Political Aspects of Lord of the Flies

The â€Å"Lord of the Flies† is an allegorical novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding. It was Golding’s first novel, and was published in the year 1954. Even though it was not a grand success at the time selling fewer than 3,000 copies in the United States throughout 1955 prior to going out of print it went on to turn out to be a bestseller, and mandatory reading in various schools and colleges. It was adapted to film in 1963 by Peter Brook, and once more in 1990. The title is a reference to Beelzebub from the Hebrew name Baalzvuv ב× ¢Ã—Å" ×â€"בוב, and said to be a synonym for the Devil. Lord of the Flies explores the dark side of humankind, the savagery that lies beneath even the most civilized human beings (Faber School Editions, 1962). Golding planned this novel as a tragic parody of children’s adventure tales, demonstrating humankind’s intrinsic evil nature. The author presents the reader with a chronology of events leadi ng a group of young boys from anticipation to disaster as they try to survive their unsupervised, uncivilized, isolated environment until rescued.In the middle of a nuclear war, a group of British boys discover themselves stranded without adult supervision on a tropical island. The group is generally divided into the â€Å"littluns,† boys more or less the age of six, and the â€Å"biguns,† who are among the ages of ten and twelve. Primarily, the boys try to form a culture comparable to the one they left behind. They select a leader, Ralph, who, with the advice and support of Piggy considered as the intellectual of the group, made every effort to set up rules for housing and sanitation. Ralph furthermore makes a signal fire the group’s first priority, hopeful that a passing ship will see the smoke signal and save them. A chief challenge to Ralph’s leadership is Jack, who as well wants to lead. Jack orders a group of choirboys-turned-hunters who sacrifice t he responsibility of tending the fire so that they can partake in the hunts. Jack draws the other boys gradually away from Ralph’s influence for the reason of their natural attraction to and fondness toward the adventurous hunting activities indicating violence and evil.The conflict between Jack and Ralph, and the said forces of savagery and civilization that they correspond to is exacerbated by the boys’ literal horror of a mythical beast wandering the island (Traister, Rebecca 2005). One night, an aerial battle takes place above the island, and a casualty of the battle floats down with his opened parachute, eventually coming to rest on the mountaintop. Breezes occasionally inflate the parachute, making the body seem to sit up and then drop forward again. This sight alarms the boys as they mistake the dead body for the beast they fear. As a result to this panic, Jack forms a splinter group that is ultimately joined by all but a few of the boys. The boys who join Jack are tempted by the protection Jack’s ferocity appears to provide, as well as by the prospect of playing the part of savages: putting on camouflaging face paint, hunting, and presenting ritualistic tribal dances. Ultimately, Jack’s group in fact slaughters a sow and, as a present to the beast, puts the sow’s head on a stick.Of all the boys, only the mystic Simon has the guts to discover the real identity of the beast sighted on the mountain. Subsequent to witnessing the death of the sow and the gift made of her head to the beast, Simon starts to hallucinate, and the staked sow’s head turns out to be the Lord of the Flies, reporting to Simon what he has previously suspected: The beast is not an animal on the loose but is concealed in each boy’s psyche. Weakened by his dreadful vision, Simon loses consciousness. Recovering later that evening, he struggles to the mountaintop and discovers that the beast is merely a dead pilot/soldier. Trying to get the news to the other boys, he slips into the tribal frenzy of their dance. Perceiving him as the beast, the boys beat him to death.Soon just three of the older boys, including Piggy, are still in Ralph’s camp. Jack’s group takes Piggy’s glasses to begin its cooking fires, leaving Ralph incapable to sustain his signal fire. When Ralph and his small group approach Jack’s tribe to ask for the return of the glasses, one of Jack’s hunters releases a big boulder on Piggy, killing him. The tribe captures the other two biguns prisoners, leaving Ralph on his own.  The tribe undertakes a manhunt to look for and kill Ralph, and they begin a fire to smoke him out of one of his hiding places, generating an island-wide forest fire. A passing vessel sees the smoke from the fire, and a British naval officer appears on the beach just in time to save Ralph from definite death at the hands of the schoolboys turned savages.Golding uses many symbolisms in The Lord of t he Flies.   The whole book is symbolic of the nature of human and society generally as the island turns out to be a society metaphorical to society as a whole and the chase at the end of the book symbolic of the war.   A symbol Golding uses all through the book is the conch.   It symbolizes authority and order.   The person holding the conch had the supremacy, and it formed order and rules since when it was called, everybody had to listen.   One more symbol is Piggy’s glasses.   It represents knowledge and insight.   While Piggy had them, he was able to provide advice to the group, such as that of the signal fire.   It was the glasses that produced the fire.   On the other hand, after the glasses are broken, the group loses what insight they had.   The war paint is furthermore a symbol.   It represented the rejection of society.In a way, when they put on the disguise of war paint, they took off the mask of society and exposed their true inner selves whic h were savage. Human condition is depicted all the way through the key characters in the novel. Every one embodies a strong-minded social stereotype which will be later on profoundly explained. This existentialist dissatisfaction is an aspect which darkens human kind similar to other factors such as the type of fear which is dealt throughout the book, being this one of the key causes of chaos. Those parallelisms, being several of them adventured, are valid too revealing two questions which take far beyond this point: to what extent is brutality a mere consequence of circumstances or a genuine feature in mankind.Unfortunately anarchy conquers order. This is the outcome for the reason that Golding believed that government is an unproductive way to maintain people together. No matter how logical or reasonable, government will in the long run have to give in to the anarchical demands of the public. This book traces the faults in society to the faults in the human being (Baker, James R. 1970).   Golding says that every person has in evil inner nature inadequately covered by society.   If the society is taken away, then the inner nature comes out and disorder and lawlessness erupt. Every person has an evil nature and is able of committing heinous crimes.   In this book, practically each person fell to the level of Jack’s savagery with the exception of those that were able to notice that evil such as Ralph, Simon, and Piggy. The beast is human.   In the start of the book, a littlun told the others that he saw a beast in the jungle opening everyone’s fears.   On the other hand, it turns out that the beast is in fact a parachutist and human, symbolizing that what people should be scared of is not some evil creature, but their own selves and other humans.Baker, James R. â€Å"The Decline of Lord of the Flies.† In South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. 69, Autumn, (1970).Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Capricorn Books, G.P. Putnamâ⠂¬â„¢s Sons, (1954).Lord of The Flies, William Golding. Faber School Editions, (1962).Traister, Rebecca, â€Å"Reading â€Å"Lord of the Flies†Ã¢â‚¬ , (2005).

