Issues in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Issues in Management - Essay Example Investigation was carried out before Houston offered to purchase the company. Although the deal failed, Enron assets were made the largest corporate bankrupt in the history of United States’ corporations. The collapse of Enron serves as a lesson for managers and all sub-versions of company management controls. The meteoric rise and down fall of the company astonished groups of people thereby becoming a dream for researchers to unveil what led to such misfortunes; however, the entire ordeal has ever since remained a nightmare for all former and current stakeholders of the company. The company’s downfall is associated with individuals born with greed and in atmospheres on corporate arrogance. However, many people kept on buying stock; thus, making it buy risk deals. After some time, Enron was then bought from the union of Houston Natural gas. In the union process, the company incurred huge debt and lost its rights to pipeline. To revive its operations, the company decided to initiate new ideas and formulate new strategies that would help to generate cash flow and good profits. On the other hand, to regain its stability, the company hired Jeffrey Skilling, a young consultant with good skills in banking and liability management who created gas bank whereby, Enron could buy gas from suppliers and sell it to consumers. This activity brought about huge profits and created new product as well as new paradigm for the company. Under the leadership of the young consultant, the company’s finance corporation soon dominated the market with many contracts and good access to suppliers. The number of customers was also seen to multiply. Its gained market power was utilized on predicting future prices with accuracy. Skilling begun to change the culture of the company to much its transformed image as a trading business entity. For instance, he

An Economic report of Manchester Essay Example for Free

An Economic report of Manchester Essay Employment Performance Which sectors does Manchester outperform the UK. Education it outperforms the UK it’s the second largest city In the UK its normal to expect it to spend more on education due to its high population. Interestingly professional Scientific and technical activities outperform the UK. A new economy has been put in place a smarterEconomy based on tertiary sectors moving away from its manufacturing past. 2023 its estimating employment in The above sector will rise around 130,000 for the greater Manchester region. Accommodation and food service Activities outperforming the UK is expected also as it’s the second most visited city in England and 3rd in the UK. Sectors which do poorly manufacturing once the cotton producing capital of the world now this industry is all but Extinct. Information and communication is behind the UK average this is surprising as recently media city has been opened in Manchester ITV, BBC and SIS are based there. Madchester Today It’s important not to underestimate the effect cities music or sports scene has, many people would recognise Liverpool ahead of a more economically significant city like Birmingham due to The Beatles. Manchester became the music capital of England in the 80s and continued onwards in the 90’s. Manchester United is the most supported club in the world. Forbes lists it as the second most valuable club behind Real Madrid. The soul of the city based on sports with heavy music influences. One effect is the number of young people who want to live there. Young people want to live and study in a vibrant city; Manchester University and MMU are ranked 1 2 in number of applicants for degree courses. There are 3 universities with 87776 students making it one of the most popular cities to study. Below you can see it has the 4th lowest house prices and 3rd highest wages in the UK. This makes it an incredible desirable location to live. In 2001 it was the 21st most vibrant city in the UK today it now number one making it the most vibrant city in the UK surpassing London. There is a large number of young residents, cheap housing and high wages helping organic growth. The location quotients show that the sectors with relative high levels of employment are all mostly in high end sectors, or hotels and similar accommodation which bring in revenue to the local economy. The sectors all bring in wealth so this is a good sign for Manchester’s growth for the future. North West Rivalry â€Å"It’s not just about two clubs, it’s about two cities, two unbelievable histories, two clubs that both think they are the biggest in the world, so there is a lot of ego at stake.† Lee Sharpe. There is a huge rivalry from the two cities of Liverpool and Manchester. Modern day rivalry has been mostly seen on the football field but it’s not always been the case. Historically the two cities thrived in the industrial revolution. The rivalry was ignited when Manchester decided to build a ship canal the largest in the world at that time. This meant Manchester no longer had to pay dues to Liverpool in order to use their port. Now the rivalry has died down as Manchester surpassed its economically and in sporting terms many years ago. Unemployment graph to the right shows how Liverpool’s unemployment has been higher in modern times. There has been a bit of convergence in recession times but Manchester still leads the way economically. Conclusion From this report you can see how Manchester’s economy evolved with technological advances. A thriving industrial city from the industrial revolution evolved unlike other industrial cities. It has a modern advanced economy it has become the most important city in the North-West economically. The sectors which thrive are high end sectors which generate a lot of revenue as shown in the location quotients on the previous page. It has a rich history musically and sporting, now it is the 2nd most visited city in England. This means the tourist industry thrives bringing in revenue from the other regions or nations. This has helped ease the recessions damage, from 2010 GVA has been increasing annually from 2010. The cities soul appears to be music and sporting orientated, the old mills and print works have been redeveloped it still retains remnants of its old industrial past. This is a city which is improving year after year, whether it is economic growth or quality of life. The city has a high standard of living voted most vibrant city in the UK climbing 20 places in 12 years.

Belize Guatamala territory dispute :: essays research papers

British lumberjacks set up settlements in the eventual Belize. The Spanish granted them the territory. When war broke out in Europe there was an attack which was repulsed. Over the next 20 years the British had grown into the assigned area and some unsettled areas of South America establishing the now existing Belize. The Spanish never had any rule over the territory. Up to 1859 the British continued to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the settlement, further establishing administrative control and implementing a comprehensive legal and legislative system. In 1859 a treaty officially established the boundaries of Belize. In 1940 Guatemala declared the Treaty to be void, alleging failure to implement article 7 (That the British build a road which they never did) A new Guatemalan Constitution in 1945 declared Belize to be Guatemalan territory Belizean culture and nationality developed throughout the 19th century (and the British became the minority). Self-government was achieved in 1964, but full independence was delayed until 1981 only because of the Guatemalan claim to the territory. Guatemala changed its argument in 1999. it rested its case on the 18th century Treaties between Britain and Spain covering the area between the Hondo and the Sibun Rivers. Guatemala claimed that the area between the Sibun River and the Sarstoon River was 'illegally' occupied by Britain, and argued that the area south of Sibun up to the Sarstoon River must be "returned" to Guatemala together with all the cayes which were not included in those Treaties. The area thus claimed by Guatemala amounts to over 12,000 square kilometres, which is more than half of Belize's territory. The British occupied this territory when it was uninhabited and unsettled. Belize rests its case on two firm pillars: the right of a people to self- determination and the fact that Guatemala's claim is legally untenable. Negotiations began between Britain and Guatemala and Belize. In 1975 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution affirming Belize's right to secure independence with all its territory and declared that any proposals emerging from negotiations between Britain and Guatemala must respect this right In 1980, the UN resolution declared that Belize should become independent by the following year. The entire global community supported this decision the territory was perfected through the process of acquisitive prescription, which is a recognised means in International Law for acquiring title to territory Guatemala never occupied, nor did it ever exercise any control or jurisdiction over, any part of the territory of Belize.

The Key To Master Writing is to Write a Lot :: English Writing Teacher Student

â€Å"Write a lot.† Could this idea be the foundation of a sound writing pedagogy? It seems almost too simple. It also seems solidly in line with Peter Elbow’s ideas for the â€Å"teacherless class†and therefore, if we believe Berlin’s formulation from â€Å"Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Class†, perhaps part of a pedagogic philosophy that can easily marginalize certain students or be â€Å"co-opted by the agencies of corporate capitalism† (697; in Cross-Talk). But I’m thinking more in terms of establishing writing for students as something that ought to be done in volume in order to build it as a habit. In my own experience as a student, this never happened. Nor did I hear about the social implications of writing or the power structures inherent in the classroom, ideas that might pique student interest in writing’s possibilities and demystify the classroom enough to make students want to write more. Now I think these elem ents could be the keys to better writing. Elbow opines, â€Å"If you are serious about wanting to improve your writing, the most useful thing you can do is keep a freewriting diary† (9). When I recently read Writing Without Teachers for the first time, the assertion that writing a lot is a good thing hit me as if it was completely new. And I think of myself as a writer! But some reflection showed me that my education, from grade school through college, had done very little to actually encourage me to write with any sort of regularity, or to revise what I did write. And so I produced little actual writing - just enough to get by. If this was the case for me, it may well have been the case for others. And if, regardless of our particular philosophical approach to instruction, we are in agreement as teachers of writing that we are trying to get students to write †better† (however we understand that), then shouldn’t establishing writing as a habit be a priority? It is unlikely that any teacher of writin g thinks that less, and not more, practice makes a better writer. How might we encourage regular writing for students? Are daily journal entries a good idea, as Elbow suggests? Anecdotal evidence from our class suggests that some teachers find journal writing effective, while others are convinced that assigning a ten-minute freewriting exercise really would tend to produce pages full of the sentence â€Å"I hate this assignment† repeated over and over. The Key To Master Writing is to Write a Lot :: English Writing Teacher Student â€Å"Write a lot.† Could this idea be the foundation of a sound writing pedagogy? It seems almost too simple. It also seems solidly in line with Peter Elbow’s ideas for the â€Å"teacherless class†and therefore, if we believe Berlin’s formulation from â€Å"Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Class†, perhaps part of a pedagogic philosophy that can easily marginalize certain students or be â€Å"co-opted by the agencies of corporate capitalism† (697; in Cross-Talk). But I’m thinking more in terms of establishing writing for students as something that ought to be done in volume in order to build it as a habit. In my own experience as a student, this never happened. Nor did I hear about the social implications of writing or the power structures inherent in the classroom, ideas that might pique student interest in writing’s possibilities and demystify the classroom enough to make students want to write more. Now I think these elem ents could be the keys to better writing. Elbow opines, â€Å"If you are serious about wanting to improve your writing, the most useful thing you can do is keep a freewriting diary† (9). When I recently read Writing Without Teachers for the first time, the assertion that writing a lot is a good thing hit me as if it was completely new. And I think of myself as a writer! But some reflection showed me that my education, from grade school through college, had done very little to actually encourage me to write with any sort of regularity, or to revise what I did write. And so I produced little actual writing - just enough to get by. If this was the case for me, it may well have been the case for others. And if, regardless of our particular philosophical approach to instruction, we are in agreement as teachers of writing that we are trying to get students to write †better† (however we understand that), then shouldn’t establishing writing as a habit be a priority? It is unlikely that any teacher of writin g thinks that less, and not more, practice makes a better writer. How might we encourage regular writing for students? Are daily journal entries a good idea, as Elbow suggests? Anecdotal evidence from our class suggests that some teachers find journal writing effective, while others are convinced that assigning a ten-minute freewriting exercise really would tend to produce pages full of the sentence â€Å"I hate this assignment† repeated over and over.

