Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Career Development Plan Part Iv †Compensation Essay

Now that we have structured our new team, identified their roles, identified ways to manage their performance and created an appraisal system we are now proposing a new compensation plan. This part will outline the plan, describe how it will help motivate employee performance, describe our total rewards program and outline how this program will benefit the individual and InterClean. Account Executive Financial Compensation Plan Compensation structures can be broken down into two distinct categories, financial and non-financial (Cascio, 2006). This section overviews the financial compensation plan for account executives, which includes pay and benefits. Account executive pay will be primarily commission based. Each account executive will receive a base salary at minimum wage, with the rest of their salary coming from commission. We feel that a generous commission structure will motivate performance because pay will have a direct correlation with sales volume. We structured our proposed commission plan to reflect InterClean new strategic direction (University of Phoenix, 2007), and how employees are rated in their quarterly appraisal. This means a focus on retention, up-selling and volume. Account executives will receive 8% commission on sales for the first six-months of revenue. 10% commission on sales after six-months of continuous revenue. 13% commission on sales after one-year of continuous revenue. 13% commission on up-sells and account executives that meet their quarterly sales volume will also receive a bonus equaling 3% of total revenue earned. New Business Account Executive, The New Business Account Executive has different goals, and therefore a different pay scale will apply. He or she will receive a base salary of $30,000 per year, plus a 3% quarterly commission on revenues earned from the accounts he or she acquired. We feel that this structure will adequately reflect the difference between new account acquisition and account retention. Cumulatively, the maximum amount of commission paid on revenues to account executives would be 19%. In related to the benefits Account Executives will receive the standard benefits due to all InterClean employees, including; †¢ Health Insurance with employee share of cost †¢ 401k match 14 days paid vacation †¢ 6 days sick time †¢ Health, Financial, Stress and Motivational Counseling through our employee wellness program. Managerial Financial Compensation Plan The managerial financial compensation plan will focus on overall team performance. We feel that creating a plan that rewards managers for team performance helps ensure management’s focus on creating a strong team that meets financial objec tives. Managers will receive a base salary dependent on their pay grade, ranging from $50,000 annual for the solution expert and $65,000 annually for the sales manager. The rest of their salary will be based on team performance as 3% commission on total revenues per quarter of all account executives that have met his or her goal, and 2% on total revenues per quarter if all account executives meet their goals. We feel that paying based on meeting objectives, and sharing in total revenues accomplishes two important things such as rewards managers who ensure account executives meet their goals by providing the tools and support they need. And it encourages over-achieving by not setting a limit on revenue sharing. In terms of the benefits, managerial employees share in the aforementioned benefits, and are given one additional week of paid vacation (five days) per year. As mentioned, compensation does not only include financial compensation; there are certain non-financial rewards that motivate employee performance, increase loyalty and decrease turnover. The following non-financial rewards were chosen based on a survey conducted in the United Kingdom (Employee Benefits, 2006) as additional â€Å"perks† for employees. Sales Employees, All sales employees are eligible the following reward package flexible working arrangements. Employees can work at home when appropriate on dates arranged between them and their manager. Flexible work time is the top-rated non-financial reward in the UK survey (Employee Benefits, 2006) and offering such an arrangement can increase productivity by diminishing stress caused by work-life conflicts. And corporate gym membership also ranked high on the survey, and using our corporate pull to offer a free membership not only encourages wellness, but exercise has countless benefits such as stress relief, increased creativity, and energy. Also, we will include employee discount at restaurants. Using the promise of higher volume by internally promoting local restaurants to our employees, HR has arranged for employee discounts at local restaurants. This benefit decreases the costs of lunch for our employees and gives them another reason to value InterClean. Managerial Rewards, The following rewards are available to managers in addition to the preceding rewards available to all employees such as use of company vehicle: Surprisingly, the UK survey listed â€Å"sports car as company vehicle† as the number one â€Å"benefit they don’t receive but wish they had† (Employee Benefits, 2006, para4. . Company gas card, not only should our sales manager ride in prestige, but we understand that the majority of driving they do benefits our company, so they also have use of our company gas card. The compensation and rewards system outlined in this plan are geared to motivate performance by tying pay directly to the revenue gained for InterClean. Our new strategy of fo cusing on solution-based selling (University of Phoenix, 2007) means we must grow retention, up selling, and total volume. This plan rewards all three by reducing the base pay of account executives, increasing commission and tiering commission based on retention and up selling. We reward achievers and not low-performers. Tying managerial pay directly to the performance of the team rewards good managers (Vigoda-Gadot & Angert, 2007. ) Finally, offering a substantial but not overly high base pay takes into account fluctuating economic and environmental constraints. Offering bonuses quarterly rather than annual avoids penalizing employees for one bad quarter, which can happen to even the best sales person. Finally, our reward system is built to make InterClean a great place to work, that values the employees well-being and offers perks as part of the job. Offering this reward system can help InterClean retain the best possible account executives and managers (Cascio, 2006). Because we offer competitive pay and creative rewards that ease the work-life conundrum, and add a certain level of prestige to those who work for InterClean.

Business process reengineering Essay

1) Why are information systems (IS) essential in organizations? Information systems are the modern approach to data organization. It allows an effective and efficient way to store, modify, retrieve and manipulate data and information for a specific business or organization. 2) Why do systems analysts need to know who the stakeholders are in the organization? One of the major task and responsibilities of the system analyst is to bridge the connection of all the stakeholders in the organization. The system analyst has experience and/or knowledge in every perspective in a system and delivers their expertise in whatever section the analyst is analysing. Along with this, the system analyst must have good interpersonal communication and relation skills in order to have effective communication/relation with the stakeholders. 3) Who are the typical stakeholders in an information system? What are they roles? Besides the system analyst, the major players in an information system is the project manager, the system owners, designers, builders and users. The project manager is an experience professional who takes on the monitoring of the course of the project being in terms of scheduling and budget. The project manager also ensure quality and standards upon his team. The system designer uses the project requirement and plans out the design of the system. Its their responsibility to create the architecture of the business plan over the database(s) and the network. They visualize the process from input to output which is used by the system users but created by the system builders. The system builders will make the necessary tools that the system users will require. The system users are the ones who put into effect the outcome of the information system. They manipulate data with day-to-day tasks such as entering, storing, validating and exchanging information. System users may be internal or ex ternal (ESP). 4) Please explain the consequences are if an information system lacks a system owner? Many stakeholders are crucial to the development of the system and without a system owner, the project may not come to realization. To start, the team will require funding and without proper financial management, the team members will need to cut corners and may not have the proper equipment or tools to establish the project requirements. To add, without a system owner, the project manager must take on more responsibilities to ensure correct operations and maintenance is being held through the systems development. 5) What are the differences between internal users and external users? Give examples. Internal users take up the majority of the population of workers involved in the system. Internal users are ones to remain in the facilities of the project while external users could either be temporary workers or workers in a different location that the building that holds the business. Internal users can be categorized into clerical/service, technical/professional or supervisor/management workers.Temporary workers may be experts brought in for advice or other external users may be considered remote or mobile users having new or different location than their previous post. 6) What are the differences between the role of system analyst and the rest of the stakeholder? The system analyst has many more responsibilities than a single stakeholder because the system analyst needs to understand each point of view to fill in the communication gaps. For example, a system analyst must understand the responsibilities and view of the system users in order to visualize help for system builders. 7) What skills and knowledge must a system analysts posses The goal of the system analyst is to improve the system. In order to facilitate this burden, the analyst must know how to ‘system think’ and improve their mind into a problem-solving state. To start, he/she must have a vast knowledge in technology and should stay on top of the game by learning new and emerging technologies. In order for the analyst to be able to give expertise to programmers, the analyst must itself have great experience in multiple languages of programming. A system analyst must also be able to connect the bridges from technology to business and to be able to communicate with the business side of the organization. 8) In addition to the business and computing knowledge the system analysts should possess, what are the other essential skills that they need to effectively complete their jobs? 9) Why are good interpersonal skills essential for system analyst? Although an analyst has great practical skills, he also must have a great character and leadership skills to develop a more important skill: communication. It is crucial to be able to reach out to the other stakeholders with qualities such as great interpersonal social, communication and relation skills. A system analyst cannot be someone who isn’t able to handle dynamic groups and must be ready for change with flexible flexibility. Finally, a system analyst must be a respectable worker with good moral ethics. 10) What are some of the business drivers for today’s information systems? Globalization of the economy The information system must be globalized to support access from any country/language/culture. Situation are resolved with international stakeholders who can read/write/communicated in the desired language Electronic commerce and business the information service of a commerce or business going to the internet in order to either buy/sell/exchange goods or inform the public about the business. It modernizing things out in the market, onto the virtual platform for simplicity in accessing information Security and privacy As users/customers raise awareness in security and privacy online, companies/businesses must keep up with preventing a security breach. Information and data must only be viewed with users and/or managers with permission. Collaboration and partnership Within one’s business, it’s necessary to open the connections between departments and outside a single business, its important to establish partnership to have easy cooperations with other organizations and to make better business sense. Knowledge asset management Knowledge is the combination of data into useful information and these three are considered as an importance in business resource Continuous improvement The system analyst is always making the effort to add to process improvement which can be either making price reduction changes or adding value to the current process Total quality management A true key of success is overall quality which can only be achieved by the quality factor of each stakeholders. TQM is approach that is acknowledge by the workers to ensure sastifying quality in the system Business process redesign This is the approach to improvement in business process in effect to cheaper cost and additional value. This differs than CPI by modifying bigger changes in the business 11) What are the difference between electronic commerce and electronic business? E-commerce has the goal of making a financial profit by the sell/buy/exchange of products or services. E-business may be an informant website to display electronic support directly to one’s business. 12) What are the difference between information and knowledge? Both information and knowledge comes from raw data, but it’s information that comes out of the process and organization of data. Considering stand-alone data has no relative meaning, it is formed and group in such that information may be achieved. Knowledge is the deep form of information that may be interpreted as facts, truths, beliefs, judgments, experience or/and expertise. 13) What are the most important technology drivers for today’s information systems? Network and the Internet System informations will use the internet with all their tools which can consist of the languages (HTML, XHTML, PHP, javascript, perl, etc†¦), Intranets and Extranets, portals and web services. Mobile and wireless technologies with nowadays hardware, mobile gadgets are becoming increasingly popular because wireless technologies are becoming more efficient and practical Object technologies The use of high-level programming involved in object-oriented design. The use of objects as data are more efficient and reusable Collaborative technologies consist of technologies to aid communication with tools such as emails, instant messaging, groupware and workflow Enterprise applications business will develop custom software and application in order to achieve desired results with better compatibility than to buy a license for an application