External Influence on Ayam Brand

Reference groups have a high influence to the primary target audience, which are the housewives. The closest groups of people to housewives are the husbands and the children. Since housewives are the mothers for the children, they need to decide on which product of food or fruit to buy for their children for consumption. According to Gourmet Retailer (2008), mothers are concerned with feeding their little one the most nutritious diet possible. Thus, they sake the decision to purchase â€Å"Maya Brand† canned fruits because it contains no preservatives and MS (Maya brand, 2009). Maya Brand† also provides a large variety of fruits, which are mainly pineapple fruits, mixture of fruit cocktails like peach, pears, grapes, cherries and fruits snacks as well. Children are usually very fond of all these, because what children want Is different products throughout the time of consumption, and not the same or similar product over and over again. Social class is the hierarchical ca tegorization of people into distinct status classes, so hat members of each class share similar values, Interest and behavior (Chaffinch, et al. , 2008). Social class Is divided into upper class, middle class and lower class.It Is determined by a complex set of variables: household Income level, occupational prestige and educational achievement. Income directly affects ones attitude towards a particular purchase. For upper class people, they usually work in a big company, meaning they will have a busy working hours for almost everyday. Due to their occupation, they will not have time to shop for fresh fruits in the market. With once of health at the same time, they will purchase ‘Maya Brand' canned fruits as It's a very popular brand, with no preservatives and MS, and Is available In almost all convenient store or embitterment, Tort example, â€Å"Gallant Hypermarket†.Meanwhile, for the lower class people, they usually have a lower household income level. As ‘Maya Brand' canned fruits are cheap in price and it is value for money, they will choose to purchase it to satisfy basic needs. For instance, Gap, Ralph Lauren and United Colors of Benton understand how parents reflect the brand choices in the children's market (Koala, 2007). Parents especially are influential in apparel purchases because children are unable to pay for their own expenses of a purchase due to high cost. In addition, social group and peer influences are considered as the significant reference groups.Research shows as the age of a child increases, peers become more influential on apparel decision- making and not their parents anymore (Bridges & Burgess, 2010). Teens nowadays, make the purchase decision on their outfit, based on the interaction within the peer group. They enjoy making decision on themselves, while taking consideration into there friends' opinion (Grant and Stephan, 2006). 2. 2. 2 Social class that members of each class share similar values, interest and beh avior (Coffman, et al. , 2008). Social class is determined by a complex set of variables: household income level, occupational prestige and educational achievement.Income directly affects of ones attitude towards a particular purchase. Thus, the motivation of people in upper class is stronger in owning the latest fashion trends compared to the motivation of people in middle and lower social class (Peter & Olson, 1999), Upper lass people are concern on the body image and self-image whereas middle or lower class people tend to evaluate products in terms of functionality rather than the style of the garments. Higher social class associates clothing as wealth and luxury thus, they tend to dress in expensive and high in quality of apparels (See & Lee, 2008).Such high fashion retail store includes, Gucci and Airman Exchange. In the contrary, people in the lower class will consider whether the clothing is comfortable, reasonable in price whereas fashion trend is the least important aspect (Kennel, 1976). It) Message framing ii) advertising appeal Advertising can help companies develop consumers' awareness to an unmet need or introduce a product that consumers may see as valuable. This influence is often present when new products enter the market. Customer awareness is often low for these items until companies promote them and attempt to drive customer demand through advertising.Companies may also need to use advertising to stave off the popularity of a competitor's products in the economic market. This will result in advertisements that will influence consumers to change their buying behavior and witch products for specific reasons, such as cost or quality. (Vitae, 2010) â€Å"Maya Brand† advertise its' company on Faceable to enhance its' fame to the public as well as the people around the world. As Faceable is a social networking service. It allows â€Å"Maya Brand† to market Its prattle Ana products to lots AT networks . En AT ten advertising appealed used by â€Å"Maya Brand† is by organizing a ‘Community Care Campaign 201 1†², which one free canned food is given with Just one â€Å"like† button (Diagram 5. 1). Their mission is to provide donation of canned food to 40 charity home in 2 months. They have successfully supplied 3663 cans for the moment. In this case, its generosity will result in its brand name sinking in consumers' mind. As housewives are mothers of the children, they tend to be attracted to this brand as the campaign is helping the children who need strong support in terms of food.They understand how children will be without care. Besides, if â€Å"Maya Brand† can sponsor its products to so many charity homes, meaning its products have trusted quality. This is because if it does not have the required quality, it might spoil its own image by doing so. Thus, housewives or mothers will feel that â€Å"Maya Brand† is more trusted in terms of its quality. Www. Oho. Com For examp le, advertising on faceable. Read more: The Influence of Advertising on Consumer Buying Behavior I oho. Com http://www. Oho. Com/facts_6948058_influence-advertising-consumer-buying- behavior. HTML#sizzle Alfonzo behavior. HTML#sizzle Ladings ‘v) Humor in advertising. Www. allaboutmedicalsales. Com Some Definition of Humor in Advertising: ‘Humor' in the dictionary means a quality – being amusing or comic but in advertising it is serious business. In advertising, humor is more than Just making a munch of people laugh. Some of the best brands in India have leveraged humor to such an extent that the viewers look forward for newness in humor each time they see a new commercial from that brand. To illustrate, Officio has been one of those brands which have used humor so intelligently and subtly that it remains in people's minds.Here again one needs to closely view the product and the category before applying humor to sell your product. According to David Googol 30 per c ent of advertising is based on humor. Humor sells if used creatively with a strong idea and great execution. Claude Hopkins, the father of modern advertising had a different view on this. He was of the opinion that people don't buy from clowns. But in India over the last two decades humor has been drawing lot of attention for communicating a product. Also the conventional wisdom of thinking among our people is that when you buy products it should deliver some value and benefits.These could be nutritious for a health beverage, labor saving for a washing machine or a dishwasher. Humor in the dictionary means a quality of being amusing or comic but in advertising it is serious business. In advertising, humor is more than lust making a Duncan AT people laugh. Humor tenant a strong idea and great execution. (.NET. COM) Using Humor In Advertising Advertising Is Not A Funny Business s uses creatively Walt First, a warning. Professional Advertising does not recommend that you use humor in y our advertising. A lot of people simply don't have a sense of humor.You lose them immediately, and the potential size of your market shrinks. And humor is in the eye of the beholder. It is commonly misinterpreted. Many people will not get the Joke. Your market size Just shrunk again. And humor often insults someone. They may simply get angry because they don't get the Joke. This is fire we are playing with. Your market Just shrunk again. Is it worth the risk? Laugh Out Loud – Advertising Humor Yes, humor in advertising is risky. It can also be devastatingly effective. When done right, humor works – really, really well. Advertising is about getting attention.The best ways to get attention with advertising are with strong visuals, sex, powerful headlines, and humor. Let's look at how to use [or not use] humor in advertising. Advertising humor is wonderful for getting attention. As you look at some of our ample ads, we hope you get a good idea of what we mean. Advertising humor can be extraordinarily effective when it is used correctly. People will actually look for your ads, and talk about them if they are good. But there are rules about using humor in advertising to represent your company, and following them is probably a good idea. First, people like funny things.They relax and pay attention when they know you have a sense of humor. It puts them in a good mood, and it creates a more comfortable atmosphere and a more positive image for your company. It makes you easy to approach, and easy to remember. Advertising humor works best with established and commonly purchased products. Humor in advertising works for business services, familiar items, and products we all know. But corporate image and industrial advertising are serious business. Unknown, KY, expensive, or sensitive products are not normally salute to ten lighter toucan AT advertising humor.Advertising humor also needs to be well suited to its audience. If your customers don't get the Joke, then the Joke will be on you. A sophisticated audience will understand your irony, satire, and puns, but a young audience may only understand lipstick comedy or a silly cartoon caricature. Inside Jokes can be effective if the recipient understands that it was done for them, but nobody else will get it. And advertising humor can backfire. If you make a Joke at the expense of any one group, you will surely alienate them.Everyone loved the â€Å"Where's the Beef† commercials done by Wendy – everyone, that is, except the senior citizens who did not like being portrayed as grumpy old people. Advertising humor also needs to be product specific. We have all seen funny ads we liked so much that we forgot what was being sold. Advertising humor must relate erectly to your business or products if you want to be remembered. And advertising humor has a relatively short life. The first time we see it we may laugh out loud. But after a while, although we still may smile at the Joke, it's not so funny any more. Funny ads need to be replaced periodically.Will advertising humor work in your ads? Absolutely – if you can make it appropriate to your products and customers, if they understand it, if it is related to your business or message, and if you change your ads frequently enough so that they don't wear out. K, here's the punch line. Advertising humor definitely gets attention. And if your ads don't get attention first, they will be anything but funny. But when done right, advertising humor can send your ads light years ahead of the competition, and that's what Professional Advertising is all about. Www. myprofessionaladvertising . Mom Power of humor in advertising V Sympathy, GM 20:20 Media The role of humor dates back to many years when all of us used to view films like the Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy. These actors and characters really made all of us laugh when we sat and watched their movies. Even all our Hindi and regional ivies in India alway s had a comedian to play a very important role and provide the movie a touch of humor to give the audience some fun and Joy. Every Hindi movie had an actor like Method, Seepage, Devon Versa or an Saran who played a very important role in making the movie entertaining and thrilling.The same strategy is used by many advertisers in India into their advertising to get noticed and stand out in the clutter with memorable humor which remains sticky in ten blower's Milan. In Tact news papers Like ten Limes AT IANAL nave made every reader smile early morning with R. K. Legman's cartoon. Even individual personality or celebrities try and use humor to position themselves differently in the people's minds. One such example that is top of mind is our Railway Minister Aloe Parkas Hydra. His witty and funny speeches and replies have positioned him differently amongst other politicians.So humor as a tool has been a strong weapon for many brands to draw the customers' attention. Different view on th is. He was of the opinion that people don't buy from clowns. But or a dishwasher. Role of Humor: With more and more channels mushrooming, clutter has become a significant problem for most brands. Hence to beat the clutter and break the ice, humor has been used by many brands to answer the problem. Over a period of time humor has been proved to be one of the best techniques to keep the customer laughing and grab his attention with some sticky and creative idea.The proof of the pudding for any humor based on advertising remains in forcing the audience watch, laugh and most importantly is able to recall the brand easily. Brands must ensure that if they are using humor to sell a product then the connect and the equity of the brand should not be diluted. According to some research humorous ads are recalled fast ND easily and it also elevates the consumer's happiness and mood. Finally humor captures the viewer's attention, cuts through the ad clutter and enhances recall. If not crafted pr operly humor can also backfire at times.Product and Brand connect: It sometimes so happens that a Joke in an advertisement is so powerful that the consumer tends to forget the brand. Hence it is important that there should be a strong connect between the product and the humor that you are trying to convey. The Pizza world ad showing a hosepipe being used to cool off someone who Just had a spicy plaza Is a good Ana relevant example wanly connects Walt ten Drain Ana really communicates that when you ask for a spicy pizza we deliver it with full pride. Understanding the nuances of the brand and the audience is very important.Overindulgence of humor can put down the audience and the brand if not executed in the right taste. The Maul undergarments ads which tried to use humor and sex to sell their brand never went off well with many consumers. The brand did get some publicity due to controversy but did not win the hearts of the target audience. Hence it is important to base your Joke on the core values of the product and the service proposition the brand is offering. No product connect means no effectiveness. All these results in huge wastage of the marketing budget.Types of Humor in advertising: Using a comedian: Here instead of building humor in the advertising one can use a comedian actor to promote the brand. One's choice of comedian has to match the values of the brand. One of the most memorable advertisements that have used a comedian well has been Charlie Chaplin for Cherry Blossom shoe polish. The most recent one in this space using an Indian comedian which has been noticeable and successful is Domino's Pizza which has plugged in Parses Rival very cleverly. Capitalizing on the current topics : Use the current hot topic in all walks of life which is funny, sticky, memorable and controversial.Maul Butter has been doing these for several years. The advertising deployed has been very humorous and are always based on the current topics with a tongue-in-cheek app roach. People never get fatigued watching the Maul ads. People eagerly wait for what Maul Butter outdoor campaigns by constantly looking at the prime hoarding points where Maul butter is visible. Strong idea based humor: Here the strong creative idea is carefully blended with subtle humor. The case in example is Officio. The powerful idea with humor helps in beating the clutter.Centre Shock electric gum is another good example where a strong advertising idea (Idea sprung up from the product) with the help of humor helped in translating into a great piece of campaign. Saint Goblin glass is another wonderful example of how humor has been used subtly. The restaurant advertisement (where the water is thrown) created by the company is so refreshing that one never gets bored of viewing it. Using the right type humor in advertising will be determined by clearly defining your objectives and positioning of your product.This, supported with a strong idea ill further help you to create good ad vertising which can be sticky and memorable for a long time. Humor will help if it is relevant: Mostly humor is used in products which is low in investment and which has high impulse purchase. (Candy, beer and mosquito repellents). One cannot totally generalize this, as consumer durable products have also used humor effectively. Humor may not work in category like condoms, sanitary napkins as tense products need to explain ten Detentes AT ten product more clearly. Similarly cars and diamonds may also not use humor as the decision process to purchase is long.Finally we need to remember that humorous campaigns are difficult to design and create. Over exaggeration of humor may have negative effect on the brand. People may remember the Joke but not the message and the brand. It can upset individuals if not done tastefully. Products can also flop and brand equity may erode. While humor is a strong and interesting route to create a great advertising campaign, one must also keep in mind th at the imagery, core values of the brand and the positioning does not deviate. If your positioning is perfect then humor with a great idea can do wonders for the brand. Www. .NET. Com

