take an active part in the development of children character is that there is a decline in the family structure. Due to pressures of the 21st century work environment, majority of the parents are not able to interact with their children as they would desire to. Parents have not been able to share ethical values with the children. This is one of the reasons that youth character has seen a downward trend in the recent years (Ryan, 1993). Therefore it becomes the moral responsibility of the teacher to involve in character development. Research has shown that the learning environment makes an impact and has a positive effect on the social values and in turn the character of a child. That is, students who work in a cooperative learning group develop a character with mutual concern for one another (Johnson et al., 1981). Therefore, teacher is a critical part of the learning environment and hence needs to be actively and consciously

Brighton Seaside Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brighton Seaside - Essay Example In 1313, Edward II granted Brighthelmston a charter that allowed market operations each Thursday at Brighton seaside. The market operations developed Brighton into a tourist site and visited by many vacationers. In the 21st century, Brighton and Hove have grown into a world tourist attraction. The new sea front has turned into an attractive and trendy magnet for visitors. Additionally, the newly created clubs, bars and restaurants has changed the area into fashionable beachfront in Britain. Today, it is highly regarded by theatregoers and artists as the main center for much famous west ends London productions. According to statistics, Brighton pier now at 1722 ft. in length with grade two-listed building, welcomes over three million visitors annually (Easdown 2009, p.12). Besides, Brighton seaside has been included among the top ten UK destinations for overseas visitors and top five most favorite cities. Brighton seaside is the future attraction site where one can find culture, good shopping, and enough food with the selection of specialty hotels. It is estimated to host over eight million visitors annually incorporating conference delegates and leisure visitors (Benson, 2015, p.1). According to Office for National Statistics (2014), Brighton is the most popular destination in the UK that is preferred by foreign tourists. In 2013, it hosted nearly 400, 000 foreign visitors. Benson, R 2015, Coastlines: The Story of Our Shore by Patrick Barkham, Book Review, The Independent. Retrieved On 30th March, 2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/coastlines-the-story-of-our-shore-by-patrick-barkham-book-review-10120105.html Farmer, B 2015, Pay Less for Parking in the Rain Plan for Seaside Town, The Telegraph, Retrieved On March 30, 2015

Social Promlem project on Internet Addiction Essay

Social Promlem project on Internet Addiction - Essay Example Moving further, we will look into various types of internet addiction. After this, we will be exploring the effect of gender difference on the internet addiction. Furthermore, the discussion would be led to the causes and the development of the internet addiction. Last, but not the least, we will be looking over various treatment options for the internet addiction. So we can say, in general terms, that addiction is the process of getting habitual to the use of something. In the same connection, internet addiction is, in layman terms, the habitual use of internet or being compulsively occupied with the use of internet. "Technical addictions... non-chemical (behavioral) addictions which involve human-machine interaction. They can either be passive (e.g. television) or active, (e.g. computer games) and usually contain inducing and reinforcing features which may contribute to the promotion of addictive tendencies". (Griffths, 2000) Various experts have also called it cyber addiction. "Cyberspace Addiction: an addiction to virtual realms of experience created through computer engineering... Some cyberspace addictions are game and competition oriented, some fulfill more social needs, some simply may be an extension of workaholicism". (Suler, 1999) All in all, internet addiction, with whatever term it may be referred, is the excessive use of internet to the extent that a person become compulsively engaged in using the internet. Types of Internet Addiction The internet addiction can be classified into a number of typologies. However, the most commonly used typology among the scholarly circles is that based on the usage. On this basis, the internet addiction can be divided into following types: Addiction for Internet Sex Addiction for Games over Internet Addiction for Making Money over Internet Addiction for Chat Addiction for Web Surfing This typology has been adapted from the works of Young (et al. 1999) and Davis (2001). Addiction for Internet Sex According to some estimates, the total worth of the online sex industry is somewhere between 1 and 5 billion US Dollars. Moreover, the sex industry over internet has become one of the major contributors among the total revenue generated through the paid websites (McDonald, 2001). There are also some estimates that the highest search queries on various search engines, such as Google and Yahoo etc, are related to pornography, especially among teens. The internet is heavily with the sex related material. That includes, sex related text (stories), images, video, audio stories and entire DVD format full length