Precious Blood

Blood Diamond is a movie that was cast by Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly and was directed by Edward Zwick’s. The movie was set in Sierra Leone Civil War in South Africa. The role of Hounsou was a fisherman while DiCarpio was a white mercenary gun smuggler that sells guns to rebellions in exchange of money while Connelly was an American journalist that wants to expose the illegal and mistreating of the diamond miners in Africa. Connelly was the only cast in the movie that has no intent on diamonds. (Burr, 2006)The movie was all about the quest of DiCarpio and Hounsou to reveal the pink diamond which they believe that the pink diamond will change their lives. Hounsou was a fisherman who was taken away from his family so that he can work in the diamond field. While in prison, DiCarpio found out that Hounsou had an idea of the pink diamond. The major quest of Hounsou was to find his family but found out that his family was in the hands of the United Nation s.But the son of Hounsou was kidnapped by the diamond miner terrorist and was forced to become a child soldier. With this, the two men joined in finding the missing pink diamond because the said diamond will help Hounsou saves his family from the hands of the rebels while DiCarpio will find a second life. With the help of Connelly, the three will reveal the truth behind the issues surrounding the diamond industry in South Africa. (Burr, 2006)The story of Blood Diamond mirrors the reality of some country-the rebels using their resources in finding weapons that they can use against the government. Many countries are now experiencing this kind of problem and affect the performance of the government in serving its citizen. This is a positive side of the film because it tackles some of the major problems in countries, terrorism. The setting of the movie is perfect for the purpose, and message of the movie. It shows the lives of many African people and shows how sad are the lives of these Africans. The major casts of the movie play their role efficiently. Like Hounsou who played as a rebel kidnapped. As the quest begins in finding his son, the emotion as a father was seen on Hounsou.The movie Blood Diamond showed mistake in doing the film. First, is the scene were DiCarpio and Connelly share the wine and the rd cup they used appear and disappear with out explanation. Another movie mistakes is when the child soldiers were seen using a Game Boy Advance SP. The video game was released in the market on 2003 while the film was set in 1900s. Also, when Solomon was fishing in the morning, the sun rise over the sea which is contrast to reality that the sun rise over land.The CastsDiCarpio had a character that is flat and one dimensional only at the start of the movie. But as he entered to the real world of diamond industry in Sierra Leone, he became strong, and well rounded. At first, DiCarpio shows a virtue of a smuggler, a liar but as the movie goes; his brutal honesty re veals the illegal diamond business in Sierra Leone.   Hounsou shows was successful in making a character that is strong and is determined in regaining back his son from the diamond rebels. And sometimes, he induced anger, compassion and hopelessness.   Jennifer Connelly was a American journalist that seeks and wants to reveal the illegal diamond business in Sierra Leone. She cooperates with DiCarpio and Hounsou in her quest.The acting of the three major casts played their role in well. This is a good characteristic of the film because it shows the reality in South Africa.The film ends when Hounsou reveals to the people his experience in the diamond rebels and the illegal of the said business. The film was very interesting because it show to the audience what really happens in some part of the world. The producer of Blood Diamond would like to impart to the audience to become aware to this serious issue that will make a one step towards in minimizing these problems.Reference:Burr , T. (2006). Blood Diamond Movie Review [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 25, 2007 from http://www.boston.com/movies/display?display=movie&id=9301.

My Favorite Movie Essays

My Favorite Movie Essays My Favorite Movie Essay My Favorite Movie Essay This movie described that the captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) was given a new mission when he was finishing his tough mission, landing on Omaha Beach in the World War? : To find and rescue the private Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers all had been killed in combat. Miller obeyed the mission and took a small troop behind enemy lines to retrieve Ryan. With no information about Ryan’s whereabouts, Miller and his men moved from town to town, venturing deeper into enemy territory. Tragically, although the troop completed its mission, most of the troop’s members died, leaving just two people. There are three viewpoints that I want to share after I watched this movie. Firstly, why did eight men risk their lives to save just one? It costs co much that I think it is not worth them to do it. Specialist, we have to think of the benefit of whole country in the war, not only one person or one family; in other words, we should rather do right thing than do thing right. Secondly, Miller decided to let the German soldier live and walk away, the decision had been touched off a debate between the team. At last, it is ironic that the same German soldier, who he had set free, shot him. It is worth thinking about whether we should be a kind man on the battlefield or not. If I were Miller, I would have done my duty of soldier even the event in the war was so cruel. Sometimes in the war field, we have no choices. Finally, Ryan refused to leave and Miller unwillingly agreed and ordered his troop to help defend the bridge. They almost died in the battle that they protected the bridge, including Miller himself. I am very touched by the spirit that they would rather sacrifice their life to save more American soldier’s lives. I love this movie so much, not only it is a war film, but also it lets me think about my military service. I had been a commander in military, so I could realize why Captain Miller did the decision even if it was a dilemma. Therefore, the movie, â€Å"Saving Private Ryan,† is my favorite movie that is so good to see, I want to watch this movie again.

Conflict in Stories essays

Conflict in Stories essays Complications usually arise after a writer introduces the main point in a story. These complications are usually the result of conflicts. There are three kinds of conflict within a story (Trimmer and Jennings 4). The first kind of conflict is conflict among the characters. The second kind of conflict is conflict between a character and his or her environment. The third kind of conflict is conflict among the thoughts, needs, or emotions of a single character. After conflict arises, this is a moment of crisis or perhaps better known as the climax of the story. This usually marks the end of development to any other major action in the story (Trimmer and Jennings 5). The focus at this point is on the conflict in hopes of untangling or resolving it. The first kind of conflict is conflict among characters. This kind of conflict is present in John Updike's "A ...