Baroque Era

In all respects, baroque music is like the anger of teenagers. Well, even in such a way that you do not pay for the way we expect from modern teenagers, they may not be criticized as all they might be surprised. But what do you do, what is a teenager? Briefly, teenagers are no longer children, not adults. When all the rules are broken, there seems to be nothing that matches it, and when the mood fluctuates dramatically, this is the middle stage of embarrassment. This is Baroque music. To better understand this, remember that the Renaissance is the reproduction of art and music, and the classical era is its birth. The Baroque era is thought to be the beginning of expansion of Western European civilization. The word baroque comes from Portuguese and represents irregular shaped pearls. It is translated from Italian into strange and strange things. The Baroque era refused to regard it as ignorance and wild nature. During this period, women should be unnaturally pale and their bodies shou ld have mysterious hair, but men should not have whiskers or wigs on their heads. He should be full of strength and aroma. (Bukofzer, 24 years old) The era of Baroque art was classified as many as the early Baroque era, the high Baroque era, and the late Baroque era. The era of Rococo art is often regarded as part of the late Baroque era. Over the years, the time frame of the Rococo era and whether it is the same as the Baroque era. The era of Baroque art and Rococo art may be classified in the same era, but in fact it is very unique and unique. The era of baroque art from the 1600s to the mid 1700s began during the Catholic reform in Rome in Italy and spread rapidly to most parts of Europe. In the late 1500s Protestant reform began to attack doctrine like the Catholic church. In response to these attacks, the Catholic Pope began a campaign in the church to rebuild and disseminate Catholic faith. In the meantime most people are unable to read and write, so the church has to design a way to disseminate the message of the gospel so that everyone can understand it. The most important elements of the Baroque period were religious reform and anti-reform, and the development of the Baroque style was thought to be closely related to the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church encouraged the popularity of the Baroque style, the Catholic Church decided at the Trent Committee that art should convey religious themes and guide emotional participation in response to Protestant reforms. The most important elements of the Baroque period were religious reform and anti-reform, and the development of the Baroque style was thought to be closely related to the Catholic Church. In fact, the popularity of this style is encouraged by the Catholic Church. And it has decided that in the Trent Council art should convey religious themes and lead emotional participation in response to Protestant reform.

Discuss the positive and negative impact of globalisation with Essay

Discuss the positive and negative impact of globalisation with reference to two contrasting countries. (India and the United Sta - Essay Example This essay identifies the positive and negative impacts of globalisation as they pertain to India and the United States. India India is considered a developing economy that has recently experienced explosive gains in relation to skilled labour provision and development along with a boastful technological prowess (samachartoday.com, 2011). Much of this positive growth in technological know-how seems to stems from market opportunities that provide the country with increased foreign direct investment as it has been identified as a need to sustain growth in India (business.rediff.com, 2010). According to Yusuf, Altaf & Nabeshima (2004), foreign firms have been looking for new market potential in this developing nation and have been willing to invest considerable capital into assisting the country in further technological developments. These interested firms in areas of sales and marketing and finance have assisted in raising capital for domestic Indian firms and provided considerable lab our-related expertise in multiple industries (Yusuf, et al). Globalisation is the catalyst for these improvements as foreign firms look for developing marketplaces to distribute their products. Higher demand in global automotive consumption has also improved the infrastructure of Indian business, thus giving the country more opportunities to improve their own transportation network. Since many of these demanding consumers hail from geographically-close regions, such as China, India now has opportunities to expand their port system to improve the delivery efficiency and supply chain capabilities for automotive companies and related industries. India, in order to meet this demand and earn higher profit through the transportation system, has created a dedicated port terminal that increases the speed by which automotive products are off-loaded, thus making India an ideal location for supply chain-related distribution (portstrategy.com, 2008). Globalisation in relation to global consumer sales has given India considerable advantages and better relationships with automotive manufacturers worldwide. Meanwhile, India has improved its educational infrastructure as well, thus providing its labour pool with more talent as it is related to technology and software development (Commander, Chanda, Kangasniemi & Winters, 2008). Much of these improvements were built on the foundation of American and European outsourcing efforts in relation to call centre development that evolved over time (Warne, 2011). As the government witnessed better increases in job opportunities, thus creating more disposable consumer income, more funds from political forces have been invested into improving educational capacity within the country. However, despite all of these improvements, India has some drawbacks in relation to the impact of globalisation. The foreign funds flooding the country from interested direct investors has made the government somewhat lax in identifying new opportunities and r emained dedicated to capital gains. What this has created is a drop in stock value for companies not related to finance and capital growth, thus weakening the financial position of certain industries (Merchant, 2006). India is not

Importance of joining a national professional nursing organization Assignment

Importance of joining a national professional nursing organization - Assignment Example This organization produces a number of publications in the form of various E-newsletters, HIMSS Books and various journals. The Journal of Healthcare Information Management is one such publication that serves the purpose of providing IT related information to its readers. This organization works to serve humanity by realizing that ambulatory practice is necessary to ensure delivery of accessible, high-quality and cost-effective treatment. Being a not for profit organization, the body engages in ventures that enhances patient care at all levels. Its publications include Care Coordination and Transition Management, Scope & Standards of Practice (Ambulatory & Telehealth) and Core Curriculum for Ambulatory care Nursing. This body takes into consideration the problems of the nursing community as a whole and aims to provide assistance to nearly all the nursing practitioners that reside in the United States. Their publications include Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, which is a scholarly peer review journal. Since occupational health services are extremely important for contribution to the health of workers of industries etc, this body takes into account the problems that are faced by nursing staff that is working in the occupational health. Its journal includes the ‘Workplace Health & Safety

Moral Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Moral Autobiography - Essay Example Genetics made me possess certain innate qualities that I find difficult to erase. However, it seems to me that socialization had a larger role in deciding my outward behavior (Text). For example, my present skills, knowledge, values, emotions and my role are all decided by the society. Admittedly, the very beginning of my socialization was from family followed by peers, school and the wider society. Thus, the beginning of my ethics was from my family, especially my parents. As my father is a Jew and mother has no affiliation with any religion, I grew up with no influence of any religion on me. However, the values of ethics that developed in me were mainly imported from the values I observed in my parents. In the early stages of my life, that is play, I imitated the surroundings I saw. I played doctor, police, father and teacher. At this stage, even without my knowing, the basic values of ethics were getting inculcated. Evidently, in the beginning, my ethics was entirely normative in nature. Admittedly, it was somewhat in the kind of the Golden Rule that one should do to others what one wants others to do to one. I learnt the fact that I should respect my parents, teachers and all elders. In addition, certain fundamentals like killing or harming is bad, it is good to help others were also incorporated into my ethical repertoire. Here, the tenets of Role Theory seem useful. According to the theory, the observable social behavior of people is like carrying out ones role in the society. For example, as a child I was made to obey my parents and all other elders I met. In addition, as the Symbolic Interaction Theory suggests, I started developing the concept of self. As I was defining myself, I found myself taking the role of a son and a student. As a child, I used to observe and play the roles of various people. As I imitated my father, I observed how my father has been with me, and thus I got the ideas of ethics. Admittedly, at this stage, I got no influence of rel igion, and the only ethical aspects of my life came from my parents' advice and observation I made. As a result of the normative nature of my ethics, I can say it was virtue ethics that I upheld in the beginning. It was inculcated not as my duty, but as a virtue I should develop. If I try to mention them, the very first thing is that one is supposed to respect all elders, especially parents and teachers. In addition, I found that unnecessarily harming anyone is morally wrong as Symbolic Interaction Theory claims. As I found that others do not engage in such activities that are harmful to others, I realized that harming others is immoral. However, as I reached adolescence and started mingling with may people, I reached what is called utilitarian concept. I found the fat that if I behave well with others, there is the feeling of wellbeing in the group I live. In addition, there was the development of deontological idea that I can expect in return, the kind of virtue I produce. In addi tion, I rightly followed the principles of virtue ethics by trying to develop a eudaimon life that gives satisfaction. Admittedly, this took place mainly because my parents, especially my mother taught me that if one has virtue in life, or if one always does good things in life, one will have peace and thus will be a good human being. However, reaching adolescence and reaching the Christian school, my concepts of ethics developed and altered a lot. Admittedly, Christian ethics varies from ethics in general. While Christian ethics stress on what