Impact Of Performance Management On Organizational Success Commerce Essay

Impact Of Performance Management On Organizational Success Commerce Essay The concept of Performance Management is an important HRM process that provides the basis for improving and developing performance and is the part of the reward system in its most general sense. Performance management is a systematic process for improving organizational performance by developing the performance of individuals and teams. It is a means of getting better results by understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, standards and competency requirements. Performance management is: A process for establishing a shared understanding about what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved, and an approach to managing people that increases the probability of achieving success. (Weiss and Hartle, 1997) Performance management can be defined as a strategic and integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organizations by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors. (Armstrong and Baron, 1998) Performance management is all about improvement-synchronizing improvement to create value for and from customers with the result of economic value creation to stockholders and owners. The scope of performance management is obviously very broad because performance management must be viewed at an enterprise wide level. Organizations work more effectively when the goals and objectives of the organization, those of the smaller work units and the job responsibilities of each employee are all linked. When people in the organization understand how their work contributes to the success of the company, morale and productivity usually improve. The aim of all the parts of the company is the key to making these links clear to everyone. (Robert Bacal, 1999) Performance management has three distinct components defined by Banks and May, 1999 that are following: The first component consists of the definition of performance which includes organizational objectives and strategies, the second component is the actual measurement process itself and the third component is the communication between supervisor and subordinate about the extent to which individual behaviour fits with organizational expectations. Many of the components of performance management have been recommended for years as valuable to performance assessment. The importance of performance management is that the process combines most of these suggestions and adds the overlay of the strategic importance of various performance areas. (Frank Conte, 2009) RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES The objectives of a research project summarise what is to be achieved by the study. Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the problem. Properly formulated, specific objectives will facilitate the development of the research methodology and will help to orient the collection, analysis and utilisation of data. For example, realizing the two keywords performance management and organization success, it is important for this research study to have a particular organization that will focus in determining impact of performance management on McDonalds success. The research objectives are the goals to be achieved through the research. The Research should always be based on pre-decided questions. These questions help to focus on the research objectives. The first step in any research is defining the problems to be studied and the questions to be asked. (Campbell et al, 1982) A good research question defines the focus of your research project. It helps readers to know the specific subject matter you will be addressing. It can set boundaries to help you figure out where to go next and defines which data you need to collect and which methods you will use to access and analyse your documents (Hung Popp, 2009). Research question needs to be answerable by the kind of study researcher could actually conduct. The researcher doesnt want to pose a question that no feasible study could answer, either because the data that might answer them could not be obtained. (Maxwell, 2005) In the research the following questions will be answered: What is Performance Management? How is it achieved within McDonalds? What is meant by organizational success? How is success affected by the impact of performance management? What are the positive and negative impacts of performance management on an Organization? LITERATURE REVIEW Literature reviews or searches are essential steps in any research project. They often focus on articles in academic journals although textbooks may also be consulted. Performance management is a term, which is widely used in organizations and in particular by human resource professionals. A generic definition is that it is about applying processes, techniques and systems which maintain and improve individuals performance whilst simultaneously aiming to improve the performance of the organization. ( Hale Whitlam, 2000) From the HR field Armstrong and Baron highlight the importance of performance management being strategic, integrated (vertical, functional, HR integration and integration of individual needs), concerned with performance improvement and development. The principle of setting goals for individuals which are linked to organizational goals has a long history, evolving from merit rating to management-by-objectives (MBO- first coined by Peter Drucker in 1955), through