Biography of Serial Killer Westley Allen Dodd

Biography of Serial Killer Westley Allen Dodd In 1989, Westley Allen Dodd sexually assaulted and killed three boys ages 11, 10 and four. His methods were so heinous, that forensic psychologists dubbed him one of the evilest killers in history. Westley Dodds Childhood Years Westley Allan Dodd was born in Washington State on July 3, 1961. Dodd grew up in what has been described as a loveless home and was often neglected by his parents in favor of his two younger brothers. At age 13, Dodds began exposing himself to children passing by his house. Realizing the dangers of getting caught, he started bicycling around the streets looking for opportunities to expose himself. His parents, distracted by their own problems of getting divorced, were aware of Dodds strange sexual behavior but avoided confronting the boy about it or getting him help. Even less attention was given to Westley after his parents divorced. His desires expanded from exhibitionism to physical contact. He first molested those closest to him. His younger cousins, ages six and eight and the child of a woman his father was dating, became regular victims of his growing perversions. Entrusted Caretaker of Children Dodd grew up to be a good-looking, fairly intelligent and personable teenager. These qualities helped him in finding part-time jobs where he was entrusted with the care of children. He would often babysit for his neighbors, seizing the private time to molest the children he was caring for as they slept. He worked as a camp counselor during the summer months, taking advantage of childrens trust and admiration for him. Dodd spent most of his teen years devising new and better ways to abuse children, putting any child that came near him at potential risk of being abused. He learned how to combine the adult persona with a sense of conspiratorial camaraderie to completely control his young, innocent victims. He could cajole them into playing doctor or dare them to go skinny-dipping with him. He took advantage of their natural curiosity and often normalized what he did by offering it as a grown-up treat. But Dodd could not master not being caught. On the contrary, he got caught a lot molesting kids, starting with his first arrest at 15 for exposing himself. Tragically nothing much was ever done, but to remand him to professional counseling. Refining His Techniques The older he got the more desperate he became to find victims. He discovered he could use more force and less cajoling and began approaching children in parks, demanding that they follow him into a secluded area or that they remove their clothing. In 1981, after a failed attempt to capture two little girls was reported to the police, Dodds joined the Navy. That did not stop his pedophiliac desires which were growing into sadistic fantasies. While stationed in Washington he began hunting children who lived on the base, prowling the nearby movie theater restrooms and arcades in his spare time. A Failed System After the Navy, he got a job at a paper mill. His debased proclivities never ceased to occupy most of his thoughts and purpose. Once he offered a group of boys $50 to accompany him to a nearby motel to play strip poker. He was arrested, but the charges were dropped even though he admitted his intentions to molest them to the authorities. Not much later he was arrested again for attempted molestation and served 19 days in jail and was again ordered to seek counseling. This wouldnt be the last time Dodd was caught. In fact, it could almost appear as if he wanted to be caught after being arrested several other times for assaulting the children of friends and neighbors. But as usual, Dodds penalties rarely added up to any real jail time because many parents were reluctant to put their traumatized child through the court system. In the meantime, Dodds fantasies were escalating and he began to carefully plan his attacks. He kept a diary, filling its pages with his morbid fantasies of what he would like to do to his future victims. Diary Excerpts Incident 3 will die maybe this way: Hell be tied down as Lee was in Incident 2. Instead of placing a bag over his head as had previously planned, Ill tape his mouth shut with duct tape. Then, when ready, Ill use a clothespin or something to plug his nose. That way I can sit back, take pictures and watch him die instead of concentrating on my hands or the rope tight around his neck that would also eliminate the rope burns on the neck . . . I can clearly see his face and eyes now... He suspects nothing now. Will probably wait until morning to kill him. That way his body will be fairly fresh for experiments after work. Ill suffocate him in his sleep when I wake up for work (if I sleep). The Crimes Possibly the fact that he had now molested about 30 children with impunity helped Westley go a step further towards violence. His yearnings became increasingly difficult to control, and his fantasies darker. He went from sketching torture racks to actually building one. He stopped cajoling and persuading and began ordering. He began to tie up his victims. He became consumed with thoughts of torture, mutilation, and cannibalism. The Desire to Kill In 1987, at age 26, he could no longer ignore his desires to kill his victims. He made up his mind to do it. His first attempt failed when the eight-year-old boy Dodds lured into the woods managed to escape back to where his mother sat. He told his mother to call the police and Dodd was apprehended. Dodd received yet another slap on the wrist, in spite of the fact that prosecutors stressed his history of sex crimes. He served 118 days in jail and one-year probation. His fantasies sunk to new depths, and he began to depersonalize his targets, thinking of them as it, rather than he or she. He wrote in his diary, if I can just get it home.... On Labor Day weekend at David Douglas Park, he hid beside a trail. His plans were frustrated by hikers, watchful parents and by the whimsy of the children themselves, who would come tantalizingly close, only to dart down a side path or skip back the other way from where he hid. Dodd gave up, but the pressure to indulge his perverse and twisted desire to molest and kill a young child was overpowering and he returned to the park in the early evening hours, determined not to fail. The Neer Brothers Billy, 10, and his big brother Cole, 11, were late getting home from collecting golf balls from the local golf course, so decided to take the shortcut through the park. They came upon Dodd, blocking their way on the dirt trail. Dodd did not waste time and ordered the boys to follow him. The boys did as instructed, possibly out of fear when realizing the usually busy park was deserted so late in the day. Once off the trail, it took Dodd only 20 minutes to molest the boys, stab them and clean up the evidence. Cole took most of the abuse, probably in an attempt to save his younger brother, but nothing could save either boy from the pure evil which possessed Dodd. Dodd slashed at the boys and believing both boys were dead, he took off. Billy was found first, still alive, but he would die shortly after being taken to the hospital. Coles body was found several hours later after the Neers reported that their sons were missing and authorities knew to look for a second child. At first, Dodd worried that police would somehow link him to the murder of the Neer brothers, but Dodds unspeakable lusts were only heightened by his successful kills. His monstrous thoughts reached new depths of depravity. He pondered the greater thrill of castrating a young boy and watching the child bleed to death, or to keep him alive so that Dodd could cook the victims genitals in front of him and force feed them to the child. Possibly, he considered, the terror would actually be worse if Dodd himself ate them in front of their previous owner. Lee Iseli When Dodd realized that the police had no leads in the murders of the Neer boys, he began to plan his next move. He drove across the bridge to Portland, Oregon and cruised the parks and playgrounds, having some near misses. He finally went to a movie theater, but no opportunity to abduct a child presented itself. The next day he went to Richmond School Playground. Some older kids were playing football, but he noticed four-year-old Lee Iseli playing alone on a slide. Dodd asked little Lee if he wanted to have some fun and make some money. Lee - who had been taught not to talk to strangers - said no, but Dodd grabbed his hand and started toward his car. When Lee began to resist, Dodd told him not to worry, that Lees father had sent Dodd to pick him up. Inside Dodds apartment, Lee was subjected to unimaginable acts of abuse and torture, all carefully documented by Dodds with pictures and entries in his diary. The morning after his capture, Dodds hung Lee Iseli to death in his closet before heading off to work. He took photographs of the little boy dying and hanging dead, hid the body behind some blankets and left. After work, he made an entry in his diary that he would, have to find a place to dump the garbage, meaning the tiny tortured body of Lee Iseli. He decided to leave the boy by the Van Couver Lake and burn any evidence, except for the childs Ghostbusters underpants. Robert Iseli, Lees father, still had hope. Although Lee had been missing for several days, Mr. Iseli made a public statement expressing the hope that Lee had been taken by a lonely, but kindly person, but on the morning of November 1, 1989, all hope ended after the body of Lee Iseli was found. Capture and Confession Dodd, avoiding the local parks, decided that movie theaters would be a good place to hunt his next victim. He went to the New Liberty Theater and waited for a young child to go unattended to the restroom. He managed to get the screaming six-year-old boy outside but was captured by William Ray Graves, the boyfriend of the childs mother. Dodd was interrogated by police from Washington and Oregon, as a suspect in the murders of the Neer brothers and Lee Iseli. At first, he denied having any knowledge about the children and maintained that he only meant to molest the child from the theater. Then his whole attitude changed and he confessed to the murders, delighting in revealing the shocking details. He directed police to his diary, Lee Iselis Ghostbusters briefs, the incriminating photos, and the unused torture rack. Trial and Prosecution Dodd was charged with three counts of first-degree murder plus the attempted kidnapping from the New Liberty Theater. Against his lawyer’s advice, he pleaded not guilty but later changed that to guilty. It was up to a jury to decide the penalty. The district attorney made it clear the verdict he expected. He told the jury, He planned child murders. He committed child murders. He relived and fantasized child murders. With life in prison without the possibility of parole, two of those things are still available to him. The jury was then shown the diary, pictures, and other evidence. Dodds defense called no witnesses and presented no evidence. Dodds attorney, Lee Dane, did offer that no sane person would be capable of these heinous crimes. Dodd received the death sentence on July 15, 1990. No Appeals Dodd refused to appeal his death penalty and chose to hang as the method of execution, claiming he wanted to experience what Lee Iseli had experienced. He told the court, I must be executed before I have an opportunity to escape or kill someone within the prison. If I do escape, I promise you I will kill and rape and enjoy every minute of it. When You Meet a Stranger His date of execution was set for January 5, 1993. He received a lot of attention because no legal hanging had been done in the U.S. since 1965. Dodd enjoyed telling his story to the media and he wrote a pamphlet on how to avoid child molesters entitled When You Meet a Stranger. During the months before his execution, Dodds seemingly turned to the Bible for comfort. During one of his interviews, he said, I believe what the Bible teaches: Ill go to Heaven. I have doubts, but Id really like to believe that I would be able to go up to the three little boys and give them a hug and tell them how sorry I was and be able to love them with a real true love and have no desire to hurt them in any way. Last Words Westley Allan Dodd was executed at 12:05 a.m. on June 5, 1993. His final statement was, I was once asked by somebody, I dont remember who, if there was any way sex offenders could be stopped. I said, No. I was wrong. I was wrong when I said there was no hope, no peace. There is hope. There is peace. I found both in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Look to the Lord, and you will find peace. There were no apologies for his crimes, no obvious look of remorse. Outside the prison, those who were in support of the execution could be heard chanting rhymes like What the heck stretch his neck while the non-supporters wept at the news that his execution had gone on as planned.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 15

Assignment Example For example, the electricity bills of the factories or the taxes paid on land are fixed costs because even if no production takes place in the factories, these costs would still be incurred. Variable costs, on the other hand, are those costs that are directly related to the number of units produced (Case & Fair, 2007). For example, depending on the number of cars produced, the variable costs would differ because for every additional car produced, the company would incur costs in components such as doors, engines, glasses, mirrors, seats, etc. As the demand of new cars increases, the demand curve shifts to the right (D1). This means that for the same price (P0), a higher quantity of cars (Q1) would be demanded. As a result, firms can observe higher profits by increasing the price, which in return causes the demand to decrease until the intersection of D1 and S0 is reached. At this point (E*), the market is in equilibrium. As demand for new cars increased and demand for used cars decreased, firms would decrease prices of the used cars to increase sales. Therefore, overall, the price and output of used cars would decrease. An obvious opportunity cost for funding the Scrappage Scheme is that the government could have used that money on other areas of the transport industry. For instance, if the government observed a decline in the number of cars purchased, due to recession and increasing fuel prices, it could have made investments to boost the public transport sector and could have promoted the usage of public transport and created more job opportunities there. There are many reasons why PED for cars is likely to be more elastic in large cities. Firstly, the larger cities, such as London, are economic hubs of UK and they have a good infrastructure present. These places offer a large of substitutes for cars to the consumers. There are many forms of public transports available, for example. The consumers can

Japanese Attacks on Pearl Harbor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Japanese Attacks on Pearl Harbor - Essay Example Pearl Harbor resulted in American participation in World War II. On the next day of attack, US declared war against Japan with equal support of American congress. US did not respond as per the requirements because US had already promised Britain support against Germany. Aim of this paper is to study the reasons that compelled Japan to launch a surprise attack on US naval forces in pacific with a view to study American response to Pearl Harbor attack. Japan moved its aircraft carriers for about 4000 miles deep into the ocean to help the air force to take off for launching attack on Pearl Harbor. The dawn of 7 December 1941 witnessed the destruction of American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor. It was a great the in the history of military combats. Japanese air force launched attack in two waves. Japan used six aircraft carries for launching its air force against the US fleet (Clausen & Lee 2001). Japanese air force played havoc in the first wave and caused sudden destruction of American battleships. Total destruction could not be caused as main air craft carriers of American naval forces were sailing hundred miles away from the Pearl Harbor. Commander Mitsuo led the attack on Pearl Harbor. Attack caused 3500 hundred death and wound injuries to American troops. Eight main battleships including USS Arizona were destroyed in the attack (Borch & Martinez 2005). US Arizona got blasted because of fire in ammunition magazine of the ship and then sunk in a short time. There were numerous objectives behind Japanese attack on pacific fleet. ... US Arizona got blasted because of fire in ammunition magazine of the ship and then sunk in a short time. There were numerous objectives behind Japanese attack on pacific fleet. Main reasons of attack were as under. US president Roosevelt had imposed economic and military sanctions on Japan in retaliation to Chinese invasion by Japan American continuously warned Japan to end the war in China through peaceful negotiations (Prange, et al 1988). All exports of oil, robber and iron were banned on Japan. This started severely damaging economy of Japan. Japan could no longer bear the crippling effects of American sanctions on it s economy and military. Sanctions put real strain on oil supply to Japan as Japan lost more than 90% of oil supplies due to crippling sanctions (Clausen & Lee 2001). These American sanctions filled hatred for Americans in the hearts of Japanese and they started preparing for teaching America a bitter lesson in Pearl Harbor. Breakout of Second World War cleared the w estern intentions towards Japan. Japanese government had noticed western hostilities towards its territory (Wohlstetter 1962). This made Japan more vigilant for its security in the region. Japan never wanted its forces to withdraw from China. US were pressing hard to start negotiations with Chinese authorities to end the conflict. Japan was not ready to take serious notice of American protest against the invasion of China. Japan was keen in expanding its borders for economic needs (Morison 2001). US never wanted expansion of Japan because of its own vested interests in the region. Japan also adopted the diplomatic way to convince US but US did not agree on Japan’s terms. Japan wanted its territorial expansion in Asia, free of American