Using technology to improve students listening and speaking Essay

Using technology to improve students listening and speaking - Essay Example In the current advent of innovation and globalization, with shrinking distances and integrated economies, the world of education is also undergoing a paradigm shift. This paper focuses on the use of technology to improve EFL students’ listening and speaking skills. The mode of education and instructional methodologies are shifting from the conventional use of oral and print media, including lectures and textbooks to more modern forms such as the use of computers (including computer assisted language learning or CALL), internet (which provides access to online libraries, electronic journals, search engines, websites which allow audio and video streaming and email facilities) and multimedia (including audio tapes, videos, etc). Acquisition of a second language comprises of four main components viz. listening, speaking reading and writing. Technology can be used to enhance all of these aspects of learning via different modalities.In the modern era of innovation and globalization, with shrinking distances and integrated economies, the world of education is also undergoing a paradigm shift. The term technology refers to the formation of new ideas, products or tools that extend our natural abilities and bring about changes in our social environment. Technology is completely responsible for how structured our civilization has become. Modern technology has not just influenced the industrial and corporate world but also has a great impact on our personal lives. Many of the everyday items we use nowadays are a result of technology. These technological advancements have brought about improvements in our health, the clothes we wear, the way we travel and communicate and hence, revolutionized the way we live. Similarly, it has also influenced the mode of education and instructional methods and tools used in the classroom to facilitate learning amongst students. In this fast growing world of technology, people are continuously looking for new and innovative ways of co mmunication. Research Question The research question discussed in this paper is whether the use of technology in the EFL/ESL classroom helps in enhancing students’ listening and speaking skills and in what ways is this achieved. Literature Review Effective learning results from a complex interplay of several factors including the mode of instruction, the communication skills of the instructors and the interest and the capability of the learners (Orellana, 2010). Thus, any interventions aimed at enhancing the learning process must target all these factors. The main aim of teaching any language to students in the classroom as a second or foreign language is to enhance their skills in four important aspects, viz. listening, speaking reading and writing in order to enable them to use that language fluently as a medium of communication (Xu, 2005). These are also the aims when English is taught to students as a foreign or second language, i.e. EFL or ESL, and can be achieved in a v ariety of ways. Listening is one of the most important tools in aiding and facilitating the learning process. Research as revealed that an average human being spends atleast 45% of his/her time in listening and approximately 85% of the knowledge that a person possesses throughout life has been acquired via listening (Xu, 2005). Moreover, while learning a new language, listening skills become more important as listening not only helps in facilitating comprehension but also aids in the acquisition of the proper accent, grammar and pronunciation. In a recent study carried out among Chinese students learning English as a second language, it was found that one of the most commonly encountered problems by EFL were in the listening aspect of learning (Yang, 2007). This problem can arise due to a variety of reasons including the fact that listening is a relatively neglected component while teaching a language and thus most teaching strategies fail to focus on this aspect

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Company Law - Essay Example al proclamations; for instance, Principle 1 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development   argues that human   are at the center stage of   viable improvement, and are therefore entitled to a vigorous and fruitful existence in synchronization with nature† (Vanclay, 2003, 6). Moreover, â€Å"Principle 17†requires that an impact evaluation be done. States or trading blocks are legislated by these regulations. Most of the trading partners and affiliates within economic blocks are governed by common trade laws. From the state level, these laws are passed down to the companies that are in operations within these countries that are member companies that are operating from outside. For instance, the countries affiliated to European Union are corporately governed by the principles of respect of human rights and environmental conservation. These principles are instituted by adherence of the trade laws that restrict and control imports or exports of harmful goo ds to environment and human rights. Moreover, there are the commonly assented to regulations within â€Å"the free trade preferential operation countries† and therefore the companies are as bound by the law from other countries as they are while within their mother countries. Such regulations that govern company operations with European countries areâ€Å"EU’s  Generalised  System  of  Preferences  (GSP)  and  GSP+  systems,  its  Forest  Law  Enforcement,  Governance  and  Trade  scheme  (FLEGT),  and  its  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœhuman  rights  clauses’  in  free  trade  agreements,  in  particular  the  EU?Cariforum  and  the  EU?Korea  agreements†. Moreover, the European Union has reaffirmed her commitment as regards to protecting human rights and specifically children rights through enacting regulatory measure within the... This paper approves that legal provisions to the rights of life now through expansion encompass the provision to healthy environment. In India, the interpretation of the right includes saving the environment for future generations. States or trading blocks are legislated by these regulations. Most of the trading partners and affiliates within economic blocks are governed by common trade laws. From the state level, these laws are passed down to the companies that are in operations within these countries that are member companies that are operating from outside. For instance, the countries affiliated to European Union are corporately governed by the principles of respect of human rights and environmental conservation. This report makes a conclusion that in the modern day, it is apparently clear that many legal reforms targeting companies and the corporate business world are in the make. However, not much of a differencein purpose and the working can be noted. The countries continue to design these laws to get full control of the private and corporate sector as regards social responsibility in human rights observations and the governance in environmental conservation. Many of these regulations are denying the corporate governance in public limited companies as well as other forms of trade corporations the supremacy in decision-making processes. Many of the decisions taken in running the institutions must therefore be scrutinized in accordance to the legal frameworks that are designed in these countries.

The Reality of Work cultures in the Modern Economy Essay

The Reality of Work cultures in the Modern Economy - Essay Example Sennett’s argument is based on the assertion that the flexibilities and the uncertainties of the correct working life are eroding the integrity of the sense of the sustained purpose in the employee’s life in the manner that have existed before in the society (Bradley, 2009). Indeed, the new era of the economy and work inclusive of the globalisation of the work, breaking apart of the bureaucracy and flexibility changes the work values in the most profound manner. As the networks are constantly redefining their characters and structures, the same thing is bound to happen to the employees that work in the episodic work relations and the short-term contracts (Giddens et al., 2000). In Schumpeterian terms, the entrepreneur is served as an ideal Everyman alongside the â€Å"portfolio worker† (Winter, 1984). Sennett asserts that the corroding of the character is the inevitable consequences of the uncertainties that are present in the everyday practices of the vigorous c apitalism of the 1990s. The character of the workers is mainly threatened by the new type of the labour in the modern economy-flexible work (Jessop et al., 1987). Thus, this conforms to Sennett’s assertion that flexibility in the workplace is the main characteristic of the modern working environment. Conversely, it’s true that flexibility brings advantages to the corporations and the enterprises.

Educational Philosophy Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Educational Philosophy Statement - Essay Example That is why the diversity of learners should be understood so as to allow uniform learning to occur. Knud Illeris’ learning theory understands the various internal as well as external factors that impact learning including cultural, societal interaction and the inherent development of illustration as contributing to learning (Illeris 2009). Since every learner goes through different experiences and may belong to diverse backgrounds it is important to bring them along the same level considering these differences. My efforts as a teacher, therefore, should remain to understand these differences and to create a learning atmosphere where the learner feels motivated to learn rather than lacking any relation with the material. Another useful theory is that of situated learning theory which is quite effective is that of Experiential Learning and it is widely being used in universities to enhance the learning process of students. According to Kolb, experiential learning is a process t hat occurs in stages (McGill & Beaty 1995). People learn well through experience. This is quite natural and this can be demonstrated by the example of an aged individual who possesses far more knowledge than a young and naive individual only because the older individual has greater experience. This theory suggests that learning also takes place from observance and reflection. This is why university students are often given assignments and projects for which they have to go outside the class and explore the situation so that the knowledge learnt is relevant and applicable in real situations. This has shown better learning outcomes. Effective Learning Environment Teachers play an important role in creating an effective learning environment. The teaching practices should involve methods that are helpful to student-centered learning. Thoughtful questions asked by students help in piquing curiosity which is significant for purposeful interaction with the learning material. Good questions motivate thought regarding the subject and are good for the learning process. Such questions should be valued through appreciation or any other form of credit (TeachThought 2012). My aim as a teacher would therefore be to acknowledge students’ efforts so that they get motivated and have a drive to excel even further. A variety of instruction mediums can be used including direct instruction, assignment based learning, peer to peer learning and so on. However good class rooms are very diverse and not every medium of instruction may suit the diversity. A variety of criteria should be used by the teacher in order to personalize learning based on interest, willingness, and other criteria. Gradually this would enable a teacher to know what is required by the student. Assessment should be constant and original and feedback about performance should be provided quickly (TeachThought 2012). Rather than a wholly grade-centered assessment, the focus should be on the understanding of con cepts. I feel that student-specific assessments can prove to be helpful as students may have different learning speeds and capacities. Taking them to be on the same level would be an unfair assumption. These will create an environment that encourages progressive learning thereby enabling students to learn more effectively. Professional Growth The learning theories indeed assist in the application in educational frameworks. These principles of learning can be taken into consideration for effective learning