Lockes Goal setting Theory of 1968 (Greenberg Baron, 2000) and finally to performance management, which became a recognised process in the 1980s (Armstrong Baron, 2002). Philpott and Sheppard (1992): The fundamental goal of performance management is to establish a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and for their own skills and contributions. As stated by Hartle (1995), Performance management should be integrated into the way the performance of the business is managed and it should link with the other key processes such as business strategy, employee development and total quality management. Performance staff members are at all times faced with the test of building agreement as to which workloads are supposed to be treated the best, and categorizing which workloads should be acceptable to experience a constrained setting. Once agreement is attained, the essential tools and measurements have got to be in place to decide if the prioritized workloads are meeting definite goals. Literature reviews of various academic journals and text books written by different authors are very helpful in conducting the research and supporting the research findings with the opinion and point of views of different authors. Performance management of employees is an important element of HR processes in the successful organizations (Burnes 2004). Performance management is a concept which emphasize on the continuous improvement on employees performance which has a good impact on the productivity of the organization in the long run. Effective performance management of employees is very helpful in order to achieve the strategic business objectives (Caldwell 2002). HR managers of successful organizations consider the implementation of performance management process essential for the business growth and development. It also helps the employees to improve and develop their own skills (Chen 2003). Most of the employees working in the organizations want to grow in their field; the supervisors during the performance management process can guide their subordinates which is helpful for them to overcome their professional weaknesses and improve their skill essential for their professional growth (Cherry 1993). The process suggests a complete career growth plan for the individuals by enhancing their performance in a professional business environment. However, it is important that performance management process should be implemented in a way that it should also improves the overall performance of the business by using different business processes like total quality management. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT A BRIEF OVERVIEW Performance Management is a method for creating a collective understanding regarding what is to be accomplished and how it is to be accomplished. It is an approach to supervising people that raise the likelihood of reaching success. The performance management process helps the managers and supervisors to provide feedback to the employees regarding their current performance at job and expected level of performance (Covey 1991). It provides clear direction to the employees about management expectations regarding their performance. The compensation and rewarding system is also established based on the performance of the employees over the period of time. It also assists the organizational leadership to identify the training needs of the organization and resolve the performance related issues. It provides opportunity to the managers to set the performance expectations and keep proper tracking of the employees performance (Doorewaard and Benschop 2003). The supervisors and managers can me asure the performance outcomes by comparing it with the performance expectation and performance appraisal can be done on the basis of this exercise. However, it is important that management should adopt the performance management practices that are consistent with the business operation requirements and objectives of the organization (Drumm 1999). An effective performance management process starts with defining the performance objectives which includes tasks and results which needs to be accomplished. It is important for the management to communicate the objectives to the employees in order to get the desired results (Francis 2003). Planning is also an important part of the performance management process. Planning includes making clear to the employee how they assist the organization to accomplish its objectives. Work together with the employees to clarify the performance standards and make sure that there is accountability at every stage. Employees should be made to comprehend the accountabilities and expectations regarding their job. Clarify the behaviours which are required from them and why. Explain them that they are accountable for taking an active role in running and judging their performance all through the year. Effective communication methods could be adopted for this purpose because if the objectives and tasks have not been communicated to the employees, they will not be able to perform according to the expectations. Once the tasks has been communicated and employees have started putting efforts in order to achieve those tasks then continuous performance reviews are very essential to advise employees about their ongoing performance and management expectations. Feedback is considered to be the most critical step in performance management process (Gibb 2001). Give frequent informal coaching. It involves