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Mother Knows Best

Mother Knows Best There is a quote that says, â€Å"Mothers are angels who teach their children to fly. †Ã‚   Indeed mothers are angels, even though we often think that mothers were meant to torture us especially in our adolescent years when we would rather go out with friends instead of washing the dishes or doing our homework, our mothers nevertheless become our pillar, not just of faith but also of strength. Mothers may often be misunderstood but it does not mean that they don’t know best.My earliest memory of my mother is that of a radiant face. For me she was the most beautiful woman alive and nothing compares with her. Even if she was unlike the celebrity mothers who wear designer clothes or gets to eat in fancy restaurants all the time, my mother is, in other words, real. My mother seemed to be passive and quiet however she was a formidable foe if you cross her. I loved the way she combed her hair getting ready for bed, letting those deep brown locks loose, shiny against the glare of the overhead light.I loved the way she would  caringly wipe my back for perspiration after playing under   the hot sun all afternoon not minding the fact that I smelled like a sweaty sock worn for two weeks. On the incidents that my sibling and I cross my mother, those big green eyes of her would squint in disapproval, mouth pursed. But I came to love that about her. Even if I was born seven years after my brother, this never prompted her to play favorites. But rather, she made it a point to be fair and equal among her children.Whenever I commit a mistake, Mom would not hesitate to point it out to me, punish me if needed. Sometimes, I detested it but over time I came to realize that Mom did that because she only has the best interest at heart. However, she was not one to hold grudges for long. Like most mothers, she is very protective of me that often times I resented her for being so. I did not understand why she has to  constantly ask about my whereabou ts: who I am going with and where I was going. It never occurred to me that this was an essential part of being a mother.A mother cares and worries for her children. Mother taught me that getting reprimanded does not mean that she loves me less. On the contrary, she showed me that when she scolds me, it means that she cares for me and worries about me. Mother has certainly her own flaws but I have come to accept, in fact love every bit of them. When mom starts to call or page  me non-stop, it is either she misses me or she needs something or  I have irked her again. Some may call it nagging, I call it loving. For a person to wear her heart on her sleeves is a vulnerable thing, but mother is not vulnerable at all.In fact she is admirably strong. She never backs off in a fight especially if she knows she is right but she also knows how to compromise too. But compromising for her does not mean that you are wrong. Comprising is just another way of getting things done, later. When I started school, mom was my friend. To me, school was a world where strangers and bad guys lurk. Instead of laughing at my fears, mom showed me instead how great school can be. On my first day of school, she prepared my favorite snacks drove me school.Instead of leaving me at the gates, she got off the golf cart, knelt down and  tenderly cupped my face in both hands and told me, â€Å"Don’t worry honey, there isn’t any bad guys today, Mommy made them go away. †Ã‚   Although these words are pretty naive, but to a child on his first day of school, these words were more than enough to let him conquer his fears. I went to school that day knowing that Mom was there for me and I learned to enjoy school. I made new friends and introduced them to Mom who was more than happy to serve us hot cookies and milk for snacks.Although my mother was not able to achieve her goal of becoming getting a college degree, this never made her bitter but rather she motivated us to pursue our own education and goals in life. She taught us early on that education is very important that is why she never fails to motivate us in school. I know my mother is not perfect. She is only human thus has her own flaws too. But for me, these flaws are tiny imperfections that make her all the more lovable and perfect. These flaws are just evidences of her humanity. Mother is an angel who teaches us to fly and dream.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Intercultural communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intercultural communication - Essay Example lates that: ‘The study of intercultural communication begins as a journey into another’s culture and ends as a journey into one’s own culture’. This last statement sensitized me on the extent that I detested my culture; that is the key reason why I decided to share Haiti’s cultural beliefs and background in relation to intercultural communication. Haitian culture comprises of African and French cultural aspects. African culture forms the most prevalent Haitian cultural setting, evidently from the high population of West Africans. Haitian culture, therefore, represents an integration of the language, artistry, and musical ideas from African and French cultures. Creole is the main language spoken by Haitians (Hall 149). Creole is an integration of French language and Haitian Creole. Considerable percentages of Haitians are religious and believe in Christianity, except for few who are Muslims. Haitians are outstanding artists specializing in woodcarving and painting. Their exceptional artistry emanates from the belief in conserving historical events through drawings. Moreover, Haitians remain conservative of their music culture through continued dance and music creativity. Haitians culture beliefs that their music has the potential of scaring off evil spirits and facilitating healing of specific diseases. Haitian traditional dance incorporates native drumming and rhythmic patterns inherently form African and French culture. When it comes to the two concepts of Universality and relativism, I tend to be more universalistic. For instance, I once watched on Facebook some Chinese preparing dog meat for supper and commercial purposes. The meat, to most people is not something that anybody should be eating, as it is a taboo in most cultures around the world. In another scenario, I watched some other Chinese roasting rats as a special meal for a birthday party. I felt disgusted not only by the idea of eating dogs or rats but also by the cruelty with which they

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Legal Systems and Ethical Standards Research Paper

Legal Systems and Ethical Standards - Research Paper Example This paper gives an in depth analysis of the legal and ethical standards in the two countries. For an international company wishing to do business in a foreign country it needs to familiarize itself with the legal and ethical standards that regulate the operations of its business line. This mainly focuses on the commercial laws which are known as the law of merchants, intellectual property, commercial paper, business association, private maritime law and bankruptcy (JURIST, 2010). The industrial property law is stipulated in The Paris Treaty and covers matters including unfair competition, trademarks, patents and industrial designs. To incorporate a business in Greece the company must receive approval from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pay tax to the local tax authority and register with all other relevant bodies in the country. The legal system in the United States has led to the emergence of a capitalist market. There is free ownership of property and freedom of choice. There are unclear rules and regulations governing the business environment in the country. Joe Diver Company should get authorization from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The company should file its documents with the Athens Bar Association. It should pay the deposit capital in a bank, pay capital tax on the concentration of capital to the local tax authority and obtain a tax registration number. The company should sign the Articles of Incorporation before the notary public. The company must notify manpower OAED (Office of Aboriginal Economic Development) within eight days of hiring a worker. Joe Diver Company should register with the relevant social security authorities. For a foreign company seeking to introduce its products in Greece it must have 300,000 Euros (U. S. Commercial Service, 2010). Its labor laws must comply with those in the country and a third of the jobs created should be given to the citizens. A business