Final Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Ethics - Assignment Example This is to mean that altruistic individuals live for the sake of the good of others. As seen in the research conducted by Albee (2014), the author also explains that individuals have the obligation to act not on their own needs but on the needs of others. On the other hand, utilitarianism works on the grounds that a good act is one that increases the satisfaction of individuals as well as the society at large (Albee, 2014). However, the individuals in question are expected to lead a happy life. A maximization of utility is the basis on utilitarianism such as individuals seeking to lead a successful life, having stability in life, minimize chances of them suffering (Albee, 2014; Braybrooke, 2004). This means that the ends substantiate the means for the case of utilitarianism. The proponents of utilitarianism include Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. One of the major differences between altruism and utilitarianism is that altruism does not advocate for any form of individualism while utilitarianism advocates for general good, but the individual can to satisfy their needs. Utilitarianism produces happiness while altruism focuses on reducing any chance that unhappiness may occur in individuals (Albee, 2014; Braybrooke, 2004). Altruism and utilitarianism are similar in that both advocate for happiness as the end result of all actions of humans. Both ethical perspectives have some element of morality in them. The two also have some form of pain and satisfaction after an action (Albee, 2014; Braybrooke, 2004). The case of altruism can be well explained in the case of volunteering in a job as opposed to getting a job that would be well paying. When an individual forego a well-paying job to go for a volunteer job such as planting trees or caring for the elderly or sick patients, this may be termed as altruism since the individual has opted to sacrifice

Introduction to Communication-Positive Responses to Relational Personal Statement

Introduction to Communication-Positive Responses to Relational Conflicts-discussion - Personal Statement Example I would lash out, and this led to verbal conflict towards my workmates. The whole situation led to decreased productivity, and it got the attention of the manager. In any workplace, healthy environments lead to empowered employees, and lack of that leads to decreased productivity (Daudelin, 38). Healthy environments ensure that there is mutual respect between the manager and the employee as well as between the employees (Daudelin, 38). In this situation, the manager decided to take a collaborative approach by having a sit-down with members of the team and addressing the issues. Understanding this situation makes the issues clear and coherent (Daudelin, 40). The manager addressed the issue of how tasks assignment in the workplace, and embarked on making changes that ensured that these tasks were equal. The issue was solved the issue in this

The Effects of Mass Media on Modern Youth Essay

The Effects of Mass Media on Modern Youth - Essay Example Youths’ view on things, opinions as well as attitudes change so much too. They have a tendency of copying styles of famous people leading to them forgetting who they really are. They try their best to look like celebrities and forget to work hard in school for good marks. The internet enhances a mode of style, behavior and fashion that leads to youths looking alike and behave similarly. This internet influence leads to social segregations; rich youths of the age between 15 and 18 slur poor ones. Unfortunately, this leads to crop of uncouth social practices. The negatives portrayed by the youths in the society are a result of the willingness to awaken people about them. For instance, the negative effects of addiction are spread through advertisements. Newspapers, internet and TV are used to pass social messages. But sorry to say sometimes, the message conveyed is misconstrued. The ‘awakening often does not reach everyone as intended or it reaches the public in the wrong way (Jacobs, 1992). As such, there are a proportion of youths that is influenced by media while there is another proportion that takes the message in the wrong way. Media overloads youths with lots of information. It is so addictive that once a person is glued to it, he or she tends to forget everything else. In most occasions, when youths are not watching television, they are surfing the internet, when they are not on the web, they are probably reading newspapers, and when they are not reading anything, they are likely listening to something.

Introduction to Communication-Positive Responses to Relational Personal Statement

Introduction to Communication-Positive Responses to Relational Conflicts-discussion - Personal Statement Example I would lash out, and this led to verbal conflict towards my workmates. The whole situation led to decreased productivity, and it got the attention of the manager. In any workplace, healthy environments lead to empowered employees, and lack of that leads to decreased productivity (Daudelin, 38). Healthy environments ensure that there is mutual respect between the manager and the employee as well as between the employees (Daudelin, 38). In this situation, the manager decided to take a collaborative approach by having a sit-down with members of the team and addressing the issues. Understanding this situation makes the issues clear and coherent (Daudelin, 40). The manager addressed the issue of how tasks assignment in the workplace, and embarked on making changes that ensured that these tasks were equal. The issue was solved the issue in this

Aviation Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Aviation Safety - Essay Example Success in this endeavor is defined by the extent to which aviation security personnel remain one step ahead of terrorists. When the "Shoe Bomber," Richard Reed, was able to board a transatlantic commercial airliner following 9/11, it marked a monumental failure of aviation security. Since then the sight of airline passengers in security checkpoints removing their footwear has become commonplace. Obviously, adjusting security to account for methods of terror that have already been attempted is essential. However, the real success of security happens when those threats are predicted and guarded against before anyone actually carries them out. Among all such threats that have been contemplated, there is one that stands out as a glaring risk about which shockingly little has been done. That is the potential for checked luggage and cargo loaded into the hold of an airplane to be rigged with explosives. To date, no airline or airport routinely screens checked bags and cargo for explosives. Some small scale pilot projects are in the works to test methods of doing this. Nevertheless, it is quite surprising that five years after 9/11, a terrorist could go to an airport and check through a bomb-laden suitcase that very likely would make it aboard a commercial airliner. ... ee's antitrust subcommittee, faulted airlines for not ensuring that a person who checks luggage actually gets on the flight, already the practice in Europe. At the same time, he noted, checked bags are not routinely screened for explosives." The AP went on to quote Senator Kohl stating, "On a given day, a group of saboteurs could load up 12 different airplanes across the country with explosives, go home, and we would have a disaster." The airline industry responded that it would be impossible to match luggage to passengers given the structure of the U.S. air travel system; and even if it were possible, such an undertaking would not thwart a terrorist who was willing to die by boarding the flight on which his/her checked bags contained a bomb (Associated Press, 2001). Donald Carty, President and CEO of American Airlines, asserted that a bag to passenger matching system would ultimately lead to reduced flights and layoffs. Senator Kohl described a two-pronged problem with aviation security. The first, and arguably the key, issue is that checked luggage makes its way on board commercial airliners without being screened for explosives or other potential threats. Secondarily, the failure to ensure that those who check luggage actually board their flight makes it possible for someone to place a bomb aboard a flight with no risk to him/herself. Arguably, if the former problem were adequately addressed, then the latter one would not be nearly as great a concern. Many would consider it shocking that even before 9/11 checked luggage was not screened. The procedure of going through airport security checkpoints, scanning carry-on items and going through metal detectors fostered a false sense of security in many people. Surely, many would think, if such precautions were taken with

The korean conflict Essay Example for Free

The korean conflict Essay The Korean conflict had a number of factors that contributed to it. One of the factors although it is not the major one could be the size of Korea as a country which is small in the middle of large countries such as Russia, China and Japan. Because of this fact, each surrounding country wanted to take over Korea to be under their territory, something which Korea had trouble in dealing with. Most of the time, she could find herself under the control of the neighbors like China which controlled her at intervals for over 1000 years. The major cause of the conflict came into play when Japan took control of Korea just like the other neighboring countries had done. They ruled Korea from 1904 until the end of the World War II when the Soviet Union and the United States of America joined forces to drive Japanese out of the Korean territory. They agreed that after the Soviet Union was to rule in the north with the United States taking the Southern Korean. The 38 parallel was to make the dividing line between the North and the South Korea. The two countries ruled for a period of two years after which they both left Korea. The North which was under the Soviet Union leadership was left with a communist government while the south which was under the leadership of the US, a democratic government was left behind . Because of the need for unity between the north and the south, problems started. There were two governments in place: one formed by the southern people which was a democratic government and the other one was a communist government. The northern government formed the democratic people’s republic of Korea which was headed by Kim II Sung as a prime minister and the southern government was led by Syngman Rhee who was their president. The north wanted Korea unified as a communist state with the south advocating for a democratic state. Elections were held to form a single government between the North and the south and were supposed to be supervised by the UN to ensure that they were fair. Elections were held, of which the South was declared to have been undertaken in a free and fair way but the Northern region’s elections could not be accepted because the UN supervisors could not be allowed into the North by the Soviets who were present. As a result, they were declared unacceptable. This led to formation of the separate states. Disputes started to emerge between the two sides with each side becoming more aggressive . The United States pulled out its soldiers from the south from 40,000 who were there to only 500 soldiers and limited the number of weapons they were sending to the region. This was partly because of the fear of the southern president attacking the North and also because of the policy that had been passed in the US concerning Asia (NSC 48/2) . Because of the power that the Soviet and China had developed through military advancement such that by 1949 they already had a nuclear bomb, the US opted for a different way of resolving the conflict other than war . In 1950, the troops from North Korea launched a surprise attack on the south. The UN intervened and called an emergency meeting on the same day but the meeting was boycotted by the Russian security delegation because the UN had recognized Chiang Kai-Shek’s government as the official government in Taiwan and ignored Mao’s communist rule in Beijing. At the meeting, it was claimed by the US that North Korea had interfered with world peace by attacking South Korea. America wanted North Korean troops to back off from the 38 parallel, a view that was supported by nine out of the eleven member countries. On 27th of June 1950, the US suggested that the UN should use force to get the North Korean troops out of the south because of them boycotting the Security Council . The UN formulated its plans in which 16 member states were to provide troops under the joint command of the UN which could support the South Korean army. The UN troops were under the command of an American General MacArthur. The UN troops launched an attack against the North Korean troops in September of 1950 and managed to effectively cut North Korean army into two and managed to push them out of the south. They continued advancing to the North Korean territory despite the warnings from China. This led to an attack on the UN troops by China between 1950 and 1951 managing to push back the UN forces. MacArthur was sucked by President Truman after they had clashed generating the war into a stalemate between the UN and China. They agreed on a ceasefire at Panmunjon in 1953 which still exists to date . The reasons that brought about conflicts between the North and South Korea were not justified. This was not North Korean verses South Korean war but instead it was a war between the US and the Soviet Union. It was the battle for supremacy between the US and the Soviet Union that fueled the conflicts between the two regions. In the first place, they are the ones who brought differences between the north and the south by first dividing them and instilling in them different forms of governance. Because of the effects that the war could have on the people of both the South and North Korea, the Northern troops could have desisted from entering the southern territory. From the start, it was evident that because of the differences that existed between the two, forming a unity government could do them more harm than good hence they should have continued with the separate governments they had formed . The cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union was more or less the same as the Korean conflict because it was still the struggle for supremacy between the Soviet Union and the US led to these wars. It was because of President Woodrow Wilson’s commitment to liberal internationalism that was aimed at promoting democracy together with free enterprise that conflicted with the Soviet Unions’ world wide class revolution which was aimed at bringing a socialist future that triggered the cold war. Differing economic interests between the two is also thought to have brought about the conflict. The US was out to create a new currency stabilizing scheme which the Soviet Union was opposed to because it was based on American capitalism. The issue of military superiority also had a hand in the conflict. The Soviet Union was the second most powerful and the US felt threatened by it. Therefore, it was keen on increasing its military capacity. The two came face to face in their fight for supremacy and had to deal with one another . Looking at the factors that led to the Korean conflict and those that contributed to the cold war, it is evident that the driving force between the two was the battle for supremacy between the Soviet Union and the US. These battles had significant effects to both states. It led to an expensive arms race which involved development of nuclear weapons, brought about alliances between states for and against each of the two and also had economic implications. They also led to propaganda wars and created a military and bureaucracy complex. It was not healthy for both of them and the world at large because of the tensions that it brought with them. Therefore, it is important for measures to be put in place to ensure that there is sovereignty among countries to avoid conflicts. BIBLIOGRAPHY Burton Ira Kaufman. The Korean conflict. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group. 1999. Robert Buzzanco, â€Å"What Happened to the New Left? Toward a Radical Reading of American Foreign Relations† Diplomatic History, Vol 23 No 4 Fall, 1999, pp. 575-607 Roger George Stoven. Korean conflict: negotiation vs. armed settlement. Minnesota: Mankato State College, 1972. Mahavir Prasad Srivastava. The Korean conflict: search for unification. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India (1982). Melvyn P Lefler. A Preponderance of Power: National Security, the Truman Administration and the Cold War (Stanford, 1992). Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Pleshakov, Inside the Kremlin’s Cold War: from Stalin to Khrushchev (Cambridge, MA, 1996)