acknowledging the good work that the employee is doing and helping out the employee to perform up to the mark. Discover ways through which the employee can grow and improve, and work together to generate development plans. Rapidly communicate novel opportunities and adjustments that affect the employees job. Name clear actions that the employee can implement so that suggestions offered are co ncrete. Formulate informal observation notes (perhaps on a calendar) whenever the employee performs a good job, make and implement development plan. These observations will assist supervisor while reviewing the performance of employee and filling the performance appraisal form. The supervisor can also note down praise or complaints from consumers concerning an employees work (Hale 2000). The manager and supervisor can use all saved notes regarding the employees performance and evaluate their performance on accountabilities and behaviours. The supervisor can invite the employee for feedback with reference to how they performed throughout the year. They may perhaps remind the supervisor of particular occasions of good performance or troubles outside their control that harm their capability to do their job well. After completion of the performance appraisal forms talk to employee about ratings and remarks. The most important step in this process is to recognize and reward the employees for their good performance because it will not only motivate employees to go extra mile to meet the goals but also increases the loyalty of the employees. In the modern business worlds loyalty of internal customers has been an important concern for the HR managers because if employees dont feel ownership of the work they will never put their 100% efforts for the success of the business (Huang 2001). Therefore, it is important for the organizational leadership to recognize the employees for their efforts and compensations should be made on the basis of employees performance and efforts because if employees are compensated and rewarded on performance basis then it will create an atmosphere of healthy competition within the organization essential for individual and organizational growth (Hunt 2003). Training and development of people is also an important step in performance management process which helps to improve the skills of the employees according to the job requirements (Hyland and Verreault 2003). The value of employees and their progress all the way through training and education are key features in shaping long-term profitability of a business. If you appoint good quality employees, it is likely to spend in the development of their skills as they can enhance the productivity. Training is mostly thought to be for new employees only which is a wrong perception because continuing training for existing employees facilitates them to adjust according to the varying job and business requirements because external environment is changing on continuous basis and it is essential to develop and train the employees according to the latest system and processes in order to increase the efficiency of the business and maintain the market share (Johnson and Scholes 2002). An important step in performance management process is to link the individual objectives with the business objectives and directing the efforts of the employees towards the achievement of those objectives. Here comes the role of the immediate supervisor of an employee who can direct the employees efforts towards accomplishment of specific objective and make the employee feel that his efforts are important for the growth and success of the business (Kane and Grant 1999). At the end of the process it is important to ensure that individual efforts should be directed towards meeting the organizational goals. It needs to be determined the contributions of each team towards tasks achievement. This is also helpful in defining the future human resource policies and strategies. These approaches may help to improve organizational performance depending on if they are put into practice at length and stay alert on managerial outcomes. Some of the following, e.g., organizational learning and knowledge management, might be interpreted more as movements than organization performance strategies because there are wide interpretations of the concepts, not all of which include focusing on achieving top-level organizational results (Liao 2005). Nevertheless, if these two notions are instilled from corner to corner of the organization and focus on organizational outcomes, they can add strongly to managerial performance. On the other hand, the Balanced Scorecard, which is purposely intended to be inclusive and focused on organizational results, will not develop performance if not applied from a strong design. THEORIES OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT The fundamental structure of performance management is drawn from basic principles of well-established motivational and learning theories. These theories are underpinning of performance management in this research proposal. Goal theory was developed by Latham and Locke (1979) who highlights four mechanisms that connect goals to performance outcomes: They direct attention to priorities; They stimulate effort; They challenge people to bring their knowledge and skills to bear to increase their chances of success; The more challenging the goal, the more people will draw on their repertoire of skill. This theory underpins the emphasis in performance