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Responding to terrorism in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Responding to terrorism in Britain - Essay Example One can see that internal insurgencies can be dealt with ease but the rapid spread of terrorism and it’s after effects on world nations cannot be dealt with ease. To be specific, cross-border terrorism is an imminent threat to the multiracial society of Britain. Problem statement: The report on the responding to terrorism in Britain proves that Britain plays an important role in terrorism mitigation in the international arena, but internal (within the United Kingdom) and external problems (global spread of terrorism) cause imminent threat to Britain in general. Background The origin of terrorism in Britain can be broadly divided into two: internal threats from those who fight for free Northern Ireland (IRA), from the Islamic terrorist groups that operate from UK and the treat from international terrorist groups operate from the Middle East Asia. Wayne C. Thompson stated that, â€Å"A Times poll showed that 86% of British respondents supported giving the police new powers to a rrest people suspected of planning terrorist attacks† (74). ... The Glasgow International Airport attack (2007) and Exeter bombing (2008) proved that the global spread of terrorism and Islamic extremism pose threat to Britain. Julian Richards made clear that, â€Å"We have mentioned that, in the UK, counter-terrorism work as we understand it today effectively began in 1883 with the formation of the Special Irish Branch by the Metropolitan Police in London, later renamed simply the Special Branch as it took on a wider range of work against extremist and terrorist activity† (50). So, one can see that rapid increase in the number of terrorist attacks forced the British authorities to adopt innovative measures to deal with terrorism in Britain. Responding to terrorism in Britain Earlier, the British response to terrorism was limited to the context of the attacks initiated by the Irish Republican Army. But in the 21st century, global spread of terrorism created much trouble in the multiracial society of Britain. Paul Thomas made clear that, â⠂¬Å"For Britain, the shock was different, as the 7/7 attacks were carried out by four young Yorkshiremen, all raised and educated, and some born, in Britain-‘ordinary’ young Britons with regional Yorkshire accents who had willingly killed themselves in order to also kill fellow Britons in the name of their understanding of Islam† (N.Pag.). To be specific, the Islamic extremists were able to influence some of the immigrants in Britain. This eventually led to extremist plots like London bombings in 2005. On the other side, the British response to terrorism is interconnected with anti-terrorist legislation under UK law. The Acts and laws aim to track down and limit the funding facilities of the terrorist groups, and detention of

Friday, July 26, 2019

As a Spiritual Leader, a Member approaches you in Private with the Term Paper

As a Spiritual Leader, a Member approaches you in Private with the following questions. How do you take on Leadership in answering their Questions Scriptures provided to assist if needed - Term Paper Example he church that rise to the occasion of leadership through either appointment to an office within the church or merely by showing that they have leadership qualities that naturally puts them in the position of confident and mentor. When a leader of a church is presented with the question â€Å"What does a Christian do when their pastor sins?†, the first answer should always be to forgive them as God would forgive their sins. However, Timothy 5:19-21 gives us further insight in that accusations against an elder should not be entertained unless there are two or three witnesses. The passage states that if sin is proven, accusation should be made in public. However, Mathew 18:15 suggests that one should approach in private, bringing in others if the person does not listen to the advise that suggests giving up the sinful activity. If they will not listen, then it should be brought to the church, and finally treated as if they were a pagan or a tax collector. However, the best advise would be to tell the member to be very sure before making an accusation and if they feel uncomfortable, to speak to someone with whom they can approach the pastor for a dialogue about the subject. â€Å"Our pastor has sinned and the elders do not want to take action. How do you approach your pastor?† When this question is posited, the first question will relate to finding out why the elders choose not to act. A member should always feel comfortable in approaching a pastor as they are the spiritual leader to whom they should first look to for guidance. Even if the issue concerns the pastor, the topic should be brought forward in a manner that shows continued respect until the issue is confirmed as a reason to withdraw that respect. If the pastor chooses to keep the issue between himself and God and the elders choose not to act, then a choice must be made by the member as to whether or not to remain under the spiritual guidance of those who have sinned in his or her eyes. There is a difference

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Business Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Business Economics - Essay Example Wessels however points out that this does not necessarily mean that the citizens of the US have better living standard than their counterparts in the UK. (21). GDP therefore cannot be used as the sole factor in measuring the living standards of the citizens of a country. However chances are that a country with a high GDP has a better standard of living than that with a low GDP. So what encompasses GDP' Well there are a number of components which when added together make up the GDP of a country. According to Sowell, they include Consumption which is denoted by letter C, Investment which is denoted by letter I, spending by government and finally exports and imports denoted by letter X and M respectively. Consumption refers to all the money spent by citizens of a country in buying goods and services which they expect will satisfy their needs. This includes money spent on food, purchase of new clothes as well as entertainment. (50-51) Sowell further notes that spending by the government is another component of the GDP. For example the UK government spends money to buy new military equipment and also pay its workers. (70).This expenditure is also part of the country's GDP. Investments into an economy are also used in calculation of the Gross Domestic Product. ... To get the accurate value of GDP economist add the value of all goods produced in a country and then subtract the value of all goods which are imported. The total components of GDP is expressed mathematically as Y=C+I+G+(X-M). (Sowell 80-81) Wessels notes that measuring GDP is critical if economists are to determine the rate of growth of an economy. "In measuring GDP economists use two major methods, the expenditure method and the income approach". (qtd.in Wessels 71). The expenditure approach involves adding the total amount of money spent on final goods. In this case, GDP equals C+I+G+ (NX) where NX represents gross exports. The income approach involves adding all the income received by citizens of a country either through compensation, income from rental property, and profits of corporate organizations. Mathematically this can be expressed as GDP= Employee Compensation+Rental Income+Corporate Profits+Net Interest+Proprietor profits. UK GDP Figure for the year 2009 The GDP of the UK is estimated to be worth '315.5billion. What does this mean' The figure indicated above means that the total value of all goods produced in the UK in the 2008 to 2009 financial year amounts to '315.5 billion. This makes it the sixth largest economy in the world and third largest in Europe. How well did the GDP grow in 2009' In measuring the GDP of an economy, economists divide a given year into quarters. The growth of the economy in each quarter is measured and then a comparison is made with the previous quarter so as to note the difference which constitutes actual growth.(Wessels 55). For instance in the UK economy, GDP fell by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2009. In the second quarter of the same year GDP declined by a value of 0.6%. In

Summarize Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Summarize - Essay Example Martha McCaskey’s task in the Silicon 6 project is not an easy one. She is under intense pressure from the senior management to have the project completed and an action plan delivered to the client. The pressure calls her to make personal sacrifices as well as compromises. She is even considering paying someone to do the project for them, only that it emerged successful. The client too has a great reputation; therefore, the firm cannot take chances with the project. The client is a manufacturer of semi-conductors from California, the issue at hand was that the company wanted to identify the technologies and the cost regime of a new product (chip) that has been produced by client’s competitors. Martha’s job is to coordinate the activities that will foresee that their client obtains this information. She is tasked with the role of finding the information from another consultant, Phil Devon. The challenge is to have the consultant give her the information, Martha is doubtful. According to McCaskey, there are two possibilities that can be appropriate in the achievement of this task. Firstly, Phil Devon can be required to give a number of options on how the chips are produced, this would include the ones that are being produced by the competitor. She thought it would be a good strategy to eliminate any suspicion. However, this would come at a cost of additional funding from the client. The option also relied on the willingness of Devon to provide the information. Secondly, there was the option of leaving the task to Chuck Kaufmann, a senior associate from her firm. He was more experienced in seeking market intelligence information. Despite the option considered, the project would affect Martha in one way or another. She opted to have an interview with Devon; she called and had an early morning interview with a man who was willing to help with the information. However, Martha felt guilty for