I Have A Dream Speech

I Have A Dream Speech Martin Luther King astounded America with his historic I have a dream speech. His demand for racial justice and a unified society became mantra for the black community and is as known to successive American generations as the US Declaration of Independence. In his speech, King stresses upon equality and presents his dream of an ideal non-racist community. The speech is divided into two halves. The first half shows the picture of seeing American nightmare of racial injustice rather than an idealized American dream. It then makes a demand for action and set some goals to achieve. The second half of the speech describes the dream of a better future racial integrity and equilibrium. King has a very sophisticated voice in the speech. He makes his speech effective by using several large and descriptive words rather than short and direct words. All around the speech, King uses various metaphors such as America has given the Negro a bad check. The speech is directed towards Kings fellow Americans. All over the speech, King make use of the words, our and we when he refers to others. This shows that he is not speaking specifically to the white or black Americans, but to the country as a whole. This is supported by, must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ their destiny is tied to ours, and in the line we cannot talk alone. To increase the rhetorical effect in his speech, King uses a rhetorical device, anaphora in which words are repeated at the beginning of neighboring clauses. A pattern is set by repeating the words twice, and further repetitions signify the sequence and increase rhetorical effect. For instance, I have a dream is repeated in eight successive sentences. Moreover, King has made the clever use of repetition of key theme words throughout the body of his speech. For example king has used key words like freedom, we, our, nation, America justice and dream, to highlight important themes he has tried to discuss in his speech. In addition to above, King has made extensive use of allusions in order to make his speech more credible. He starts his speech with five score years ago à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ which refers to Abraham Lincolns famous speech which began similarly, Four score and seven years ago à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This allusion is particularly emotional given that King was speaking at the front of Lincolns Memorial. His fourth paragraph, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is a reference to US Declaration of Independence. To provide moral basis of his arguments, King uses numerous Biblical allusions. The allusion in the second paragraph, It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity, refers to Pslams, For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. [30:5] Further in the eighth paragraph, the allusion Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of hatred a nd bitterness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ alludes Jermiah for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. [2:13] King provides numerous geographic references like Mississippi, Georgia, Albama, California, etc. throughout his speech. Mississippi is mentioned on four different occasions; King has a logic and purpose behind this. He wants to evoke some of the strongest emotions and images for his audience relating to various incidents that would have taken place at the above mentioned places. Additionally, King uses generic geographic references like, slums and ghettos of our northern cities, the south, from every mountainside, and from every village and every hamlet, thus making his message more inclusive. To associate his speech concepts with concrete images and emotions, King has used Metaphors. For example, to contrast separation with racial justice, King uses the contrasting metaphors of dark and desolate valley (of separation) and sunlit path (of racial justice). He used metaphors in paragraph two, joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity, at paragraph three, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity, at paragraph six, rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice, at paragraph seven, This sweltering summer of the Negros legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality, and at paragraph nineteen, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. Despite all the rhetorical devices King has used, what makes his speech strong is his focus on the problems he confronted. For instance, at the start of second of the speech, in answer to the question from his cynics, When will you be satisfied? King launches a rhetorical pattern, We can never be satisfied until followed by list of injustices that King wished to see abolished, including, barbarism, separation, and neglect of voter rights. He left no stone unturned in listing critical problems that African-American faced. Secondly, the power of his speech lies in the captivating vision of justice, equality, and brotherhood, that King cast in his speech. Here the rhetorical waves start with the popular, I have a dream, followed by gripping articulations of Kings vision of racial impartiality and justice: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed Thirdly, the strength of Kings words lie in the non-violent methods he purposed. Although King and his followers faced serious injustice, and there was a great difference between reality and vision King advocated, he remained unshaken in his commitment to non-violence. For example, in the seventh paragraph, King said, We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.   Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.   Carefully choosing the language and structure of his speech, King left little room for weaknesses. Although King focused his speech primarily for the rights of black Americans, the message is all logical. He talks about nothing controversial in his speech neither does he degrade white Americans. He speaks for the best interests of everyone. This is why his speech is still considered so important by the Americans. Part of an extensive black movement, King challenged the white Americans to extend their claims of genuine freedom to his people. Moreover, King used all his means to inspire black Americans to believe in genuine freedom for themselves. The primary message from the speech was equality. America now bears the slogan of the message he gave decades back and black Americans are better than ever in the American society. (Word Count approx. 1200)

Othello and Desdemona Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare, Marriag

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello and Desdemona’s marriage was doomed from the start. They did not start well; their marriage was controversial because of their race and Othello’s failure to follow proper etiquette while he was courting her. However these issues could have been overcome with time. The biggest problem is Othello’s attitude to Desdemona. Othello’s model of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. She becomes untouchable in Othello’s mind, and he begins to distance himself from her. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as â€Å"Alabaster†(5.2.5) he will never consider her capable of responding to his love. Because Othello is at his wit’s end when he refers to her as â€Å"Alabaster†, he is speaking out of his heart. When Othello receives a letter from Venice informing him that he is to return home and leave Casio in command of Cyprus he is greatly enraged. As a result he loses his grip on sanity and begins to speak in less cohesive manner. Take the line, â€Å"Pish! Noses, ears, and lips. Isn’t Possible? Confess! Handkerchief! O devil!†(4.1.42) contains none of Othello’s former eloquence. He begins to speak with word association, rather than in complete sentences. The word â€Å"confess!† brings up the word â€Å"Handkerchief!†, and â€Å"devil!†. Because Desdemona, the handkerchief, and the sense of maliciousness were on his mind so much, he begins to express with abstract words and ideas instead of sentences. Although this makes his lines harder to read, they show us what he is constantly thinking of. Instead of clear and concis e lines, they are a torrent of his true feelings. In the... ... Because of his high view of her, he creates a complex of his own insignificance. From his point of view, Desdemona is unable to love him because she is too elemental to have emotion. Othello has, put simply, encased Desdemona in alabaster. He has formed an opinion of her from which she is unable to break free. Because he has so strongly locked her into this state of mind he is unable to think of him in any other way. She is so high up on the pedestal that he puts her on that he is unable to see who she truly is. This is Othello’s failing. By making her too powerful, too divine, any minor fault is a glaring defect to her immaculate surface. Then at the first flaw, she becomes low and nothing, and he needs to return her to her former glory. He must â€Å"Quench thee†¦ [and] again they former light restore†(5.2.9). He fails to see her love through her alabaster covering.

Fact Verses Fiction in OBriens The Things They Carried Essay

Fact Verses Fiction in O'Brien's The Things They Carried "The difference between fairy tales and war stories is that fairy tales begin with 'Once upon a time,' while war stories begin with 'Shit, I was there!'" (Lomperis 41). How does one tell a good war story? Is it important to be accurate to the events that took place? Does the reader need to trust the narrator? In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien examines what it takes to tell a good war story. He uses his own experiences in Vietnam in conjunction with his imagination to weave together a series of short stories into a novel. First, the reader must understand just what makes a good "war story". The protagonist of the novel, Tim O'Brien, gives us his interpretation of it in the chapter "How to Tell a True War Story". A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit if rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue. As a first rule of thumb, therefore, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil (O'Brien 68-69). With this concept, we can assess and place value on the stories presented in The Things They Carried. Yet, it is still not that simple. The reader is continually challenged to question what is real and what is imagined. The evaluation of each narrator is constant. While the protagonist continues to remind the ... ...y matter if they're true stories (Lomperis 54). Works Cited Bonn, Maria S. "Can Stories Save Us? Tim O'Brien and the efficacy of the text (The Vietnam War)." CRITIQUE: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 36.1 (Fall 1994); 2-16. Calloway, Catherine. "How to tell a true war story: Metafiction in 'The Things They Carried'." CRITIQUE: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 36.4 (Summer 1995); 249-258. Kaplan, Steven. "The Undying Uncertainty of the Narrator in Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried'." CRITIQUE: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 35.1 (Fall 1993); 43-53. Lomperis, Timothy J. "Reading the Wind" The Literature of the Vietnam War . Durham: Duke UP, 1987. Neilson, Jim. Warring Fictions: American Literary Culture and the Vietnam War Narrative. Jackson: Mississippi UP, 1998 O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried . New York: Broadway, 1990.