management on setting and agreeing objectives against which performance can be measured and managed. Control theory focuses attention on feedback as a means of shaping behaviour. As people receive feedback on their behaviour they appreciate the discrepancy between what they are doing and what they are expected to do and take corrective action to overcome the discrepancy. Feedback is recognized as a crucial part of performance management processes. Social cognitive theory was developed by Bandura (1986). It is based on his central concept of self-efficiency. This suggests that what people believe they can or cannot do powerfully impacts on their performance. Developing and strengthening positive self-belief in employees is therefore an important performance management objective. Clayton P. Alderfer (1972) devised ERG theory of human needs that explained three primary categories: Existence: This is akin to physiology and security needs in Maslows hierarchy of needs. It is concerned with fulfilment of basic requirements like food, shelter and clothing. Relatedness: It is related to needs like interpersonal relationships, acceptance as a member in a group/society and family relationships. Growth: This need involves people finding the opportunities to be what they are most fully and to become what they can. Expectancy theory developed by Porter and Lawler (1968) and it states that motivation will be high when people know what they have to do to get a reward, expect that they will be able to get the reward and expect that the reward will be worthwhile. So this theory leads to the performance management. Equity theory demonstrates the importance of perception in motivational behaviour of employees. The central theme of this theory is that satisfaction as a consequence of job performance is contingent upon the perception of equity. Stacy Adams (1965), who was given credit for development of this model, had brought recognition to the issue of equity in performance management. As we know literature review is the major part of the research project. So, it is necessary to know what has already been covered and the theories that have been developed to provide leads and reference points or as the basis for a grounded theory. METHODOLOGY Methodology usually refers to the general approaches to research, while method refers to techniques for gathering evidence (Gancian 1992). Therefore Methodology is a theory and analysis of how research does or should proceed (Harding 1987). Methodology is that how to apply the methods in the research. In my research, the methodology will be based on both, qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. The qualitative research aims to generate insights into situations and behaviour so that the meaning of what is happening can be understood and it is often a useful tool to discover research questions. Quantitative research is empirical-based on the collection of factual data that is measured and quantified and in other words it is the link between cause and effect. The proposed methodology will include both primary and secondary data collection techniques. Data collection techniques will include comprehensive database research, highlighted data, surveys, supplemental intervie ws. By using the case study in research, the concept will be better understand. The analysis of this research is qualitative which is used to highlight the different patterns and make it easier to understand. In this research, the case study will be on McDonalds. The structure of research is based on literature review. (Saunders et al 2008). INTERVIEWS: Interviews are an important research method. Interviews are basically qualitative but they can become more quantitative by the use of content analysis. The advantages of interviews are that they obtain information directly from the people involved in the area that is being researched and can provide insights into attitudes and perspectives. It gives opportunity to give information of research to interviewee so he/she can give relevant information (Zikmund, 2003). The interviewer is an integral part of the investigation. (Smith, 1983) SURVEYS: Surveys obtain information from a defined population of people. They provide more powerful data than other methods by using a combination of questionnaires and interviews and possibly focus groups. (Zikmund, 2006) states that the main purpose of survey in research is to collect primary data, which is assembled specifically for the research. CASE STUDY: A case study is a description or history of an event or sequence of events in a real life setting. Case study protocol sets out the objectives of the research, how the case study will support the achievement of those objectives, including the evidence required and how the work of producing the case study will be conducted. This methodology covers sources of evidence such as interviews, observations, documents and records. The use of multiple source of evidence, each with its strengths and weaknesses, is a key characteristics of case study research.(Gillham, 2000) DATA ANALYSIS: The data collected through interviews, surveys and case studies will be continuously analysed. Doing data collection and data analysis, according to Merriam (1998) is the right way to do it in qualitative research. It is helpful, as it enables the researcher to focus and shape the study as it proceeds, through consistent reflection on the data and attention to what the data are saying (Glesne, 1999).