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Final Examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Final Examination - Essay Example On this basis, the performance evaluation process will help in identifying the various roles of an employee, and the desired results/ outcomes of their duties within the organization. This process helps in communicating the desired outcome of their duties, and how the organization will measure their efficiency in meeting its objectives (Fried and James, 2002). This process is also important because it establishes the progress of an employee under consideration. On this basis, the periodic performance evaluation process makes it possible for the organization to provide continuous coaching, training and education to the employee under consideration. This will help in developing the various skills of the employees; as a result, the organization will have a highly talented and skillful individual to work for it (Fried and James, 2002). There are a variety of good rating criteria for performance appraisals. One of the best methods to rate employees is the use of the BARS, which stands for behavioral anchored rating scale. This method allows a manager or s supervisor to provide a description on the employee’s behavior in relation to their teamwork, delivery of results, leadership skills and communications. This type of rating, gives managers the ability to provide their own reasons as to why they rate a particular employee in the particular manner. On this basis, this type of rating has an effect in reducing errors that managers can create while rating their employees (Fried and James, 2002). This is because this type of rating defines the dimension of a job that an employee does. This type of rating also identifies the various areas that are needed for training and development. However, the only disadvantage with this method of rating is that it is time consuming to develop. In carrying out a performance review, a manager/ supervisor will need data. To collect data, a manager needs to involve the employees by asking them to submit a self-review of themselves. This gives employees a sense of control, and an opportunity to be heard by the management under consideration (Fried and James, 2002). A self review will give the employee an opportunity to remind the management of some of their important contributions. The manager will also collect data/ information from other stakeholders of the business organization. This includes customers who might be asked to review the performances of an employee under consideration. Other methods of data collection include observing the performance of the employee by the organization, for purposes of recording their strengths and weaknesses. There are four main types of rating errors. This includes (Fried and James, 2002); Halo effect Halo effect involves the influence of an individual’s character based on the overall impression of the individual under consideration. Personal bias This involves rating an individual based on whether the supervisor likes him or not. Contrast effect. Contrast effects in volve making a comparison between the employees work performance, as opposed to the established standard set by the organization. Distributional errors. This involves generalized ratings, such as good, below average, excellent, without basing the rating criteria on an accurate data or knowledge.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Steve Job's success and his (responsibilities) as a leader for do Assignment

Steve Job's success and his (responsibilities) as a leader for do changes to face the external environment changes - Assignment Example For example, when he became the Apple CEO, the company started manufacturing an unsystematic assortment of computers and peripherals. However, through his leadership, Jobs cut down the production of a myriad of products and instead urged his team to focus on making only four computers, and this was a success (Emerald, 2002). As a transformational leader, Steve Jobs took his responsibility from the end to end. In particular, he not only created a new vision for the company but was also involved in institutionalizing the change (Eisenbach, Watson & Pillai, 1999). He knew that in order to gain simplicity in Apple devices was to ensure a seamless integration of the hardware, software and other peripheral parts (Isaacson, 2012). Consequently, he was involved in fulfilling this in the Apple products that were produced. In a nutshell, Steve Jobs provided a clear responsibility and priorities with extensive communication and freedom to improvise. He experimented with ideas and also linked his projects to the future with predictable intervals (McKnight, 2013). Steve Jobs was able to change the culture of Apple from being quantity focused on quality focused. In particular, he was able to create a small manageable product portfolio that ended up attracting huge revenues for the company. In the first place, he recognized the need for change in the way things were done at Apple. The recognition came from the fact that Apple was having declining sales figures and posting poor financial results. Consequently, he provided a vision of the company’s future about the need to turn things around and make Apple profitable (Schein, 1996). Upon communication of his vision for the company, Jobs began seeking for solutions from members who agreed on reducing the company’s product portfolio and concentrating on improving quality of the remaining products. The reduction also meant to lay off of workers to manageable levels

Monday, July 22, 2019

Elementary Education Essay Example for Free

Elementary Education Essay Reading Comprehension -The student uses a variety of strategies to comprehend grade level text; Strand: Reading Process Listening and Speaking The student effectively applies listening and speaking strategies. Informative The student develops and demonstrates technical writing that provides information related to real-world tasks. Benchmark: LA. 2. 1. 7. 3. The student will summarize information in text, including but not limited to main idea, supporting details, and connections between texts; LA. 2. 5. 2. 4. The student will listen politely to oral presentations by classmates. LA. 2. 3. 1. 1. The student will prewrite by generating ideas from multiple sources (e. g. , text, brainstorming, webbing, drawing, writer’s notebook, group discussion, other activities); LA. 4. 4. 2. 5. The student will write simple directions to familiar locations using cardinal directions, landmarks, and distances, and create an accompanying map. Grade Level: Grade 2 Objectives: 1. Using the book The Trumpet of the Swan, the class will understand the main idea of the story by reading, listening and students discussion. 2. Basing on the journals of Louis in the Trumpet of the Swan, the class will come up with their very own journal writing. 3. Using the given information in the book The Trumpet of the Swan, the class will make a map of the main characters travels and adventures. Activities: Before reading: 1. Ask the class if they know what a journal is and if they have ever written one. 2. Tell the class you are going to read them a story entitle The Trumpet of the Swan. During reading: 3. Read the Trumpet of the Swan. 4. Show a map of Canada and point important spots that are mentioned in the Trumpet of the Swan. 5. Show a sample journal and explain how to write and what to write. After reading: 6. Ask the class to read Sams poem and summarize the text and identify the main idea of the poem (Reading). 7. Ask the class to write a journal about nature (Writing). 8. Have the class make a map of Louis’ travels and adventures including all the important spots in Canada, Montana and the Northeast (Visually Representing). 9. Have the class discuss the book by having them share their favorite part and ask questions like the following: How to behave in the woods if you want to appreciate nature, what are their stand on the ethics of Louis father, why is there a need for Serena to hear the beautiful song of her mate, does anyone identify with Applegate Skinner? Or have someone recite a part of Sams poem (Talking/Speaking). 10. Ask the class to listen when a classmate recites a poem and identify the main idea of the poem (Listening). Assessment of Writing Development: The 2 ways of assessing a students writing development are Rubrics and Portfolio assessment. ? Rubrics are tools teachers and students use to evaluate and classify writing, whether individual pieces or portfolios. They identify and articulate what is being evaluated in the writing, and offer descriptors to classify writing into certain categories (1-5, for instance, or A-F). Narrative rubrics and chart rubrics are the two most common forms (UNL|FLWI, 2008). ? Portfolio assessment is the collection of students work over time reflecting their progress, efforts and achievements and teachers based it on the following items: students Projects, surveys, reports and units from reading and writing Favorite poems, songs, letters, and comments, Interesting thoughts to remember, Finished samples that illustrate wide writing, Examples of writing across the curriculum, Literature extensions, Student record of books read and attempted, Audio tape of reading, Writing responses to literary components, Writing that shows growth in usage of traits, Samples in which ideas are modified from first draft to final product, Unedited first draft, Revised first draft, Evidence of effort, Self-evaluations, Writing that illustrates evidence of topic generation (Hurst, 2009). Assessment of Grammar Skills: You can informally assess childrens grammar skills by: ? Reviewing childrens work on relevant pages in their Student Books, handwriting sentences they copied during Daily Routines, and especially their own independent Quick Writing. ? Another method is by formal graded assessments such as quizzes, selected homework activities, and in-class tests (Porter and vanDommelen, 2005). Assessment of Spelling Skills: The two ways of assessing the students spelling skills are observation and analysis of the work samples. ? Observation can be done in the classroom by observing the students as they write and as they try to use words that are beyond their ability level. It is important that observation be supplemented later with the students work samples and it should be done in a systematic way. ? Analysis of the work samples is an assessment of students spelling ability from examination of samples of their unaided writing (Westwood, 2008). These samples can be taken from students exercise books, test papers, and language arts portfolios (Fiderer as cited in Westwood, 2008). THE SPELLING PATTERNS: 1. Blends: are 2 or 3 letters combined to form a distinct spelling sound. Examples are : -br- in brown and break and -fr- in fry and freeze 2. Digraph: A group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single sound. For example, EA in BREAD, CH in CHAT, or NG in SING. 3. Diphthong: the union of two vowels, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice; as, ea in beat, ou in sound. 4. R-controlled vowels: When a vowel is followed by an r, it makes a special sound. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels. Examples are /ar/ sound as in car, /er/ sound as in butter. 5. Long vowel: a sound which is the same as, or very similar to the letter name of one of the vowels. Examples are /a/ as in gate, /e/ as in need. 6. Short vowel: Are vowels of shorter duration. Examples are short /a/ as in bat, short /e/ as in bet. 7. Contraction: is a word made up from a verb and another word where an apostrophe takes the place of any letters that are left out. It can be positive contraction or negative contraction. Examples are: arent are not and heres here is. CUING SYSTEM: 1. Semantics — the study of the development and changes of the meanings of speech forms. Semantics is also a study of the process by which meaning is derived from symbols, signs, text, and other meaning-bearing forms. 2. Syntax — the conventions and rules for assembling words into meaningful sentences; syntax varies across languages. 3. Graphophonic — Refers to the sound relationship between the orthography (symbols) and phonology (sounds) of a language. 4. Phonological awareness — The understanding that speech is composed of sub-parts sentences are comprised of words, words are comprised of syllables, syllables are comprised of onsets and rimes, and can be further broken down to phonemes. Cuing Strategies â€Å"Used by effective readers to figure out unfamiliar words and to make meaning, cuing strategies include knowledge of syntax, semantics, words and word meaning, and graphophonics (letter/sound associations). Teachers can guide students to use cuing strategies by reminding them to ask themselves, did it sound right? Did it make sense? Did the word look right? † (Teacher Resources, 2002). References Advice for Teachers: Assessing Student Writing. UNL | FLWI. 2008. 03 Apr. 2009 http://flwi. unl. edu/advice/studentwriting. html#suggestions. Porter, Patricia, and Deborah VanDommelen. Integrating Assessment with Grammar-for-Writing Instruction. CATESOL: California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. 2005. 03 Apr. 2009 http://www. catesol. org/Porter_vanDommelen. pdf. Hurst, Carol Otis. Portfolio Assessment in the Reading-Writing Classroom. Carol Hursts Childrens Literature Site Reviews and teaching ideas for kids books. 03 Apr. 2009 http://www. carolhurst. com/profsubjects/portfolioassess. html. Westwood, Peter. What Teachers Need to Know about Spelling. Aust Council for Ed Research, 2008. Teaching Reading: Lens on Literacy. Teacher Professional Development and Teacher Resources by Annenberg Media. 2002. http://www. learner. org/libraries/readingk2/front/otherterms. html.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Customer As Benefit A Positioning Strategy Marketing Essay