Unforgettable Memories of A Weekend in New York

Mum handed my sister and me our passports and boarding tickets, hugged us tightly for what seemed like five minutes, and waved goodbye to us as trickled down her cheeks. It sounds strange to say this but I couldn't stop smiling, and neither could Sarah, my 19-year-old sister who was my guardian for the weekend. She was such a laugh, and always had something funny to say about everything. I knew it was going to be a fun and unforgettable weekend. The plane was due to depart from Heathrow to New York at one that Friday afternoon of the 13th October. As we sat laughing a joking the departures lounge our flight number was displayed on the huge television screen, and next to it the word ‘Boarding' flashed. It was time to leave. We picked up hand luggage and headed towards gate number 13. ‘Typical! ‘ I said to myself in my head, ‘Out of all 50 gates I we have to board through the unluckiest number of them all! ‘ Still, I'm not a very superstitious person; I'm just not that keen on flying. Anyway, I didn't let onto my sister about my nerves, she'd only make me feel worse! We had been sat on the plane for about 3 hours, and only four to go.  Like read about memories? Read also  Flashbulb memory! Everyone sat around us had been drinking and so they were all merry and laughing and joking about, that made me feel slightly more relaxed but I still couldn't wait to get off the plane. I sat in my seat and watched the film ‘Almost Famous' I was amazed by size of the television and how they fitted in the seat, my sister just laughed at me and told me I needed to get out more. Before I knew it, it was time to land. I fastened my seatbelt and began to feel slightly nauseous as the plane began to descend. We finally landed and after around 10 minutes we were allowed to get up and head to the doors. As I stepped off the plane the ice cold air hit me and I wrapped my arms around myself to help stay warm. The pilot had said as we landed that it was around -20C but I hadn't realised how cold that was. We caught a yellow taxi to our ‘motel' and got straight into bed. We had a long day ahead. I woke up at 8 and we walked to a local cafeteria for a bagel and cup of coffee. I was amazed at everything the surroundings, everything was so different from back home. ‘First stop, the Empire State Building, get a good view of the whole place ok? ‘ I replied to my sister with a nod and a laugh as we looked around to see everyone staring. I don't think everyone in the cafeteria was that impressed that she managed to spit out half her bagel as she asked me that question, but I found it amusing and we fell about laughing together. We caught a taxi to the building and entered a lift which took us halfway up the building, we then had to swap to another lift because the building is so tall that having only one lift would cause the cables to snap. Being told this by the guide didn't exactly help with my fear of heights. Finally, we reached the top and the view was just breathtaking. I had never seen anything like it. I stood there speechless for about thirty minutes, and looked out over the city for miles. I t was a surreal experience and views that imprinted my mind. Next up, we had to catch a ferry to Statton Island to see the world-famous Statue of Liberty. I took pictures but I knew the photos wouldn't show the astounding statue that stood for me. We caught a ferry back to the mainland and walked around Time Square. It held a resemblance to Piccadilly Circus, but was somewhat more exciting. We both looked like typical tourists with our huge bags, maps and cameras but everyone around was friendly and helped us with directions. It was getting late in the afternoon and we had been shopping for an hour or so and ended up in a nail bar. We sat there giggling together as we slurped our chocolate milkshakes and had our nails painted. By 9. 30pm we were both shattered but my sister said there was one last thing we had to do. I had no idea where we were going and all I can remember is it is somewhere off Fifth Avenue but we soon arrived at a huge outside ice rink. I was so excited I couldn't wait to try skating. We skated for about an hour, it was even colder being on the ice but we both managed to skate round at least once without falling over each other. We laughed so much and everyone around us laughed at us too but we didn't care. After that we headed back to the hotel. I collapsed onto the bed still dressed in my clothes and was out like a light. I slept like a log and didn't wake until the alarm went off at 7 that morning. We headed to the same cafeteria again for our morning bagel and coffee. Soon after that we hit the shops for some serious shopping. The selection of clothes and gadgets was never ending, each shop we entered I had to buy something. After a good few hours shopping we visited St Patricks's Cathedral, it was a big tourist attraction -there were a lot of English and Irish people around there, but it wasn't really that appealing to us so we didn't stay long. The last place we had left to visit was Ground Zero, we felt that as we were in New York we had to go and pay our respects. The area was devastating and very emotional. The memorial listed all the names of those who had died in the tragedy and I found it really upsetting and felt homesick, even though I had only been away two days. My sister hugged me and said to me ‘Let it make you realise what you've got and don't take it for granted. This is why you have to live life to the full and take every opportunity that comes along. Its not every day you get taken for a weekend shopping in New York is it? † she then smiled at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She was always capable of putting a smile back on my face, no matter how I felt. My sister had always been known as a joker and so to hear her say something like this really meant a lot. We got back to the hotel mid-afternoon and packed up our bags. Our flight departed at 6 that evening and we were on our way home. We landed at Heathrow at 1 in the morning. I had slept for most of the plane and car journey home. I walked in the front of the door of my house and inhaled deeply, it smelt of home, and I smiled to myself. The holiday was really fun and it had taught me a lot, it brought me closer to my sister and the advice she gave me at ground zero will stay with me forever, and the new experiences will stay with me forever too. I hope to return back there in the near future, to relive my happy memories.