Sperm Sorting :: DNA Sex Selection Reproduction Genetics Essays

Sperm Sorting Humans have tried for some time to determine the gender of their child while it is still in the womb. Craving sweets or a slower heart rate means you’ll be having a baby girl. Eating a lot of salty foods, having an especially active baby or carrying your baby low means it’s time to start painting the baby’s room blue1. Advances in science have moved us beyond these old wives’ tales and allowed us to exactly determine the gender of a child before it is born through the use of an ultrasound. A major decision for most people currently is if you want to know what gender your baby will be before it is born. While some are making that choice, others are choosing their child’s gender. I intend to address how this is possible, and if allowing such a choice is ethical. A significant change in gender determination is in progress. Many people are worried about the possibilities that eugenics will bring, including the possibility of gender determination through DNA modification. What these people are overlooking is, gender selection is already in use, and DNA modification is not necessary. Three hundred babies have already had their gender predetermined in the United States through the use of a process called sperm sorting2. Sperm sorting was initially developed as a means to regulate the gender of offspring in cattle. Sperm sorting is achieved through exploitation of the size difference between the X and Y chromosome. The X and Y chromosome are those that will determine the gender of an offspring. The egg of a female contains two X chromosomes, and each sperm from the male contains either an X or a Y. If the sperm that inseminates the egg contains a Y chromosome the egg will mature into a male, if the sperm that inseminates the egg contains an X, the egg will mature into a female. The X chromosome is approximately three times as large as the Y chromosome. Early methods of sperm sorting took advantage of the weight difference that is a result of their size difference. A sample of sperm was collected in a test tube, and then spun in a centrifuge, which separates the sample by weight. The X sperm will be at the very bottom of the tube while the Y sperm will be closer to the top. The major problem with this method is the high rate of speed at which the centrifuge spins in order to separate the sperm causes many collisions.

Identifying Barriers to Diversity in Law Enforcement Essay

Our country, America is a melting pot of many different races, ethnic groups, and cultures, which occurred because of immigration. That is why our communities are known as multicultural communities. Our communities may consist of African Americans, Whites, Latinos, Chinese, Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Indians. These multicultural communities experience prejudice actions from law enforcement. Prejudice means a judgment or opinion formed before facts are known, usually involving negative or unfavorable thoughts about groups of people (Shusta and Levine, 2010). Law enforcement tends to discriminate against individuals because of their race, culture, or ethnic background. Law enforcement is now trying to figure out methods that they can use to improve their relationship with multicultural communities. Shusta and Levine (2010) offered some methods that can improve law enforcement in multicultural communities: (1) †¢ Make positive contact with community group members from diverse backgrounds, don’t let them see you only when something negative has happened, and allow the public to see you as much as possible in a nonenforcement role, (2) Take responsibility for patiently educating citizens and the public about the role of the officer and about standard operating procedures in law enforcement and remember that citizens often do not understand â€Å"police culture,† (3) Don’t be afraid to be a change agent in your organization when it comes to improving cross-cultural and interracial relations within your department and between police and community, it may not be a popular thing to do, but it is the right thing to do, (4) Donâ₠¬â„¢t appear uncomfortable with or avoid discussing racial and ethnic issues with other officers and citizens, and (5) Make a conscious effort in your mind, en route to every situation, to treat all people objectively and fairly. In my community they are only Blacks and Puerto Ricans races, but they are a diverse cultures, such as the locals called Cruzan’s, Kittians, St. Lucians, Dominicans, Haitians, Antiguans, Nevisians, and many other Caribbean islands. In my community law enforcement is prejudice against the stereotypes of the individuals, such as members in gangs. For example if law enforcement is called to the community for a theft, they would suspect a gang member of committing the before they suspect a regular guy walking down  the street. If they take time out to socialize with these so called gang members they would see a different side of them. Also getting to know the different cultures would allow having better communication skills with the citizens, and maybe the citizens would feel safer in open up to them and help them in the community. In a scenario in which a method would work would be: A patrol unit is patrolling the community a see a group of young boys sitting under a tree cooli ng out, they decide to stop and have a talk to the young boys, about what they’re doing and how is their life, and officers even tell them about their days when they was the same age as them, the boys know see that these officers are no different than them, and their just doing their duty. That shows that the boys and law enforcement is communicating and gaining trust within each other.