Customer As Benefit A Positioning Strategy Marketing Essay Positioning is to make happy consumers to perceive products and services and what strategies marketing adopt to reach this perceptual goal. Positioning strategies is very important for business in marketing sector. It can be performed from the object attributes, competition, application and the types of consumers involved, or the characteristics of the product class. All these attributes convey a separate direction in developing positioning strategies; it can create a favorable image in the minds of the consumers or audience. There are seven approaches to positioning strategies: 1. Using Product characteristics or Customer as benefit a positioning strategy: Product characteristics strategy originally focuses upon the characteristics of the product or customer benefits. Product characteristics can be durability, economy or reliability. Product quality is the main subject in this strategy. 2. Pricing as a positioning strategy: In this strategies depend on products quality and price. People want to get good quality in cheap price. 3. Positioning strategy based on Use or Application: When companies produce a product, in the same time they have to think about its alternative product. They need to make seasonal product also. 4. Positioning strategy based on Product Process: Product can be different by people choice. It depends on different types of fashion. Here same products need to present various ways. Product class can be several by people choice. 5. Positioning strategy based on Product Class: In this strategy product class need to make sure that critical positioning decisions. Here need similar types of product for its alternatives or substitute. 6. Positioning strategy based on Cultural Symbols: In this stage companies are trying to show that they respect culture and tradition. They use different types of goods that are no conflicted with culture. 7. Positioning strategy based on Competitors: In this type of positioning strategies, Companies are trying to stay in the market they try to make new brand as they can continue in the market and they can face other competitors. This strategy adopted because of competition. For every company positioning strategy is very effective. Every company should follow this strategy for their business. In the XCITE church, they could follow the 7 steps of positioning strategy. But they did not maintain positioning strategy. As a result the church could not afford to employ a full-time pastor and the church depended on volunteer workers. Unique positioning: Creating of awareness for a business, not-for-profit institution or association doesnt begin or finish with a mission statement. In fact, legation statements are a waste of time in todays world because they are singularly inward-looking and useless. Consciousness comes from a single peculiar positioning message that stimulates a conversation, and a spirit to know more. For unique positioning a unopposed and coercive positioning message is necessary because it sets apart from other competitors. To be successful, Companies must focus on one thing and be the best at it. The part of church service is to spread their service to people and welcome them to church. To increase churchs member and becoming more integrated within community, the following information may be of some help. Though by no means exhaustive, these are techniques that have worked for churches in the past, and which may work for community, as well. A Clear statements Make sure that convention has a clear statement of faith and the role it wants to take on in the community at large. A clear statement can help to find new member for community, and can help to draw new members to the church. The affection and compassion of Christ are endless, and endlessly shareable through community and brotherhood. It can help to make strong community. Charity Work The churchs services are involved with charity work. The church service is a great way to become more involved with the community. Try to make the church a resource for people who are interested in helping their community, whether theyre Christian or not. Gather information about them who are interested in charity and volunteer work. Community Events Community events are significant path to engage with the society and make neighborhood at the society. Youth Programs Young people can do any hard job easily. Teenagers are very curious about anything. Hiking, Skiing, and rock climbing trips, battles of the bands and camping retreats all provide opportunities for the youth nearest the church community to invite their friends of other faiths from the community at large to join in activities of friendship and togetherness. Working with other Religious Organizations working with other religious organizations can help to make partnership and friendship. Reach out to make friendships with church leaders of other denominations and faiths. Communication is often the first step creating a stronger and more unified neighborhood at the community. People in Need Some times church provides social services such as addicted and homeless people often receptive to spiritual guidance in a practical form. Also, single parents, in particular, are often in need of support and advice from their community, and your church has the opportunity to take a major role in the lives of such people and their children. The XCITE Church cannot maintain its unique positioning in the high competitive church market because the church had not enough resource to run their services properly. They had no full time pastor and also no musicians. The XCITE church had not own venue for their weekly services and run under a volunteer pastor. The church depends on international students and facing financial problem also. To continue churchs activity they need strong financial base but they had not enough wealth. On the other hand, other churchs had huge space for their weekly services and they added new services continuously to their menu. They added new food item on their food menu. The XCITE church had not unique positioning to run their services in the highly competitive church market. Reference List: Positioning Strategy. 2012. Positioning Strategy. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.marketing91.com/positioning-strategies/. [Accessed 07 October 2012]. The Importance of Positioning Strategy | Proteus B2B Marketing Blog. 2012. The Importance of Positioning Strategy | Proteus B2B Marketing Blog. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.proteusb2b.com/b2b-marketing-blog/index.php/positioning-strategy-b2b-marketing/. [Accessed 07 October 2012]. How to increase Church Membership. 2012. How to increase Church Membership. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/church-business/increasing_church_membership.html. [Accessed 08 October 2012]. How to Increase Church Staff Without Spending a Dime by Ron Edmondson ChurchLeaders.com Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How Tos, and Free Resources. 2012. How to Increase Church Staff Without Spending a Dime by Ron Edmondson ChurchLeaders.com Christian Leadership Blogs, Articles, Videos, How Tos, and Free Resources. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-how-tos/157793-ron_edmondson_how_to_increase_church_staff_without_spending_a_dime_outreach.html. [Accessed 08 October 2012]. Unique Positioning in One Sentence | David Henderson author, journalist, communications strategist. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.davidhenderson.com/2009/04/16/unique-positioning-in-a-sentence/. [Accessed 10 October 2012]. The key challenges faced by XCITE church The XCITE church faced some challenges. The first challenge was financial crisis. They could not spend more money for its operating cost. They had not own venue so they had to rent venue for their weekly services and the church spent huge money on its promotional materials. Church had to struggle for covering the operational cost. Most of the church members are student thats why they could not donate properly to the church. They had to depend on non members for their church activities. As church had financial crisis so they could not employ a full-time pastor. They dependent on volunteer pastor but weekdays he was not available at all. The pastor could not obey his duty properly. Members could not meet pastor when they need so some members were leaving the church. As a result the quality of churchs service goes down. During exam time student cannot co-operate properly due to their study loads also semester break same happened on the church. The XCITE church had limited element such a s pastoral care, hospitality and music systems. So the people cannot attend to their churchs ministries. Other main problems are to face XCITE church that is in the church-business they had competitors at the same area. Other competitors had huge space and many facilities. XCITE church caters for only university students but other church can arrange cater for families, students, elderly and children. To overcome from this key challenges XCITE church can apply SWOT analysis system. SWOT analysis system SWOT stands for strengths(S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T). An overview of the four factors (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is given below- Strengths Strengths are the abilities that enable to accomplish to the organizations target. Strengths can be tangible or intangible. These are what well-versed in or what expertise in the organization, the attachments and qualities individually or team and the distinct features that give to organization for its patience. Strengths are the beneficial appearances of the organization or the efficiencies of an organization, that includes process capabilities, human competencies, products and services, customer goodwill, financial resources, and brand loyalty. For the examples of strengths are broad product line, huge financial resources, no debt, committed employees, etc. If XCITE church can manage its financial condition they could solve the problem. The church had not enough money thats why it faces problem to maintain its operational cost. Weaknesses Weaknesses are the abilities that prevent from accomplishing to the mission and achieving its full potential. These weaknesses collapse influences on the organizational success and growth. For weaknesses of an organization may be faced depreciating machinery, insufficient research and development facilities, narrow product range, and poor decision-making problems. Weaknesses are manageable. Weaknesses must be minimized and eliminated form organization. The church had not full-time pastor. XCITE church had not enough materials. They depend on students only. Opportunities Opportunities are dedicated by the environment within an organization operates. Opportunities are arisen when an organization planning to increase its business range in this situation employ can take benefit of conditions in its environment to plan and execute strategies that enable it to become more profitable as they can prove their ability. Organizations also can gain competitive advantage by making use of opportunities in their farm or industries. Opportunities may emerge from industry/market competition, government and technology. Increasing demand for service opportunities may be arise and employ can prove their skills to the authority. If the XCITE church could accept people from their community and arrange competition to young people who wants to work as volunteer worker for the church could make opportunities for young eople. XCITE church could add some opportunities to their volunteer workers. Church could add cater for families, students, elders, children. They can arrange Sunday school for kids and nice music also. Threats When a company or organization established in their own business and getting more profit then threats-Threats may arise. Threats are uncontrollable. Any times it can create for business. When a threat comes, the durability and uplift can be at stake. For the examples of threats are increasing competitions leading to excess capacity, unrest among employees, changing technology, price wars and reducing industry profits, etc. XCITE churchs main threats are other huge church and their special services. SWOT Analysis take steps about information that helps in the firms resources and capabilities with the competitive environment. If XCITE church applies SWOT analysis to its operation it can solve its all limitations. It will be effective for XCITE church. The SWOT analysis is a valuable step in church situational analysis. Assessing churchs strengths, weaknesses, market opportunities, and threats through a SWOT analysis is a very simple process that can offer powerful insight into the potential and critical issues affecting for church. References SWOT Analysis Definition, Advantages and Limitations. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.managementstudyguide.com/swot-analysis.htm. [Accessed 09 October 2012]. SWOT Analysis Strategy Tools from MindTools.com . 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm. [Accessed 08 October 2012]. If I would the pastor of XCITE church I would follow the first strategic option. I would continue focusing on university students because I believe Young people can do everything. They have energy to do hard job and they are fresh. To find additional sources of income I would apply marketing mix strategy. To face the challenges I would apply extended marketing mix known as 7 ps. Marketing mix Marketing mix strategy  is about achieving marketing objectives through proper analysis of the 7 Ps or elements of marketing. 7 Ps are: Product XCITE churchs product is their service. Everyday church should add extra offer and need to compare services with other churchs service. Product should be significant from others product. Church should offer its products or service at all in the current market place. Prices The second P in the formula is price. Develop the habit of continually examining and reexamining the prices of the products and services church sell to make sure theyre still appropriate to the realities of the current market. Sometimes church need to lower prices. At other times, it may be appropriate to raise its price. Many companies have found that the profitability of certain products or services doesnt justify the amount of effort and resources that go into producing them. Occasionally churchs needed to change its terms and conditions for sale and need to package sale. Promotion The third habit in marketing and sales is to think in terms of promotion all the time. Promotion includes all the ways to tell customers about the products or services and how market and sell to them. Only for promotion sale can be raised dramatically. Even small changes in advertising can lead immediately to higher sales. For publicity posters and lift let can be distributed. Place The fourth P in the marketing mix is the place where the product or service is actually sold. Develop the habit of reviewing and reflecting upon the exact location where the customer meets. The XCITE churchs need specific place for its weekly program. As they can rent this place for various purpose. People People are an essential ingredient in service provision; recruiting and training the right staff is required to create a competitive advantage. Customers make judgments about service provision and delivery based on the people representing in an organization. This is because people are one of the few elements of the service that customers can see and interact with. Process This element of the marketing mix looks at the systems used to deliver the service. Imagine. An efficient service is needed to make faster process. How quickly and better services they can be provided. Physical evidence Physical evidence is about where the service is being delivered from. It is particularly relevant to retailers operating out of shops. This element of the marketing mix will distinguish a company from its competitors. Physical evidence can be used to charge a premium price for a service and establish a positive experience. All the church provide same service but need to know about their charge and neat and clean environment. Marketing mix for a service has additional elements because the characteristics of a service are different to the characteristics of a product. To certain extent managing services are more complicated then managing products, products can be standardized, to standardize a service is more difficult as there it can be affected by factors outside the service providers control. If I would the pastor of XCITE church I would apply this marketing mix to my church for additional source of income. I think this strategy would be better option for the church.