Free

Free Will and Determination Essay Do you make your own choices or your destiny has been decided for you by circumstances behind your control? For thousands of years, this question has puzzled philosophers, scientist and anyone who thinks about how they choose to act and live. Part of the complexity of the matter is related to the metaphysical nature of the subject which has a close affinity with the concept of GOD. Some people think that Everything that happens in nature and life is predetermined. Morality, love, hate and free will is just an illusion(Ward, 2005) while others think, human beings have an absolute and total freedom to enjoy all the deeds and actions unconstrained by any external forces, fate or divine intervention ( Sadegh, 2011). There are at least three main approaches to the problem of free will and determinism. First is deterministic approach. Determinists main idea is that all events are caused and the caused events are never free, (Ward, 2005). The future state of things can be explained and predicted by knowing the current state of the things and the way they are affected by the work of natural laws, (Ward, 2005). This approach implies that the urge to eat, for example, is governed by our internal need and the search for food is also a natural reaction to this need. When a person is on a diet and limits his food intakes at the time of hunger, the deterministic view explains that this restriction is not by choice but it is a natural response to the health concern. To make things more complicated, if the person fails to follow his diet and fall off the wagon, the failure is attributed to the winning of the hunger force over health conscious force. The Libertarianism approach on the other hand, recognizes free will, and the ability to make choices unconstrained by forces such as physical laws, fate and divine desire. Man’s decisions are influenced, but not caused (Sadegh, 2011). The question of free will has important implications for our moral responsibility. If we do not have free will, and our behavior is determined by what came before us, like our environment, genetics and our parents then what does that mean for our justice system and our idea of crime and punishment? How do we treat individuals who commit crimes if we believe their backgrounds led them to the crimes? The third approach towards the issue of Free will and Determinism is the compatibility view or a combination of both. This simply means that determinism and freewill are not absolute concepts and freedom is compatible with determinism because freedom essentially just a matter of not being constrained in certain way when one acts or makes a choice. The reality is that humans have some degree of free will within the boundaries of determinism. Normal adult human beings in normal circumstances are able to act and choose freely. No one is holding a gun to their heads. Therefore they are fully free to choose and act even if their whole physical and psychological makeup is determined by thing that they had no control over like genetic inheritance and early upbringing. It is true that our choices are limited by some circumstances, but it does not mean that we are not free in those circumstances. Only compulsion, panic or uncontrollable impulse really removes our freedom to choose. Even when our finger is being forced down on the button, we can still act freely in resisting the pressure. Going back to my hunger example, although hunger is a natural reaction to seek food, and man might not have control over this mechanism, he is certainly in control of the way he is reacting toward this need. What to eat, when to eat and even how much to eat, are some of the decisions that man can make. Of course we can’t do everything we want to do, we might want to fry unassisted or end civil war in Africa or even free all women from abuse. But that is not free will, free will is simply a matter of having true and genuine options and opportunities for action, and being able to choose between those options according to what we want and think. One of the strongest evidence for supporting free will is human conscience. When people do something that is against their moral values they feel shame and regret and they try to use their negative experience to avoid making the same mistakes in future. This behavior and emotional response indicate that humans have a free nature. The existence of shame is unexplainable with a deterministic view. The fact that people admire and praise the good and rebuke the evil is also a confirmation of free will. Growing up and going to school in a Muslim society, we were encouraged to think, talk and write about free will and determination. The main reason was to teach us the responsibility of our actions, despite knowing that God is aware and in control of everything. It might have been difficult to understand such a philosophical concept at the time but now I am at peace with this concept due to the early teaching of Islam. Islam provides a comprehensive answer to the Free will and determinism debate. Islam, more than 1200 years ago stated: No Determinism, No Free will but something in between. According to Islam, the choices of man are not entirely determined by God. Man indeed is a free agent and freely makes choices, but these choices are limited. One of the reasons for the creation of the world is to provide a ground for humans to flourish and qualify for divine satisfaction. God will reward or punish people in the hereafter based on their deeds. One way to characterize the concept of ultimate responsibility for one’s action is by refereeing to the story of hell and heaven. If we are responsible for what we do, then it make sense to propose that it could be just to punish some in hell and reward others in heaven. It makes sense because what we do is absolutely up to us. But, one certainly does not have to believe in the story of heaven and hell in order to understand and believe the notion of responsibility. Karl Popper, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century also recognised that there had to be some balance between complete determinism (clocks) and complete disorder and chance (clouds), (Haselhurst ,2012). â€Å"What we need for understanding rational human behaviour and indeed, animal behaviour is something intermediate in character between perfect chance and perfect determinism something intermediate between perfect clouds and perfects clocks (Popper, 1972, p.232)† (Haselhurst ,2012). 1. Ward, K. Baron, D’Holbach And Determinism, open source buddhism Oxford University Press (2005) 2. Sadegh, M (2011) Citing website. Free will and determination in Islam. Retrieved Feb 20, 2013, from http://www. bsharat. com/id/1/2/1jabr. html 3. Haselhurst, G, (2012) Citing website. Philosophy of Education. Retrieved Fed 20, 2013, from http://www. spaceandmotion. com/Philosophy-Free-Will-Determinism. htm.

Mrs. Compton on the Five-Forty-Eight Essay Example for Free

Mrs. Compton on the Five-Forty-Eight Essay When Mr. Blake’s eyes met mine on the five-forty-eight, I smiled and could tell it did not affect his mood a bit. Of course it was my usual smile—sweet and slightly welcoming—but I knew Mr. Blake was a harder shell to crack than I encountered on a daily basis, and it did not bother me the least that he neither returned nor politely acknowledged my own outward kindness. It did not surprise me, either, since his wife and I had what I would consider a mutual relationship in regards to womanly confessions and the general outrage we keep inside until the right person (usually myself) ends up—coincidentally or not—in the other person’s life. I do have a keen eye for the â€Å"suffering,† and while anyone with a husband such as Mr. Blake had to be in all sorts of pain, Louise Blake just radiated the emotional pain I was familiar with hearing and, in effect, relieving by that very same act of just listening. So was I surprised to hear that Mr. Blake had given Louise another one of his childish â€Å"I’m not talking to you† fits? Hardly. Neither was I shocked to learn from his feigned indifference that he disapproved of my relationship with his wife, as most men did. Now I do not particularly enjoy being a â€Å"busybody† as some might put it, but when the woman asked Mr. Blake if she could sit beside him, I was slightly intrigued. Not so much in the woman posing that question in an only half-full car, but in Mr. Blake’s once more feigned, but convincing, approval. He tried to hide his shock, or maybe it was nervousness, but I could Mr. Blake’s comfort level had certainly been violated. I am an optimist, but certainly know when a man is disturbed by a woman. There was nothing platonic about this â€Å"meeting.† I unfortunately could not hear, being several cars ahead, but kept myself facing forwards so he could not gauge how closely focused I was. Louise is my friend, and I felt it was my duty as such a friend to keep her out of harm’s (emotional and physical) way. So I had no issue with trying to grasp the situation. Mr. Watkins, who is Mr. Blake’s neighbor and a man he dislikes far more than me, did not show any sign of acknowledging the pair, though he could have been hiding it as well as I do. It was not long before I took a quick peak back and realized Mr. Blake’s face, which had a habit of glowing bright red as a furnace when he was angry—and so, a good portion of the time was burning—had suddenly turned as white as a heavy snow. Not just thick, either, but blanketing. Something Mr. Blake wanted to keep hidden was stowed away beneath that layer of pale, perhaps even cold, skin. Even the gloom and shadow of the rain and graying clouds outside could not veil it, and instead probably intensified it, because snow is always stronger in a dark environment. Over the next while I managed to sneak glances at the two, and it was obvious whatever conversation they were having was neither a happy one nor entirely forgiving upon Mr. Blake’s complexion. I could just imagine the conversation though, and Mr. Blake’s frustration building up until he realized the woman was planning on blabbing to the wife about their after-work adventures. Then she slipped him a letter, and as he glanced up at me I pretended as if I had seen nothing, not the look of fear in his eyes or the flash of devils in hers. This is how it went for the next while: folks boarded and I snuck more glances back to see how the two were acting. She was whispering something into his ear. Must be trying to blackmail him now. Or force him to divorce Louise. Poor Louise! â€Å"Shady Hill, next, Shady Hill.† The conductor’s voice brought me back to the image of the car and the rest of the world. Again, I try not to be a â€Å"busybody† but this was an exception. Louise’s husband had not only cheated on her, but was now plotting to leave her for the woman! Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, though. It really could be nothing. But the look on his face, and the fire in her eyes†¦ The train stopped and I forgot all the parcels I had with me, and quickly gathered them with my mind still drawn to the awkward couple behind me. As I stepped off the train, I questioned what I should do. Tail them and see where they go? Confront him, perhaps? I kept my eyes straight so as not to give myself away. The rain stung my eyes and face with its cold little bodies. Should I call Louise as soon as I arrived home? Tell her what I saw? And could I be the one to break her poor little heart? I suppose I could; it would be better from me than him. With all the pain he has put her through, she was likely to kill him.