Understanding Diacritical Marks in French

Understanding Diacritical Marks in French There are four French accents for vowels and one accent for a consonant. Understanding each of these accents is vital because they actually change the pronunciation of the letters that they modify, essentially creating completely different letters for the French language.   Vowel Accents The accent aigu  ´ (acute accent) can only be on an E. At the beginning of a word, it often indicates that an S used to follow that vowel, e.g., à ©tudiant (student).The accent grave (grave accent) can be found on an A, E, or U. On the A and U, it usually serves to distinguish between words that would otherwise be homographs; e.g., ou (or) vs oà ¹ (where).The accent circonflexe ˆ (circumflex) can be on an A, E, I, O, or U. The circumflex usually indicates that an S used to follow that vowel, e.g., forà ªt (forest). It also serves to distinguish between homographs; e.g., du (contraction of de le) vs dà » (past participle of devoir).The accent trà ©ma  ¨ (dieresis or umlaut) can be on an E, I, or U. It is used when two vowels are next to each other and both must be pronounced, e.g., naà ¯ve, Saà ¼l. Consonant Accent The cà ©dille  ¸ (cedilla) is found only on the letter C. It changes a hard C sound (like K) into a soft C sound (like S), e.g., garà §on. The cedilla is never placed in front of E or I, because C always sounds like an S in front of these vowels. Capital Letters It is essential to put accents in their proper places; an incorrect or missing accent is a spelling mistake just as an incorrect or missing letter would be. The only exception to this is capital letters, which are often left unaccented.

Super Size Me Essay Example

Super Size Me Essay Example Super Size Me Essay Super Size Me Essay Morgan Spurlock, was the age of 33 when he ventured on his quest to answer the question?   â€Å"What would happen to my body, if I ate exclusively at McDonald’s fast food restaurant, eating 3 full meals a day for 30 days?†Ã‚   Not only did he have to take in tremendous calories, but he also had to Super Size his portions, when ever asked if he would like to do so. The health conditions that Morgan Spurlock developed were a direct result from eating the high fat and calorie and foods that he ingested during that 30 day period. The fact that Morgan Spurlock was a of a young age, healthy and of average weight for his height, 185 1/2 pounds and 1.88 millimeters tall, before the experiment ever took place, gives us a place to start from.   From that point of his weigh in until the thirty day period ended, Morgan Spurlock had gained a whopping 24.5 pounds and his overall body mass index grew from 23.2 to 27 which made him overweight for his body structure. When Morgan Spurlock learned of the great number of people in America who suffered from being overweight, he launched a plan to investigate how America’s love for fast food affected their weight and health.   By starting at an average size, he very clearly confirmed that his belief that the fatty food, directly affected the diets of individuals who ate at McDonalds, repeatedly. McDonald’s breakfast launched Spurlock’s study, and by the second day he ate ingested his first meal that was Super Sized!   He ate a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese, with the Super Sized fries and drink.   He reported that he was feeling uncomfortable while he was eating the meal and eventually vomited in the parking lot of McDonald’s.   He steadily ate the food and gained nearly ten pounds. Feelings of depression, which his girl friend, Alexandra Jamieson confirmed, participated in Spurlock’s experiment, said that Spurlock lethargy, and several headaches, learns that are lifted when he eats more of McDonald’s fast food.   One of his doctors said he was addicted to the unhealthy food.   Soon after, while continuing to eat the same food, he gained another ten pounds.   He now weighed in at 203 pounds and at the end of the month he weighed in at 210 pounds. When Morgan Spurlock begins to have palpitations in his heart, near the twentieth day of the experiment,   he went to see on of his physicians who was involved in his experiment.   He didn’t take any medications because he felt it would interfere with his experiment. One of the health problems that Morgan Spurlock was diagnosed with on completion of his experiment was liver problems.   Dr. Daryl Isaacs confirmed that Morgan Spurlock’s liver was pate and immediately advised him that he should stop the experiment or else he could suffer with a serious heart problem.   Dr. Isaacs told him that he would be like the character in a movie, where the person intentionally drank excessively, trying to kill himself.   Spurlock was very concerned about what the Pysician reported to him, but continued on with his mission of proving that fastfood is bad for your health. I’ll begin with the liver problem that Spurlock developed during his fast food eating frenzy.   When Dr. Daryl Isaacs examined Spurlock, he concluded that he had developed the pate liver.   Non alcoholic fatty liver disease is an accumulated deposit of fat into the liver without the use of alcohol as a contributor.   This fat causes the liver to swell.   Insulin resistance is believed to be a factor in this liver inflamation. The heart palpitations in which Spurlock experienced was due to the fact that he incurred high blood pressure from the high calorie, high fate, and no exercise routine that contributed to his heart palpitations.   (Merck Manual of Medical Information,1997) â€Å"Whether the heart palpitations are normal depends on answers to a number of questions, such as whether anything seems to bring them on, whether they started suddenly or gradually.†Ã‚   It was quite obvious when a person goes from a healthy life style and nutritional diet to a diet consisting only of McDonald’s fast food, where he is to only eat a salad, every tenth day, that he is going to incur health problems, as Spurlock most certainly did. (The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007) states that there is a need for an efficient daily diet to sustain a healthy heart.   High cholesterol, high fat, low nutritional value foods contribute to an unhealthy heart and body. (Roberta Larson Duyff, 2006) What we eat determines how healthy we are.  Ã‚   Spurlock’s study did prove beneficial and he was able to shed light on the importance of a healthy diet and the need for a healthy daily exercise routine.