Comparison of Public Health and Clinical Research Ethics

Comparison of Public Health and Clinical Research Ethics How Does Public Health Research Ethics Differ From Clinical Research Ethics? Zoheb Rafique INTRODUCTION: The field of biomedical ethics arose in late 1960s in the response to some emerging ethical dilemmas and issues of that era. This field for many years focused on dilemmas generated by the high technology medicine, rather than on the issues of the population health and the ethical problems of public health programs. The discipline Bioethics received the initial stimulus from abuses and issues of human subject’s research, also the emergence of patient’s rights movement, and the drama of high technology medicine. The Research involving human subjects has often been a central ethical issue and problem for the biomedicine for at least hundred (100) years now, and particularly since the World War 2. Just as the public health is broad in the scope, the range of the ethical issues in this field is uncommonly wide, and encompassing the ethics in the public health as well as ethics of public health (1). In past twenty (20) years, the research base of the clinical ethics has gaine d tremendous strength appreciably. However the main research opportunities didn’t come under broad heading of the clinical ethics, but instead through the specific programs such as human genome project and end of life movement (2). In this paper, I will discuss the differences between public health research ethics and clinical research ethics. DISCUSSION: The Public health research ethics include ethics regarding the community participation in the research, while the clinical research ethics include the ethics regarding the clinical patient research. This is major difference between these two scenarios, now I will discuss it in detail. Most of the research has focused on the clinical and the experimental medicine (efficacy, safety and the mechanism of action, and also regulatory issues to general neglect of the public health dimensions. The Public health ethics, which is defined as identification, analysis, and the resolution of the ethical problems occurring in the public health practice and also research, and it, has different domains than those of the medical ethics. The ethical concerns in the public health often relate to dual obligations of the public health professionals to apply and acquire the scientific knowledge that aimed at restoring and also protecting public’s health while respecting the individual autonomy. Ethi cs in the public health involves interplay between safeguarding welfare of individual, as in medicine, and the public health goal of protecting public welfare. Some other ethical concerns in the public health relate to need to ensure just distribution of the public health resources. The Public health ethics has broad scope that includes the ethical and the social issues arising in the health promotion and the disease prevention, the epidemiological research, and also public health practice. The main professional roles of the epidemiology are design and the conduct of the scientific research and public health application of the scientific knowledge. This includes reporting the research results and also maintaining and promoting the health in communities. Also in carrying out the professional roles, the epidemiologists often encounter many ethical issues and some concerns that require the careful consideration. Many of those issues have been highlighted and addressed in literature on ethics in the epidemiology and the public health including the ethics guidelines. The Ethical and the professional norms in the epidemiology have also been clarified in the ethics guidelines for the epidemiologists and often the public health professionals. The Ethics guidelines such as those developed for Industrial Epidemiology Forum, International society for the Environmental Epidemiology, and American college of the Epidemiology also provide useful accounts of the epidemiologists’ obligations to the research participants, employs, society, and colleagues (3). The Epidemiologic studies can provide the descriptive data that can lead scientists later to develop some intervention that can result in the reduction in morbidity and mortality; the health education program can be one of the multiple interventions that together reduce the risks and also ill health. The argument here, however, is that the public health programs, studies, or interventions, must be designed with the awareness of relationship between that program and ultimate reduction in the morbidity and mortality. The Public health programs may result in high employment, as well as some less tangible benefits such as coalition building and strengthening of the communities. Today, the public health practitioner use some tools in addition to the epidemiology to register their work, still aiming primarily on community wide, also typically prospective methods and approaches to improve health. In addition, the practitioners investigate the outbreaks, provide health education, conduct contact tracing, and also other preventive interventions, and organize research related to the public health (4). The Public health agencies require the identifiable health information for conducting different public health activities. The increasing number of the functions, including the public health Surveillance, and outbreak and incident investigations and program implementation, and some direct health services, s uch as the clinical public health activities and services and the research, maintenance, and the storage of the personal health information. The Successful execution of all these functions depends on the data quality and the accessibility. Heightened security is very necessary and paramount to maintain the public confidence; also good health care and it depends on the patients providing the accurate and sensitive information to their care providers in a very timely manner. Placing restrictions on the data acquisition, use, and the disclosure also poses some risks, particularly if those restrictions impede acquisition of the key surveillance data, which would otherwise be used to prevent the disease, investigate the causation, and enable the interventions to protect the exposed population. Additionally, electronic data could potentially permit real time public health Surveillance and also can facilitate the faster emergency response (5). Advances in the science, technology and the bi omedical research have pushed the boundaries of Belmont principles and stimulating the need for the communities to be involved in informed consent process. Changes in the Food and the Drug Administration regulations allow the waivers of the informed consent in life threatening emergencies. The rights of the unconscious participants are assumed to be accorded degree of the protection through mechanism of the â€Å"Community Consultation† which requires the prior consultation by the investigators and the institutional review board with the community representatives and public disclosure to affected community both before and after that research (6). Now I will discuss the clinical research ethics, and we will see how it is different from public health research ethics. Taking into account the sound and the increasing emphasis of recent years that the experimentation in man must precede the general application of the new procedures in the therapy, and also there is reason to fear that these requirements and the resources might be greater than supply of the responsible investigators. Medical schools and the university hospitals are increasingly dominated by the investigators. Every young man knows that he will never be promoted to some tenure post, and to a professorship in a major medical school, unless he has proved himself as an investigator. If the ready availability of the money for conducting the research is added to this fact, one can see how great the pressures are on the ambitious young physicians (7). A taxonomy was developed for the clinical ethics research, based on the method rather than the clinical area. This divided research in different terms of whether it used theoretical or any empirical methods. First, we will see the theoretical methods of the clinical ethics research. Philosophy (e.g., How should the decisions on setting the priorities be made legitimate and also fair?). Law (e.g., what practices in setting the priorities in regional hea lth authority might constitute discrimination?). Policy (e.g., what policy should the governments follow in funding the new technologies in medicine?). Now let’s see the empirical methods of clinical ethics research. Social Sciences (e.g., how do the regional health authorities in the developing countries make the decisions on setting the priorities?). Decision analysis (e.g., How do you trade-off considerations of equity and efficiency in the decisions on setting priorities?). Clinical epidemiology (e.g., what are the criteria used to allocate the liver transplant?). Health services research (e.g., how does the delivery of the cardiac surgery vary by patient gender and ethnicity?). Within empirical research (both in ethics and more generally), there is some growing recognition that the quantitative methods alone are not adequate. Since many of the phenomena examined by the ethics researchers are deeply entwined into fabric of professions, organizations, and the human lives, qualitative methods have begun to play an important role. For example, one investigator performed the observational research on how physicians discuss do-not-resuscitate orders and also advance care planning. The role of the qualitative methods is both increasing and broadening to include not only the content analysis but also grounded theory, the ethnography, and the case study designs. When we review the field of the clinical ethics a decade from now, we hope that the focus will have shifted from the ethics courses, committees and the consultants to an understanding on the part of most physicians and medical students that ethics is an inherent and inseparable part of the good clinical medicine. We hope that clinical ethics will have achieved its rightful place at the interstices of relations between the patients who are sick and physicians who profess to be able to heal and comfort them. Clinical ethics has made progress towards this vision in the past some years. The challenge re mains for the research into ethical issues to become a mainstream concern for the funding agencies around the World. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it is stated that although public health research and clinical research are different from each other, but ethical dilemmas are faced by both and also they are same in many situations. While considering the public health research ethics, the researcher must show respect for community’s culture, also take community input on the protocol development, and ensure that research is useful to community, and should respect the community’s knowledge and the experience, and ensure that the informed consent is correctly taken before starting any of the research (8). While considering the clinical research ethics, two components are most important, the first being the informed consent. The statement that informed consent has been obtained has very little meaning unless the participant or his/her guardian is capable of understanding what is to be undertaken and unless all of hazards are made clear. If these are not known this, too, has been stated. Secondly, there is more reliable safeguard provided by presence of intelligent, informed, compassionate, conscientious, and responsible investigator. REFERENCES: 1. Daniel Callahan and Bruce Jennings. Ethics and Public Health: Forging a Strong Relationship. American Journal of Public Health 2002; Vol 92, No. 2: 169-176. 2. Peter A Singer Et Al. Clinical Ethics Revisited. BMC Medical Ethics 2001; 2:1. 3. Steven S Coughlin. Ethical issues in epidemiologic research and public health practice. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology. BioMed central 2006; 3:16. 4. Nancy E. Kass. An Ethical Framework for Public Health. Public Health Matters. 5. Julie Myers Et Al. Privacy and Public Health at Risk: Public Health Confidentiality in the Digital Age. American Journal of Public Health 2008; Vol 98, No. 5:793-801. 6. Sandra Crouse Quinn. Protecting Human Subjects: the Role of Community Advisory Boards. American Journal of Public Health 2004; Vol 94, No. 6:918-922. 7. Henry K. Beecher. Ethics and Clinical Research. The New England Journal of Medicine 1966; Vol 274, No. 24:1354-1360. 8. C. Weijer and E.J. Emanuel. Protecting Communities in Biomedical Research. Science. Policy Forum: Ethics 2000; Vol 289:1142-1144.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Hobbit :: Essays Papers

The Hobbit In this most appealing book, Bilbo gets caught up in an adventure he never dreamed of, that will later change his life. In the beginning Bilbo Baggins runs into an old acquaintance, Gandalf, a wizard, who he had met many years earlier at festivals, where Gandalf had made fireworks with his magic. Bilbo and Gandalf talked for a while and Bilbo being the kind and polite hobbit he was invited him for tea in his hill the next day. There at about the time Bilbo was expecting Gandalf he heard a knock at the door, but when he opened the door it was in fact not Gandalf but a little dwarf. The dwarf introduced himself to Bilbo as Thorin Oakenshield, son of Throror, son of Thrain. He then let himself in. After that many dwarves followed, actually 9 more had come to the little hobbit's doorstep. Then finally after all the dwarves had made themselves comfortable he heard another tap at the door, and sure enough it was Gandalf, but with 3 other dwarves. That night Gandalf and the dwarves spoke of wondrous tales and of a dragon’s gold that had once belonged to Thorin’s father. They also told of an adventure they were about to embark on, and then turning to Gandalf they asked what of the 13th member of the party? Gandalf spoke up and said, "My, the one I have chosen is the burglar Mr. Baggins." Bilbo did not seem pleased, for he had no need of adventure with his pleasant yet simplistic life. Even though he was secretly intrigued, but more so he was very scared. After a bit of chitchat Bilbo agreed to go and they all went to bed. When morning came Bilbo found no one in his hobbit hole, and it’s needless to say that he was very pleased, yet at the same time also a bit disappointed. He found a note from Gandalf on his Mantle telling him to meet them at the inn. So Bilbo embarked on his journey to the inn as well as his adventure. Many divergences transpired during their trip to the lonely mountain where the dragon lay with the adventurers’ soon to be gold. The journey was no walk in the park. Many fights sprung up, traps triggered, dark forests in need of paths appeared, and having to deal with creatures like trolls, goblins, elves, spiders, and many others.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Herny Ford :: essays research papers fc