Airline Employee Work-Life Balance

Airline Employee Work-Life Balance CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A literature review is a concise overview of what has been studied, argued and establishes about a topic, it also entails about the major findings as well as reviewing the tools and techniques used by the previous studies. This chapter provides review of related literature associated with Work Life Balance of individuals employed in Nepalese Airline Companies. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section consists of an in depth review of major literature and related theories. The second section presents a brief review of empirical works associated with perception of WLB and work satisfaction of employees of Nepalese Airline Companies (work-family conflict, family work conflict, family satisfaction and psychological health). The literature review has been organized under: a. Review of major literature and related theories b. Review of Nepalese Literature 2.1 Review of major literature and related theories Table 2.1 Summary of major finding Author Major Finding Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985 Work and family role interference suggests that responsibilities in separate domains such as work and family compete with each other in terms of limited time, psychological resources and physical energy, which leads to negative outcomes in both areas. Participation in the work role may interfere or enhance the performance in the family role, and vice versa, participation in the family role may interfere or enhance performance in the work role. Barnett Rivers, 1996 Work and family role enhancement suggests that participation in multiple roles can lead to better functioning in other life domains. Hill, Hawkins   and Miller (1996) High integration of work and family domains can lead to negative consequences, as high flexibility can blur the boundaries between those two domains Clark (2000) WLB is satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home, with a minimum of role conflict. Presented a border theory according to which family and work domains are separated by borders which could be physical, temporal or psychological. Domains of work and family are essential, as family and work are the most important elements of everyones life. Higher flexibility and lower penetrability between work and family domains can result in lower work-family conflict. Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers Edwards et al., (2000) Referred to compensation theory according to which workers try to find more satisfaction in one domain to compensate for the lack of satisfaction in the other domain. (Grzywacz et al, 2000) Studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing were mainly conducted in the United States. Work-family studies have been dominated by role strain and role enhancement perspectives Work-family experience is a joint function of process, individual, time and context characteristics, and does not restrict the experience to either negative or positive. Barnett Hyde, 2001 Family is individuals who are married with children Greenhaus (2003) WLB is the amount of time and the degree of satisfaction with the work and family role. Balance between family and work domains also involves time balance, involvement balance, and satisfaction balance. Frone (2003) Presents a four-fold taxonomy of work-life balance(work-family conflict, family-work conflict, work-family enhancement and family-work enhancement, in which WLB is described as low levels of inter-role conflict and high levels of inter-role facilitation. WLB can be measured by work-family and family- work conflict as well as work-family and family-work enhancement Wise et al.,( 2003) Studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing were mainly conducted in the United Kingdom Bochner ( 2003) Studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing were mainly conducted in the Australia and New Zealand Collins et al., (2003) While assessing relationships between work and family domains, family life is considered as time spent with a spouse and children, ignoring other important aspects of family, such as time spent with parents, siblings and other relatives. Rothbard et al., (2006) Refer to spill-over theory according to which any feelings Allan, et al.,(2007) Research in sociology has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. Sullivan et al., (2007) Research in gender studies has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. Grzywacz et al., (2007) WLB is an accomplishment of role-related expectations that are negotiated and shared between an individual and his/her role-related partners in the work and family domains. There are different beliefs on how work-life balance should be defined, measured and researched Lambert et al., (2007) The majority of research on the correlation between work and family life refers with WLB and organization policies/ organization culture/ Human Resource management/ work commitment/ absenteeism/gender equality/ family life. Grady et al., (2008) Research in human resource management has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance Kelly et al., (2008) Research in organization studies has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. Grady et al., 2008 Work-life balance is vital for individuals wellbeing, organizations performance and a functioning society. WLB is more comprehensive and includes family, community, recreation and personal time. WLB in its broad sense captures all aspects of employees personal and work life; this suggests that WLB should be focused on individuals, families, workplaces, communities, and society as a whole Casper et al.,(2011) Employees experience more conflict between work and family. Employees experience more conflict between work and family as they continue to follow the quality of life that they need therefor, Work Life Balance has been a necessity (Casper, Harris, Taylor-Bianco,   and Wayne, 2011). For business practices and academic research Work Life Balance has been an important topic. Research in different fields such as sociology (Allan Loudoun, R. Peetz, 2007), psychology (Greenhaus , 2008); (Frone, 2000), Human resource management (Grady, McCarthy, Darcy, Kirrane, 2008); (McDonald, Pini, Bradley, 2007), organization studies (Kelly, et al., 2008) and gender studies (Sullivan Smithson, 2007); (Hill Buchan 2005); (Sullivan Lewis, 2001) has been popular area of study for Work Life Balance. The literature review demonstrates some of WLB definitions. Clark (2000) describes WLB as satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home, with a minimum of role conflict. Clarke, Koch and Hill (2004) stated that WLB is an equilibrium or maintaining overall sense of harmony in life. Greenhaus, Collins, Shaw (2003) defines WLB as the amount of time and the degree of satisfaction with the work and family role. Frone (2003) presents a four-fold taxonomy of work-life balance, in which WLB is described as low levels of inter-role conflict and high levels of inter-role facilitation. Grzywacz (2007), Yavas and   Babakus (2010) believed that WLB is an accomplishment of role-related expectations that are negotiated and shared between an individual and his/her role-related partners in the work and family domains. The majority of research on the correlation between work and family life refers to WLB and organization policies or organization culture or Human Resource management or work commitment or absenteeism or gender equality or family life (Casper, et al., 2007). There are a number of studies examining WLB and workers wellbeing. These studies however were mainly conducted in the United States (Grzywacz Marks, 2000) the United Kingdom (Wise, Bond, Meikle, 2003), Australia and New Zealand (Bochner, 2003). In addition, several researchers (Greenhaus, Collins Shaw 2003); (Grzywacz Marks, 2000) noticed that work and family literature, while assessing relationships between work and family domains, considers family life as time spent with a spouse and children, ignoring other important aspects of family, such as time spent with parents, siblings and other relatives. According to Seligman (2012) and Hill (2005) the common consequences of poor WLB are depression and distress, leading to lower productivity, poorer work quality, higher absenteeism and staff turnover .Work-family research has generally been dominated by the study of family and work role interference. However, work and family role enhancement studies seem to be growing in recent years (Grzywacz Marks, 2000). Work and family role interference suggests that responsibilities in separate domains such as work and family compete with each other in terms of limited time, psychological resources and physical energy, which leads to negative outcomes in both areas (Greenhaus Beutel, 1985). In contrast, work and family role enhancement suggests that participation in multiple roles can lead to better functioning in other life domains (Bond, Galinsk Swanber, 1998). This study focuses on work and family role interference, measured by work-family conflict and family-work conflict. However, study on work and family role enhancement is suggested for further research. Bronfenbrenner (1979) insists that Work-life balance is vital for individuals wellbeing, organizations performance and a functioning society. There are different beliefs on how work-life balance should be defined, measured and researched (Grzywacz Carlson,   2007). Different terms are also used by different researchers while referring to work-life balance. Frone (2003), Greenhaus (2003), Clark (2000) refer to the term work-family balance whereas, Clarke (2004) refer to work-family fit, while Clarkberg (2001) refers to work-personal life balance and Grady (2008) refer to work-life balance. As work-family balance is often associated with traditional families which is   individuals who are married with children (Barnett Hyde, 2001), and this study refers to a family in both its traditional and non-traditional form; in order to avoid any confusion, the term work-life balance is used throughout this paper. Grady, McCarthy, Darcy and   Kirrane (2008) stated that the term work-life balance is more comprehensive and includes family, community, recreation and personal time. As stated by Dhas (2015) WLB in its broad sense captures all aspects of employees personal and work life; this suggests that WLB should be focused on individuals, families, workplaces, communities, and society as a whole. Several theories have been proposed by researchers to explain WLB. Clark (2000) presented a border theory according to which family and work domains are separated by borders which could be physical, temporal or psychological. Whereas, Edwards and Rothbard (2000) and Lambert (1990) referred to compensation theory according to which workers try to find more satisfaction in one domain to compensate for the lack of satisfaction in the other domain. However, Rothbard and Dumas (2006) and Grzywacz and Marks (2000) refer to spill-over theory according to which any feelings, emotions, attitudes and behaviors generated in one domain can be transferred or spilled over into the other   domain. Repetti and Crosby (1984), Rubin and Babbie (2010) and Grzywacz and Marks (2000)   proposed   more conceptual models where WLB can be measured by work-family and family- work conflict as well as work-family and family-work enhancement. Grzywacz and Marks (2000) implemented Bronfenbrenners   ecological  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   model which suggests that work-family experience is a joint function of process, individual, time and context characteristics, and does not restrict the experience to either negative or positive (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Clark (2000) explains that focus on the domains of work and family is essential, as family and work are the most important elements of everyones life. Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers (Persons Bales 1955), (Frone, 2000). Piotrkowski (1979) and Clark (2000) agree that measurable aspects of WLB are satisfaction, lack of role conflict and an overall sense of harmony. Greenhaus, Collins, and Shaw (2003) and Pallant (2013) believe that balance between family and work domains also involves time balance, involvement balance, and satisfaction balance. Frone (2003) and Piotrkowski (1979) states that the measurable four aspects of the balance between work and family roles are: (a) Work-family conflict (b) Family-work conflict (c) Work-family enhancement (d) Family-work enhancement. As these components have bi-directional effects on work and family domains, participation in the work role may interfere or enhance the performance in the family role, and vice versa, participation in the family role may interfere or enhance performance in the work role (Eagle, Miles Icenogle, 1997), (Frone, 2003), (Grzywacz   Marks, 2000), (Frone, 1992), (Greenhaus Beutell, 1985), (Grzywacz, Almeida McDonald, 2002).This study refers to the definition of WLB presented by Clark (2000), Eisenhardt (2012), Wilmot and   Hocker (2001) who believed that WLB is achieved when there is no role conflict, and when people are satisfied with their work and family roles. This definition seems to be the most relevant to this paper, as participants WLB and work satisfaction was measured using work family conflict, family-work conflict, family satisfaction and psychological health. Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers (Frone, 2000), (Clark, 2000). Clark (2000) explained that WLB is influenced by physical borders (workplace walls), temporal borders (working hours) and psychological borders (behavior and thinking patterns) between work and family settings. People cross these borders and make daily transitions between these two settings, often tailoring their focus, their goals, and their interpersonal style to fit the unique demands of each. Clark (2000) argues that keeping work and family lives separate enables the management of work and family borders; however integration of work and family lives eases transitions between those two domains. Each of these two approaches can improve employees well-being. This however is influenced by individuals preferences in terms of separation or integration. Clark (2000) found that higher flexibility and lower penetrability between work and family domains can result in lower work-family conflict. This again depends on individuals preferences regarding segmentation and integration. Research conducted by Fink (2009), Hill and Buchan (2005), Grandey, Cordeiro and Crouter (2005), Grandey and Cropanzano (1999) showed that high integration of work and family domains can lead to negative consequences, as high flexibility can blur the boundaries between those two domains. Flexible, integrative work-family arrangements can improve WLB by enabling employees to spend more time with their family . At the same time, when these integrating arrangements are so high that they blur work-family boundaries, they can worsen WLB and lead to higher work-family conflict, higher dissatisfaction with work and family life, and higher levels of stress or depression (Clark, 2000), (Hill et al, 1996). 2.1.1 Review of related theories.In this section, theories and concepts developed previously relating to Work Life Balance and its sub factors will be reviewed. Conflict Theory: In the social sciences, conflict theory refers to the theoretical approach that views social phenomena as the result of conflict between individuals or groups (Sidanius, 1993). The emergence of work life balance is due to work-family conflict and family work conflict generally. Conflict theory has developed at both micro and macro levels (Klein, 1996). Coser (1993) stated that the micro level studies the individual, and from his or her behavior seeks to draw inferences about collective behavior. Psychologists, social psychologists, and socio biologists locate the cause of conflict behavior in human nature either in the imperatives of survival that have programmed forms of aggressive and defensive response, or in individual aggressive impulses triggered by personality dynamics, such as ego need, frustration, and the projection and displacement of inner anxieties onto others (Levine, 2015) Sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and organization and communications theorists adopt the macro approach to conflict (Giddens, 2003). They hold that collective conflict behavior is not the product of individual behavior, but behavior socially induced either by a sense of collective grievance or by national leaders for purposes of defending the national territory or defeating another nation (Adorno, 2002). Tajfel (1979) explained that two groups may compete for scarce status, power, or resources without being in conflict. According to Coser (1993), conflict may have a positive social function. Some political scientists have asserted that conflict may be an unavoidable characteristic (Pondy, 1967). Conflict theory must take account of the motivation and perception of individual leaders and decision makers and to the extent that individual employees are engaged in the conflict by conscious appeals to their beliefs, the micro-level approach to conflict theory remains highly important to any comprehensive theory of conflict (Robbins, 2001). Gender Role Theory: One of the early Work Family Conflict (WFC) theoretical articles (Grandey A. C., 2005) proposed that WFC is intensified when the work and family roles are salient or central to the persons self-concept and when there are strong negative sanctions for noncompliance with role demands. WLB and gender role theories are interconnected as the perception of male and female are different (ONeil, Good Holmes, 1995). According to Grandey, Cordeiro and Crouter (2005) gender role theory, women are more likely to see the family role as part of their social identity than men do. Moreover, as womens roles in the workplace have increased, the expectations placed upon them in the family role have not diminished. Thus, when work imposes on family demands (WIF), women are more likely than men to develop a negative attitude toward the work because the job is more likely to be viewed as threatening a central social role (McLoyd, 1989). On the other hand, according Grandey, Cordeiro and Crouter (2005), men are unlikely to use this information to form work attitudes, because they are less likely to experience a threat to self if the job interferes with family time. Alternatively, at the turn of the twenty-first century, when dual-earner couples are common and women make up between 45percent and 50percent of the workforce in Westernized countries (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002), (UK National Statistics, 2002). Waldron (1989) emphasied that the context-specific role expectations for men and women have changed.   The studies conducted by Grandey (2005) in US, college students have been gradually less likely to endorse traditional gender role views about work and family. In fact, the extent of WIF and FIW have been found to be similar for men and women, despite gender role theory hypotheses that women experience more WIF and men more FIW (Eagle, 1997); (Groves, 2008); (Gutek, 1991); (Halpern, 2005). In contrast, perhaps men and women do not differ in their reactions to WFC, perhaps when both partners are working; they will equally resent their jobs if work interferes with family (WIF) and appreciate their jobs if this is not the case (Grandey A. C., 2005). Consistent with gender role theory, several studies have supported the proposition that the relationship between global WFC and job satisfaction is stronger for women than for men. This may be spurious, however, because work characteristics may be different for women than for men on average, influencing both WFC and lower job satisfaction (Wayne, Musisca Fleeson, 2004). Gendered-Division of Employment: Gender plays an important role in shaping our lives as even the attitudes and social structures are gendered. In Nepal, the bread winner-home maker model is the fundamental principle of any household. Nepali society greatly believes on the gendered division of labor (Cameron, 1995). Mens and womens preferences are strongly influenced by the interplay between their own gender and the nature of the social structures they encounter (Bussey, 1999). System of domesticity that relies on male breadwinners and female home-makers is largely intact (Cameron, 1995). A substantial minority of U.S adults still believe that men and women should have different work and family responsibilities (Pew research center,2013). Spillover theory: Spillover theory assumes the conditions under which the spillover between work and the family is positive or negative (Korabik, 2009). Research documents that if work-family interactions are strictly structured in time and space, then spillover in terms of time, energy and behavior is generally negative (Grzywacz Marks, 2000) . Research also supports the notion that work flexibility, which enables individuals to integrate and overlap work and family responsibilities in time and space, leads to positive spillover and is instrumental in achieving healthy work and family balance (Hill, et al., 2003). Compensation theory: Compensation is the set of valuable things that is given to employees in exchange for their labor (Sass, 1997). Usually compensation is money which is given to employees as an hourly wage or salary (Lazear, 1996). However, in addition to pay, some organizations offer benefits, stock options, bonuses, profit sharing, commissions, allowances and other rewards (Gerhart, al.,1995). 2.2 Review of Nepalese Literature Table 2.2 Summary of major finding Author Major Finding Tamang (2008) Role ambiguity influences WLB negatively; More ambiguous at work place lower the level of work life balance. Role conflict is positively related to work life balance Negative relationship between role overload and hours spent on paid work with WLB. Positive influence of all family stressor with WLB. Hours spent on household work is most influencing variable Positive effect of WLB on organizational commitment. Employees in the Nepalese hospitality industry do not feel any adverse effect of family domain to work life balance. Yadav and Rani (2015) The most significant issue to influence and develop WLB is organization commitment and individuals commitment. WLB strategies can help organizations in generating stress free environment. The study completed by Tamang (2008) seeks to explore the causes that influence individuals work life balance and its effect. This study was performed due to increasing number of day care centres in Kathmandu which shows Nepalese employees are looking for balancing their work and life domain. The researcher found that in one of the day care centres located at Kathmandu named Stepping Stone Pre-School takes care of 30-35 children some of them aged below 1 year as well. Children arrive early in the morning stay there till evening. With this regard, the researchers primary focus was to explore the condition of work life balance in the Nepalese context. The study examines the work life balance and its cause and effect through a survey conducted during 2008 in nine different stars hotels of Kathmandu, Nepal. Employees of these hotels were surveyed to determine the level of work and family stressors as antecedents, balancing between work and family, and organizational commitment as consequ ence of work life balance. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the condition of work life balance. Regression analysis was also used to examine the cause and effect relationship of work life balance (Tamang, 2008) In the study of Tamang (2008) the following theoretical framework was used:   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Source: Tamang (2008) Figure 2.1 Theoretical framework for work life balance by Tamang. According to Tamang (2008), the following has been discovered: The study found first variable, role ambiguity, as important variables from work domain to influence on work life balance negatively as per theoretical expectation in the context of Nepalese hospitality industry. More ambiguous at work place lower the level of work life balance. Second variable role conflict has been found positively related to work life balance. On the other hand, the study found negative relationship of both variables role overload and hours spent on paid work with work life balance. However, the relationships discussed earlier except of role ambiguity were found statistically insignificant. The study found the positive influence of all the family stressors under study with work life balance in contrary to prior theoretical expectation. Among them the relationship of hours spent on household work alone appeared statistically significant representing most influencing variable from family domain, meaning that engaging in household work leads to feel having good balan ce between work and family in the Nepalese hospitality industry. At the end, the study found the positive effect of work life balance on organizational commitment as per theoretical expectation. In conclusion, the study explores the condition of work life balance in the context of Nepalese hospitality industry. The result shows low level of work and family demand, and good balance between work and family. In fact, employees in the Nepalese hospitality industry do not feel any adverse effect of family domain to work life balance. Especially employees feel good balance between work and family when they get involved in household activities more. On the contrary, ambiguous role at work alone was likely to feel imbalance between work and family for employees in the Nepalese hospitality industry. Finally, the present study provides evidence that the organization can be ensured the increased level of commitment among those employees having good balancing between work and family (P. 96) Another study by (Yadav, 2015) on female work force in Nepal concludes that the most significant issue to influence and develop Work-Life Balance is organization commitment and individuals commitment. The suggested work-life Balance strategies such as appropriate compensation and benefits, better employee relations, challenging job description, employee support plans, suitable employee Grievance Cell, creating productive work environment, family friendly policies, organizing workshops, can help organizations in generating stress free environment for working people and help improved Work life balance.