British Gas HRM Case Study Essay

The UK enjoys a wealth of indigenous energy resources and has the technical expertise and experience to exploit them. Much of this expertise is being utilized in gainful commercial ventures overseas. In its position as one of the most energy-rich countries in Europe, the UK is uniquely placed to profit from a strong energy market. Expenditure on energy amounted to  £99.87bn in 2008. UK householders spent  £40.67bn on energy products, representing 5.2% of total consumer expenditure. Privatization has provided the impetus for competition, resulting in a major restructuring of the energy industries and the companies involved. Restructuring commenced in the late 1980s with the privatization of the gas sector, closely followed by similar moves in the electricity, coal and nuclear sectors. Oil resources had always been in private hands. Full liberalization was achieved in May 1999, with the completion of the opening up of the electricity market. All consumers, both domestic and business, are now free to choose their supplier of gas or electricity. A succession of bids, notably in the electricity sector where many of the regional electricity companies (RECs) are under new ownership, has changed the nature and structure of the energy industry. Thus, public electricity suppliers have evolved since privatization into complex structures embracing diverse businesses. Most have extended their interests into generation or are part of wider groups with major interests in generation. . Acquisitions by foreign concerns, notably from the US and from Europe, have created a much more international industry. The  £10bn take-over of Powered PLC by E.ON of Germany remains on track for completion in 2002. However, the  cost of acquiring energy customers has become too high for some US energy groups. The collapse of Enron Corp., the energy trading group, in November 2001, was threatening to destabilize energy markets in the US and Europe. 1.1 BRITISH GAS British Gas is Britain’s favorite domestic energy supplier. As well as providing gas and electricity, they also install and maintain central heating and gas appliances in millions of homes throughout the country. Part of the energy group Centrica, British Gas provides gas, electricity and home repair services to eight million home and business customers in England, Scotland and Wales. It is the UK’s largest operator in the installation and maintenance of domestic central heating and gas appliances, serving 16.6 million customers. In addition, their customers turn to them to provide expert, hassle-free care that takes care of their kitchen appliances, home electrics and plumbing and drains. Everything they do is driven by their desire to deliver high quality products and services. They operate in England and Wales under the British Gas brand name and as Scottish Gas in Scotland. Among a total workforce of 28,000, British Gas employs more than 9,000 trained engineers who carry out servicing and break-down calls. In 2008, 2.2% of its engineering workforce was female and 4.6% were from an ethnic minority background. Against the background of a highly competitive energy market, they continue to be the first choice gas supplier for millions of customers. What’s more, since the residential electricity market opened to competition in 1998, they’ve grown to become the largest supplier of electricity to residential customers in Britain. 2.0 Challenges faces by HR managers at British Gas Over the last 20 years, the workplace has changed in more ways than one could have ever imagined, resulting from the increase in technology, innovation and globalization, new employment legislations, different attitude in society, economic recession and ethnic diversification. The next decade will bring even greater change, impacting all facets of the workplace, including major changes for the HR department and HR managers. In order to respond to the demands of globalization, HR managers at British gas will require new  skills and competencies relating to language and culture, technology capabilities, methods to measure and quantify effectiveness and evaluate strategies and return on investment. Evidently, these skills and competencies will result in an emerging new role for HR managers, requiring them to be strategic business partner, supportive of the overall corporate strategy. The role of HR managers has changed from a less administrative role to more of a strategic role. HR managers will continually be required to prove their effectiveness and their existence. They will be expected to understand strategic business practices and promote cultural diversity within the organization. They will need to understand the core business of the organization and become partners with line managers. They will need to prove that their initiatives and programs are result-oriented, providing specific measurable results in terms of business competitiveness that contribute positively to the bottom-line of the organization. They will be required to stay current with leading edge as more and more organization is faced with the demands of globalization and strategic alliances with other competitive organizations in the energy sector in UK. Whilst the current economic climate is clearly influencing the agenda for HR leaders, the challenges of retaining, motivating and aligning em ployees remain a priority. The results show that more than ever there is pressure on HR to deliver real business impact, and to do so with HR costs constrained. (The green village, 2009) Intuitive talent management systems, designed for the business as well as HR, can play a critical part in ensuring the organizational adoption of any talent strategy. The number of respondents prioritizing the need for performance management, succession and career planning systems shows that HR managers realize the importance of enabling technology in executing talent management programs. Workplace flexibility is expected to be on the rise as the future workplace, the ‘virtual office’ is characterized by creative and flexible work arrangements. As more employees work off-site-up to two thirds of an organization in the 21st century – there will be an increase in emphasis on performance and results as opposed to the number of hours worked. In addition, off-site employees can expect to attend fewer meetings. Specified work will become much more collaborative and management will spend nearly all its time managing cross-functional work teams who enjoy a lot of autonomy. In essence, there will be a movement, a  trend towards a decentralized model of HR. HR managers will have to accommodate employees in their virtual work locations and find ways to manage corporate culture, socialization and employee orientation. In order to obtain and maintain a competent workforce, they must act as organizational performance experts and shape employees behavior without face to face meetings.( Research and markets, 2009) Globalization will impact HR managers by requiring new skills such as language capabilities. For e.g., in order to recruit employees from other cultures, HR managers will either have to learn new languages or else they will certainly have to have foreign speakers on staff. But in order to facilitate communication among p eople coming from a wide range of language backgrounds in UK. Organization must take into account cultural differences that shape managerial attitudes, when developing multinational management programs. For e.g., British managers value individual achievement and autonomy, whereas French managers appreciate competent supervision, fringe benefits, security and comfortable conditions, while Indian managers gives more importance of their culture and tradition. HR managers in British gas must therefore be familiar with and understand other cultural norms to promote organization diversity. An organization that recognizes and promotes cultural diversity will benefit because it will be employing the market that it serves. With increasing globalization and competition within the market, a diverse workforce is conducive to attracting and retaining a strong client base. While competing in an international market, employees from diverse national backgrounds provide language skills and understanding of other cultures. HR professionals will also be responsible for providing cultural sensitivity training for the organizations employees and for managers throughout the entire organization. (Czebter, Anamaria, 2002) HR professionals play a critical role in the globalization process by helping companies evaluate the human resource prospects and possibilities involved in moving to different regions of the world (Marsnik and Luthans, 1997). As the global economic crisis continues to impact businesses, employee retention is seen as the greatest challenge overall. This reflects the need for organizations to identify and retain top talent during a period when internal mobility is essential to retain a competitive edge and ensure  company survival as the UK economy slows. Since 2006, the ‘HR Challenges’ research has found that employee retention is the biggest concern for HR managers. In an unstable economy, employee engagement tools such as effective goal alignment, internal mobility, career planning and succession programs are essential for motivating the workforce. According to reports, almost half of HR managers named ‘a system to improve performance management, succession and career planning’ as the one thing that would help them do their jobs better in 2009. Whilst the current economic climate is clearly influencing the agenda for HR leaders, the challenges of retaining, motivating and aligning employees remain a priority. 3.0 HRM Models 3.1 Guest’s model of HRM David Guest’s (1989, 1997) model of HRM has 6 dimensions of analysis: * HRM strategy * HRM practices * HRM outcomes * Behavior outcomes * Performance outcomes * Financial outcomes The model is prescriptive in the sense that it is based on the assumption that HRM is distinctively different from traditional personnel management .It is idealistic, implicitly embodying the belief that fundamental elements of the HRM approach (essentially those of the Harvard map) such as commitment have a direct relationship with valued business consequences. However, Guest has acknowledged that the concept of commitment is ‘messy’ and that the relationship between commitment and high performance is (or, perhaps, was – given the age of this material) difficult to establish. It also employs a ‘flow’ approach, seeing strategy underpinning practice, leading to a variety of desired outcomes. Like its American predecessors, this UK model is unitarist (tying employee behavior and commitment into the goals of strategic management) and lukewarm on the value of trade unions. The employee relationship is viewed as one between the individual and the organizat ion. 3.2 The Harvard Model of HRM This map is based on an analytical approach and provides a broad causal depiction of the ‘determinants and consequences of HRM policies.’ It shows human resource policies to be influenced by two significant considerations: * Situational factors in the outside business environment or within the firm such as laws and societal values, labor market conditions, unions, work-force characteristics, business strategies, management philosophy, and task technology. According to Beer et al these factors may constrain the formation of HRM policies but (to varying degrees) they may also be influenced by human resource policies. * Stakeholder interests, including those of shareholders, management employees, unions, community, and government. Beer et al argue that human resource policies SHOULD be influenced by ALL stakeholders. If not, ‘the enterprise will fail to meet the needs of these stakeholders in the long run and it will fail as an institution.’ The authors also contend that human resource policies have both immediate organizational outcomes and long-term consequences. Managers can affect a number of factors by means of the policy choices they make, including: – The overall competence of employees, – the commitment of employees, – the degree of congruence between employees’ own goals and those of the organization, and – the overall cost effectiveness of HRM practices. 3.3 HR Activities of British Gas British Gas ran a number of diversity workshops, primarily for its senior and middle managers, to engage them and help them understand what the organization was trying to achieve and why it was trying to achieve it, and show them what a diverse workforce would look like ‘on their patch’. Meanwhile, all managers who are either involved in recruiting and/or managing staff and all recruitment specialists have undergone equality and diversity training to again ensure they fully understand what British Gas is trying to achieve and why, and are able to make decisions free from bias. When recruiting British gas use technical skills to undertake the work to the required standard to having the people skills to deliver excellent  customer services. As a result, recruitment and selection of apprentices and trainees is increasingly focusing on recruiting for attitude. Examples of attributes and competencies that British Gas looks for are listed on the Recruitment website and inclu de: ââ€"  Good communication, organizational and problem-solving skills ââ€"  Aptitude for team work ââ€"  Careful, accurate and methodical approach ââ€"  Polite, tactful, friendly, professional, with a pleasant manner for dealing with customers. With the change in emphasis away from pure technical skills to behaviors and attributes, there were initial concerns that the quality of the intake or the pass rates could drop within the Academy. Carole Willsher says: ‘We were a little worried that we would get apprentices and trainees with great people and communication skills, but who were technically not very good. But that’s not been borne out at all. The pass marks remain very high. It shows that if you’ve got the attitude to want to learn and get on, you can do really well All the recruitment policies, practices and literature have been reviewed to remove any gender or race bias. In addition, a thorough audit of policies and practices to remove any age bias was carried out at group level by parent company Centrica ahead of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations in 2006. It brought to light the need to make a number of changes, the most significant of which was the removal of upper age limits for entrance to the British Gas apprenticeship scheme (Previously, the scheme was targeted at young adults in the 17–23 age range). British Gas is focusing this year on developing partnerships with organizations that have already built strong links with its target audiences, including Job centre Plus; the London Development Agency; housing associations and specialist groups including the Windsor Fellowship, a charity that offers educational and leadership programs to develop diverse young talent; Women and Manual Trades; and YWCA, a charity working with disadvantaged women in England and Wales. 4.0 Recruitment and selection The overall aim of the recruitment and selection process should be to obtain at minimum cost the number and quality of employees required to satisfy the human resource needs of the company. The three stages of recruitment and selection dealt with are 1. Defining requirements – Preparing job descriptions and specifications; deciding terms and conditions of employment; 2. Attracting candidates – reviewing and evaluating alternative sources of applicants; inside and outside the company, advertising, using agencies and consultants; 3. Selecting candidates –sifting applications, interviewing, testing, assessing candidates, assessment centers, offering employment, obtaining references; preparing contract of employment. (Armstrong, 2007) 4.1 British Gas Recruitment and Selection Process The greater focus on customer service skills and personal attributes is reflected throughout the recruitment process itself. The initial application form must now be completed online. Basic biographical information is requested, and applicants are required to complete basic Maths, English and logic tests. However, the key part of the application is a personality/work style questionnaire, which is used to assess an applicant’s suitability. Applicants must respond to a series of questions designed to assess their attitude to work and people. The questionnaire is lengthy, as similar questions are asked in a number of different ways to ensure consistency of responses. Applicants who score highly after this initial screening then have a telephone interview to confirm essential information – for example, to be eligible for the apprentice technical engineer program, applicants must be aged at least 17, must have four GCSEs at grade C or above, and must hold a full or provision al UK driver’s license. Those who pass this stage are then invited to an assessment centre. There are three elements to the assessment day – an interview, a role play exercise and a manual dexterity test. The interview is largely based around questions relating to the candidate’s completed online questionnaire to further assess their personal  attributes and competencies. Similarly, the role play is also used to assess a candidate’s attitude and whether they are able to understand and assimilate information, but more importantly, to see how they deal with customers. The test involves a practical assessment, but no gas-related knowledge is required – it is simply designed to assess whether the candidate is able to follow step-by-step instructions and handle small components. The recruitment process is lengthy but thorough and a big investment in terms of time and resources for British Gas, admits Carole Willsher. ‘But it’s been designed that way to ensure that we ge t the right people with the right skills who will fit into our organization and help us move closer to where we want to be in terms of having a diverse engineering workforce.’ Recruiting is an uncertain game, even at the best of times. On the other hand the larger your pool of candidates, the greater your chance of finding someone who is just right for you. However, this possibility has to be balanced again the fact that you can’t interview hundreds of candidates for every available post. So you need to develop the expertise of defining your job requirements, while ensuring that these requirements are presented to the widest possible field of candidates in the given context. (Pettinger and Allen, 2007) British Gas ran a number of diversity workshops, primarily for its senior and middle managers, to engage them and help them understand what the organization was trying to achieve and why it was trying to achieve it, and show them what a diverse workforce would look like ‘on their patch’. Meanwhile, all managers who are either involved in recruiting and/or managing staff and all recruitment specialists have undergone equality and diversity training to again ensure they fully understand what British Gas is trying to achieve and why, and are able to make decisions free from bias. Selection involves a number of costs; the cost of the selection process itself including the use of various instruments, the future costs of inducting and training new staff and the cost of labor turnover if selected staff is not retained. (Bratton and Gold, 2000) 4.2 British Gas Targeted advertising British Gas uses a variety of ways and media to appeal to its target audiences, including: ââ€"  advertising in magazines like ‘Bliss’ and ‘Sugar’ which are aimed at teenage girls, careers-type websites like Voice and The Asian News, and the gay media ââ€"  redesigning its recruitment advertisements in terms of both images and language to reach Out to people from more diverse backgrounds ââ€"  ensuring that marketing materials such as recruitment brochures and its dedicated recruitment website (www.britishgasacademy.co.uk) portray a diverse range of individuals to help challenge stereotypical attitudes and project an inclusive image – for example, the website contains a number of real apprentice and trainee profiles including Kirk (a BME apprentice technical engineer) and Maria (a female BME trainee electrical field engineer) ââ€"  producing DVDs for schools and partner organizations One of the key objectives of the diversity team is to increase the number of applications from under-represented groups. To attract as wide a range of talent as possible, the team has introduced changes to all areas of the recruitment and selection process, including developing partnerships with organizations that have already established relationships with their target audiences; reviewing all its policies and practices to remove any gender, race or age bias; and changing the emphasis from recruiting for technical ability to recruiting for attitude. 4.3 Outreach The diversity team adopts a number of positive action strategies to raise awareness of the different opportunities available at British Gas among under-represented groups including running taster days and building partnerships with organizations that already work with people who are among their target audience 4.4 Partnership working Recognizing that there are difficulties gaining access to under-represented groups, British Gas is focusing this year on developing partnerships with organizations that have already built strong links with its target audiences, including Job centre Plus; the London Development Agency; housing associations and specialist groups including the Windsor Fellowship, a charity that offers educational and leadership programs to develop diverse young talent; Women and Manual Trades; and YWCA, a charity working with disadvantaged women in England and Wales. Another way that British Gas is developing partnerships is by working with other large employers, particularly those that experience similar issues in the recruitment of a diverse workforce, such as the London Fire Brigade and BT Open reach. The aim of these relationships is to share best practice and data for benchmarking purposes. 4.5 Taster days British Gas regularly runs women-only and BME taster days, with the specific aim of attracting women and ethnic minorities into engineering and apprenticeships. The day is designed to give participants a clearer understanding of the engineering opportunities at British Gas. Attendees are given a presentation on the career paths available, an opportunity to meet engineers to find out what the job is really about, and a chance to question a panel of recruitment and training experts from the Academy. Taster days are usually planned to coincide with the availability of apprentice or trainee positions in a particular area, so that if people are interested by what they find out, they can apply while they are still keen. 4.6 Ambassadors British Gas has developed a network of engineering ‘ambassadors’ from its workforce – apprentices, trainees and qualified engineers – who provide support to the diversity team in recruitment and awareness-raising activities including school visits, careers events and taster days. They are  able to promote a positive side to engineering and their ability to tell people firsthand what they do on a day-to-day basis and what it is really like to work for the organization is a powerful tool in changing perceptions and in motivating young people, women and those from a BME background to consider a ‘non-traditional’ career in engineering. The ambassadors are also used as role models in promotional materials such as DVDs, recruitment brochures and the Academy’s dedicated website, and in media campaigns. 5.0 Training and Development Training enables people to perform better in their jobs, when they perform better they feel pride and fulfillment. (Allen, 1996) To attempt to identify the dynamics in an organization which demonstrate that development of self and others is being taken seriously at all levels and that such investment is having a positive impact on individual and corporate performance. Such a quest begs all sorts of questions, Does strategic training only incorporate that which has a quantifiable effect on business objectives.( Mabey and Salaman ,1999) 5.1 British Gas Training & Development At British Gas take training and development very seriously, beginning with an induction program that will give all the skills need to succeed. They want people training to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience, so have made sure that trainees are involved all the way through from day one until graduation. And trainees will find that the more they put in, the more they’ll get out, with the ultimate goal to be ready for a role within one of our existing British Gas Energy Sales teams. Trainees will learn not only about the history of British Gas, but also brand and what it means. Naturally this will include their fantastic products and services, so trainees’ have the confidence to talk to people about all their energy and home services needs. Company’ll also look at the important sales side of the role, helping trainees refine their existing skills, or develop new ones if they don’t come from a sales background. Once completed training, they’ll be supported through their first few weeks by an experienced buddy who will  be on hand to offer guidance and develop skills further. In addition manager will also regularly review progress and answer any queries so trainee won’t be left feeling on their own. In short, company has an excellent training package waiting for recruits. Training that will give them the skills and knowledge which, in addition to natural enthusiasm, will help take advantage of company position as the largest energy supplier in the UK when speaking with prospective and existing customers. Recruit’ll also be rewarded for efforts with continued development opportunities. 5.2 British Gas AcademyBBBBB Energy Academy Box 2: The British Gas Energy Academy Established in 2003, the British Gas Energy Academy (the ‘Academy’) was set up to address a severe shortage of qualified gas engineers. This was caused largely by the privatization of the gas industry in 1986, which led to major fragmentation of the industry – large organizations were broken up while new players entered the market, and the number of qualified engineers in the UK failed to keep up with demand. With a plan to recruit an additional 5,000 new engineers by 2007/08 to address this skills shortage, and recognizing the significant financial investment this would involve, British Gas created the Academy, bringing together existing internal training centers, the recruitment function and the management of third-party training. This facility enabled British Gas to recruit and train large groups of suitable individuals to become fully competent engineers. The Academy runs two types of training programs for those who choose a career as an engineer: it offers apprenticeships for individuals wishing to become technical engineers responsible for central heating system maintenance and installation, and traineeships, primarily for people looking for a career change, so they become qualified engineers responsible for maintaining electrical and gas appliances. In addition to training new recruits, the training centers are used for mandatory competency training and three-yearly assessments of trained engineers to ensure they maintain their skills and keep up to date with new information and technologies. Today: ââ€"  the remit of the Academy has since been expanded to handle all volume recruitment for British Gas, including call centre and sales staff as well as induction and skills training for call centre and operational agents and team leaders ââ€"  all  recruitment is channeled through a dedicated website, www.britishgasacademy.co.uk, which has around 38,000 visitors a month ââ€"  the Academy invests around  £30 million each year recruiting and training staff ââ€"  training is delivered at a number of purpose-built facilities across the UK, stretching from Hamilton in Scotland to hatcham in Berkshire. 6.0 Performance Management Performance management is a process on performance measurement approaches, such as the balanced scorecard. While the balanced scorecard offers a framework for the collection of strategic information, performance management ensures that results are used to influence the selection of planned actions and to foster the renewal of dynamic, competitive strategy. Unlike most tools and techniques, performance management is a continuous, enterprise-wide process, rather than a one-time, isolated event. Six Performance Management imperatives are Compliance Management, Profitability Management, Cost Management, Performance Improvement, and Business Innovation 6.1 British Gas Performance Management British Gas performance appraisals Serve as an objective basis for communicating about performance and Enable the employee to differentiate between unacceptable and acceptable results. Increasing job, inform new expectations about job performance and encouraging the open and trusting relationship with employees. Performance expectations are the foundation for appraising employee performance. Standards recognize is a baseline for measuring performance. From performance standards, supervisors can provide specific feedback relating the gap between expected and actual performance. 6.2 British Gas use following steps to review employee performances Ask the employee to meet for the review; have the employee estimate progress-to-date. Begin meeting by asking employee to estimate progress-to-date toward each goal. Listen to employee’s comments and take notes. Discuss progress and praise employee, Manager and employee need to engage in fact-finding and determining progress-to-date. It is vital that  regardless of how far away employee is from meeting the goal, manager praise him/her for his/her progress-to-date. Re-negotiate goals and/or resources where deviation is significant, If the deviation is downward, manager and his employee should discuss causes and solutions to agree on appropriate actions. Appropriate actions may include increasing available resources, agreeing on activities which will enable employee to meet goals or adjust the goals downward. If, on the other hand, employee is exceeding goals, manager should discuss how added effort and/or resources may be utilized to further exceed the goal. Manager and his employee may decide to add additional goals at this time as well. Write down new agreements and set a follow-up date, Take notes during the discussion. These should be used as a summary of the agreements so that both manager and his employee can review them. A new follow-up session should be scheduled at a time when the data will be available to evaluate progress toward the goal(s). Thank employee, But what if the performance has been below agreed targets; the appraiser must be able to review and set objectives which will improve performance. Performances discussions are monitored externally to ensure consistency .Staff are introduced to a series of mutual benefits. For the individual it stressed clarity of expectations, strengths, feedback on results and the improvement in motivation and ability to independently gain recognition. For the organization it stresses performance, team sprit, accountability, reduced errors and flexibility. Performance appraisals looks forward to agree standards, targets and training that will help improve performance and achieve company business objectives. 7.0 References Armstrong,M.(2007)A hand book of human resource management practice ,10th ed†¦,London: Kogan Page Hendry,C.(1995) Human resource management a strategic approach to employment , 1st ed†¦, Oxford: Butterworth – Heinemann Marbey,C and Salaman,G. (1998) Human resource management a strategic introduction ,2nd ed†¦, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Bratton,J and Gold,j.(2000) Human resource management theory and practice ,2nd ed†¦,London: MACMILLAN press Schuler,R and Jackson,S (1999) Strategic human resource management , 1st ed†¦, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Allen,J.(1996) Motivating people , 1st ed†¦, London: Kogan Page Forsyth,P.(2001) Developing your staff, 2nd ed†¦, London: Kogan Page Pettinger,R and Allen,K.(2007) Weekend MBA , 1st ed†¦, West Sussex: John Willy & Sons British Gas (2009)’Valuing Employees’, web page accessed on 19/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgas.co.uk Total Success (2009) ‘Performance Appraisals’, web page accessed on 13/12/2009 from http;//www.totalsuccess.co.uk Guardian (2009) ‘ British energy industry’, web page accessed on 10/12/2009 from http;// www.guardian.co.uk British Gas (2009)’British gas academy’, web page accessed on 17/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgas.co.uk British Gas (2009)’Our business’, web page accessed on 08/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgas.co.uk British Gas (2009)’Career influencers’, web page accessed on 15/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgas.co.uk British Gas (2009)’Resources’, web page accessed on 18/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgas.co.uk British Gas (2009)’how we’ve structured’, web page accessed on 19/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgas.co.uk British Gas (2009)’Training and development’, web page accessed on 19/12/2009 from http;//www.britishgasjobs.co.uk