Information technology for Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information technology for Management - Essay Example In addition, web based tools allow recruitment managers to engage potential candidates through collaboration and communication tools. In the case of job seekers, the candidate solutions allow candidates to construct an online profile that captures all basic information of a candidate and stores them in its database. All data is indexed so as to facilitate recruiters to obtain the set of requisite candidates based on desired selection criteria. Candidates can further use this profile to apply for multiple jobs without having to construct a new profile, thus reducing the time required to seek a job position. Resumix charges a small administrative fee for allowing both the recruiters as well as the job seekers to post their requirements through requisite subscription offers. The web portal derives additional revenue from the provision of analytics that allows customers to generate reports using quantitative information within their profiles. It further allows companies to synchronize the job postings with their internal job databases irrespective of the technologies involved. By the provision of automation, all such postings at different ends are updated on a regular

Inventory management and materials requirement planning Assignment

Inventory management and materials requirement planning - Assignment Example Introduction Inventory management can be defined as the practice of managing the inventory of an organisation so as to ensure that it does not go out of stock and that the needs of the organisation are continually met (Pillsbury, 2005). Inventory management is carried out in order to protect the organisation against stock-outs when there is variability in terms of demand. Inventory management and materials planning in a military setting is very much different from the business setting due to the nature and sensitivity of the inventory itself. The fact that there is always need to provide the right materials to the military personnel at the right time especially during war has resulted in a situation where the inventory management practices adopted are very risk averse leading to the holding of a lot of inventory at a time in their stores. This is due to the fact that there is need to consider the risk of lacking particular materials when they are needed by the personnel on the ground (Hillier and Lieberman, 2001). Royal Air force of Oman Inventory system The Royal Air force of Oman is no exception to the inventory management practices adopted by the military. ... Some of the items in the inventory have been there for many years and the military is now being faced with the risk of obsoleteness as new technology development has resulted in new more advanced military equipments (Max, 2005). Military organisations all over the world have traditionally focused on keeping high levels of inventory in order to be able to deliver the needed services and equipments to their personnel. This has therefore led to a situation where the military organisations have to take a risk averse position and adopt inventory management practices which allow the storage of high levels of inventory for readiness purposes. This is a practice that most military logistics personnel adopt and has resulted in a common believe that holding more inventory is better when it comes to being ready for warfare and being ahead of other military forces. It is however important that these military organisations adopt better inventory management practices so as to reduce the costs of s torage and the risk of obsoleteness. This will help them manage their inventory levels in a more cost effective manner thus lowering some of the heavy costs they have been incurring over time (Melcher and Ferrari, 2004). Inventory Management Systems There are several inventory management systems that can be used by an organisation to manage their inventory. These are; reorder point systems, periodic review systems and material requirements planning. The inventory management system adopted by military organisations such as the Royal Air force of Oman is based on the material requirements planning system. This is due to the fact that most of the materials purchased by the military are based on needs and therefore