assisted suicide :: essays research papers

Assisted Suicide In 1997, Oregon became the only state allowing legal physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Although physician-assisted suicide has been legal in Oregon for four years, it remains highly controversial. PAS is when a doctor prescribes their patient to medication which would kill them. Patients must pass certain requirements in order to request a prescription for lethal medication. The patient must be 18 years or older, a resident of Oregon, able to make health care decisions, and diagnosed with a terminal illness that would lead to death within six months. After meeting these requirements patients are able to request a prescription for lethal medication from a licensed Oregon physician. To receive a prescription for lethal medication, the following steps must be completed: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The patient must make two oral requests to their physician, separated by at least 15 days. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The patient must provide a written request to their physician, signed with two witnesses present. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The doctor who prescribes the patient and another physician must confirm the diagnosis and prognosis. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If either physician believes the patient's judgment is impaired by a psychiatric or psychological disorder, the patient must take a psychological examination. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The physician must inform the patient of alternatives to assisted suicide. Such as comfort care, hospital care, and pain management. During 1998, 1999 and 2000, approximately 16, 27, and 27 patients used PAS. Patients who died by PAS were more educated than other Oregonians who did not choose to commit suicide and had similar illnesses. All the medications prescribed are barbiturates. A physician or anyone else can not directly administer medication to end another's life. In 2001, 44 doctors prescribed 33 patients to a medication that would end their life. In comparison, 39 prescriptions were written in 2000, 33 in 1999 and 24 in 1998. Although the number of prescriptions written for physician-assisted suicide has increased in the past four years, the number of ill patients taking lethal medication has stayed small with less than 1/10 of one percent of Oregonians dying by physician-assisted suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason I picked this topic is because I thought it was very interesting and also very controversial. I find it very interesting that Oregon is the only state that has physician-assisted suicide. I feel very strongly that if a person was in so much pain where they wanted to commit suicide, then it should be allowed. I also agree with the requirements a patient has to meet before being granted the prescription.

Essay --

Brian Daniels March 12, 2014 Heart of Darkness In Heart of Darkness, Conrad presents us with two classes of â€Å"darkness†. The savage nature of the natives and the brutality of European imperialism, asking which of the two is the greater evil. In the beginning of the novel, Conrad establishes his thoughts on imperialism through the main character Marlow. The idea of â€Å"darkness† is emphasized from the title of the novel, and continues to play an important role throughout the story. Darkness governs almost everything in the novel. The secluded and harsh attitudes Europeans held towards the native’s increases the darkness throughout the novel. Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness, is based on the historical period of imperialism in order to describe Marlow’s struggle. Marlow is asked by "the company", the organization who he works for, to travel to the Congo River and report back to them about Mr. Kurtz, a top notch officer of theirs. When he first sets sail, he doesn't know what to expect. Marlow's experience in Africa stirs hate at the brutalizing effects of colonialism, a hatred tha...

Over Population Essay -- essays research papers

The population of our planet will quickly reach a point where there will not be adequate amount of resources to support life on Earth. Population control must be enforced to avoid such a catastrophic occurrence. Many economic, social and environmental problems are either affiliated with or are increased due to overpopulation. With an exponentially increasing world population, the problems created by overpopulation grow correspondingly. In order to stabilize the massive population, the world must work together to maintain population stability. One of the main reasons is due to the fact that Man treats his surroundings, for example like his land, his environment, his atmosphere, his waters and other life forms as merely objects. Man utilizes, destroys and discards them when he’s finish. If Man does not respect his planet, there will be nothing left except for a dead, barren wasteland. We must act soon or better yet, now. The earth does not have enough resources to supply the cur rent enormous population growth. In many areas, there is simply not enough food to feed the growing populations. 150 million children in the world suffer from poor health due to food shortages. Alongside with food, there is another resource that cannot keep up with the increasing population, that is water. Our supply of fresh water is very essential to life and limited. Eventhough, our earth is covered with 2/3 of water and 1/3 land, converting salt water to fresh water can be expensive. In additi...

Analysis on Automobile Industry Essay

Globalization had indeed left its impact on the automobile industry. Now foreign auto dealers were facing lesser restrictions to operate in overseas markets. Michael E. Porter in his book â€Å"Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors† dealt with five competitive forces that shaped all industries. This helped to analyze the intensity of competition which had an impact on the profitability of an industry. The US automobile industry was considered as a force to reckon with from the days of craft production and hence would serve as a standard use case to identify Porter’s five forces. With low level of entry barriers, the Big was facing increasing competition from foreign players like Toyota and Honda. The relationship among Porter’s five forces in the US automobile industry, detailed below clearly proved its’ competitive nature. 1. Threat of New Entrants – The existing loyalty to major brands, incentives for using a particular buyer, higher fixed costs, scarcity of resources, high costs of switching companies, and government regulations constituted the barriers to entry which in turn reduced the competition in an industry. The success of foreign car manufacturers like the Honda Motor Co. had disproved the general belief that the Big Three were invincible. The only factors expected to retard the growing significance of foreign auto dealers were the loyalty to American made vehicles and the after-sale services offered. 2. Power of Suppliers – The presence of very few suppliers of a particular product, and the absence of any substitutes for the product supplied reflected the pressure exerted by the supplier. Sometimes the product was extremely important to the auto-maker and the alternatives proved to be very costly. In such cases the suppliers were in a better position to dictate terms. A lot of suppliers depended on automakers to buy their products. But if the automaker decided to change suppliers it would badly affect the supplier’s role in auto manufacturing. 3. Power of Buyers – Small number of buyers, purchases of large volumes, prevalence of alternative options, and price sensitive customers were some of the factors that determined the extent of influence of the buyers in any industry. American consumers were driven towards foreign cars mainly because most of the auto-makers sourced their key auto-parts from different suppliers. But this raised doubts on the reliability of the vehicle itself. 4. Availability of Substitutes – If substitutes were available offering similar services, the likelihood of buyers switching over to another competitor depended mainly on the cost. The cost of the automobiles along with their operating costs was driving customers to look for alternative transportation options. The rising gasoline price was bound to influence the buyers. 5. Competitive Rivalry – The presence of many players of about the same size, little differentiation between competitors, and a very mature industry with very little growth were the features of a highly competitive industry. Higher the competition in the industry lower would be the profit margin. To remain ahead in competition, auto-makers were tempted to offer value added services to the customers incurring more costs. Easyfinance options and long term warranties were offered to lure the customers. But these measures cut into the profit margins. Thus the US automobile industry in the face of global competition from foreign firms was offering better deals to cater to diverse needs of customers SWOT Analysis An analysis of the fortunes of Ford, a global leader in the automotive industry based in Michigan, wielding significant influence since the inception of global automobile industry, would serve as a classic example to diagnose the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats existing for auto-makers. Strengths †¢ Ford owned a vast array of brand names, which had world wide recognition and respect. Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land-Rover, Aston Martin were the famous vehicle brand names owned by the company. Ford Credit, Genuine Parts & Service and Motorcraft were its’ automotive service brands. †¢ Huge size of the business operations allowed Ford to reap the benefits of economies of scale. As of 2005, Ford’s distribution network spread over 200 markets across six continents, supported by an employee base totaling 300,000 and 108 plants worldwide. †¢ Business diversification initiatives of past decades helped Ford to focus on financing sector in addition to manufacturing, with the help of its subsidiaries. Most of the vehicles sold to dealers and distributors were financed by Ford Credit at wholesale rate. The diverse product line was another positive outcome of business diversification. As of 2005, Ford was the second biggest player in US with a total market share of 18. 2%. In Europe, the market share stood at 10. 8%. Weakness Ford’s large size could pose serious impediment to its efforts to adjust to the dynamics of global automobile market. Unlike its Japanese counterparts, Ford had to ride on heavy incentives to boost sales of models, which failed to catch the attention of consumers. Financial Constraints prevented Ford from channeling investments towards the manufacture of new models. Failure to control plant capacity also cut down the profit margin. Opportunities The opening up of Asian markets, wherein lied the potential for growth in commercial vehicle sales, offered a big opportunity to Ford in the near future. The big size and extended global reach, which some identified as a weakness, was helping Ford to become a major player in these markets. Meanwhile in the US, consumers in the higher income category were expected to spend more on high-end models more frequently. The growing trend in energy prices23 was paving the way for a huge market for full and medium sized SUVs and hybrid vehicles with better fuel economy. Despite losing the first mover advantage to Japanese auto-makers, Ford was making headway in this growing market. And in order to leverage on its brand image, efforts were on to differentiate brand identities to the potential consumers. By this initiative, Ford was trying to cut down its incentives. To check capacity issues, Ford made plans to close 10 plants and 30,000 jobs by 2008. Its ultimate aim was to boost capacity utilization to 95% from the current level of 72%. Threats The main threat to Ford’s market dominance came from Japanese auto-makers, particularly Toyota, whose products were of high quality. Ford was losing out customers, who went for higher quality vehicles from Japanese auto-makers, despite absence of incentives. The negative ratings given by most of the credit rating agencies in 2005 also demanded attention as the decision reflected concerns over Ford’s cash flow and profitability, declining market share, excess industry capacity, industry pricing pressure and rising health care costs.