Henry Ford (1863-1947) Henry Ford was born in 1863 he is known as an American industrialist, and the pioneer of the automobile industry. It is said that Henry showed a great mechanical aptitude at an early age and left his father’s farm at the age of 16 to work as an apprentice in a Detroit machine shop. Henry returned to his home very soon after he left, but after many experiments with power-driven vehicles, he went to Detroit again and worked as a machinist and engineer with the Edison Company when he was 27. Henry continued working in his spare time as well, and in 1896 he completed his first automobile. Resigning 9 years later from the Edison Company he started up the Detroit Automobile Company. The company became much larger than Henry had ever imagined. But all did not work out as planed. He had many disagreements with his associates which forced Henry to organize a partnership with James Couzens, the Dodge brothers, and others, the Ford Motor Company was then formed. In 1907 he purchased the stock of most of his associates. The Ford family remained in control of the company. By cutting the costs of production, and soon adapting to the new conveyor belt and assembly line for automobile production, and by featuring an inexpensive, standardized car, Henry Ford was soon able to lead sales for all his competitors and become the largest automobile producer in the world. Henry soon came to be regarded as the â€Å"apostle of mass production†. In 1908 he designed the Model T. Almost 17 million cars were produced worldwide before the model was discontinued and a new design, the Model A was created to meet growing competition. The Ford Company had been highly publicized for paying wages considerably above the average. The Ford Company began in 1914 the year Henry created a sensation by announcing that in future his workers would receive $5 for an 8-hr day a profit sharing plan that would distribute up to $30 million annually among his employees. In 1915, in an effort to end World War I, he headed a privately sponsored peace expedition to Europe that failed dismally. After the American entry into the war he was a leading producer of ambulances, airplanes, munitions, tanks, and submarine chasers. In 1918 Henry ran for the U.S. Senate on the Democratic ticket but lost. Henry almost suffer a severe financial crisis in 1921, he began producing high-priced motor cars after this along with other vehicles and founded branch firms in England and in other European countries.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

abraham lincoln :: essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln As the sixteenth American President, determined to end slavery, Abraham Lincoln finally put an end to his hard work by writing the Emancipation Proclamation. Abraham Lincoln had no intention on freeing slaves when he became president of the U.S.. Although Lincoln always believed slavery was wrong, he always believed in white supremacy. He said, â€Å"If slavery is not wrong, then nothing is wrong.† When the war started he thought of it only as a way of saving the union. Later, this opinion would change. There are many pressures faced while being the president. Lincoln faced many of these pressures. Pressure for abolition came into the country. This is how he came up with the idea for writing the emancipation proclamation. This made southern leaders reject Lincoln’s presidency. The pressures forced him to do what he did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lincoln wrote the Emancipation because of the pressures he was facing. â€Å"On September 22, 1862, five days after Union forces won the battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation. It stated that if rebelling states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves to be â€Å"forever free.† The south rejected Lincoln’s policy, and so he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.† This caused the southern leaders to turn against Lincoln completely. The emancipation proclamation finally came into effect. On this day Lincoln read his proclamation. This would change the world dramatically. â€Å"By the end of the war, more than 500,000 slaves had fled to freedom behind northern lines. Many of them joined the Union Army or Navy or worked for the armed forces as laborers. By allowing blacks to serve in the Army and Navy, the Emancipation Proclamation helped solve the North’s problem of declining enli stments. About 200, 000 black soldiers and sailors, many of them former slaves, served in the armed forces. Even when the proclamation came into effect it still did not free many slaves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Very few black men were freed from the emancipation, but it caused another huge point to come forth. It showed that the civil war was not being fought to save the union, but once and for all, put an end to slavery. Finally, the civil war ended with the north victorious. With all of the blacks joining the army and Navy, the Unions power was twice as strong, which helped the Union tremendously in winning the war.

How and why did USA become involved in the Vietnam War Essay

In march 12, 1947 with the truman doctrine and the newly introduced policy of containment usa decided to award itself with status of policeman of the world giving themselves a permission to intervene anywhere in the world when they consider it is neccessary. This was the policy that allowed them to interpose in vietnam. Vietnamese people under the leadership of ho chi mihn, founder of viet minh defeated french at diem bien phu who had controll over whole indochina (thailand, vietnam, combodia, laos). Although usa was sending aid to french they didn’t help much because president eisenhower has just been elected to end the korean war therefore he didn’t want to involve usa in another conflict. However after french defeat and the devision of vietnam into north which was communist and south usa started to realize the danger of communism spreading into asia and saw vietnam as a puppet in hands of ussr and china. in convinction that responsibility for the ‘domino effect’ will be theirs if they won’t do anything. n 1954 usa prevented the re-uniting free elections from taking place, foreboding uniting vietnam under communist goverment. this time they showed their resilient attitude, considering their disapproval with ussr, not holding free elections in their sattelites. nevertheless there were no elections and usa picked up anti-communist diem to become a president of south vietnam. This decision led to many protest especially from buddhist monks since diem was ignorat to their religion and culture, he himself being christian. uring his reign he forbade any elections and set members of his family into important positions. his corruption and way of controling south vietnam was the reason for more and more people joining the national front for the liberation of south vietnam, the viet cong. although usa didn’t agree with his governance after his murder they continued to support his equally corrupt successor. Meantime, in usa after kennedy’s assasination new president was elected with completely different attitude. b johnson seemed more considered about vietnam and sent more and more military personel, the so called ‘advisors’ to vietnam. During his leadership he achieved the tonkin gulf resolution under suspicious coincidences of the tonkin gulf incident, giving him ultimate power to launch immediate attack or start war without the need of consulting the idea with senate or advisors. lbj was the most involved president in vietnam war and he started the open war with vietnam. When advisors were not enough and the infiltration of north vietnamese in south vietnam became with increasing number of attacs intorelable problem, in march 1965 lbj decided to launch the operation rolling thunder, bombing of the North Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh’s trail which was the major mean of supplying south vietnam by Viet Cong. within a short time usa realized that this tactics is not appropriate but they were in convinction that easing would signal their weakness. n addition this operation lasted for eight years where high explosives, herbicides to destroy the jungle and defoliant agent orange were used and more bombs were dropped on vietnam than on germany by all the allies during the second world war. despite the growing objections johnson launched full-scale war with the first conventional warfare in ia drang valley which both sides considered as victory. Although americans inflicted greater losses than they have suffered (a:300 v:2000), vietnamese held their position s. This way the war continued for number of years marked with unsuccessful negotiations with main problem of diplomacy frequently undermined by military activity at a critical moment. In 1967 in south Vietnam were held the ‘free’ elections but without any communist party. Thieu was elected with a low vote but finally usa could say they are defending democratically elected goverment. in following years after the failure of previous operations, operations search and destroy was introduced which main aims were defending us bases, launching search and destroy missions. Another operation, an attempt to win the hearts and minds of the peasant was also complete failure, highlighting the main American problem – misapprehension of the culture of Vietnamese people. The Vietnam war being the first televised war hugely influenced it and seeing the happenings in vietnam many student protests took place in usa, especially after the Mai Lay massacre which shocked people being the evidence that something in this war has gone wrong. n 1967 increase of bombing by more than 50%, generals still requsting more men and viet cong still holding their positions even advancing (the tet offesnive 1968) and more than 3 000 000 casualities made johnson slowly realize that this war he will not win. In 1968 johnson after many absurd years of fighting informed public that usa will halt bombing, awaiting peace talks. the president has given up ending this terrible mistake and resignated, Vietnam finally became free, united and communist.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

The Hurt Locker Leadership

Another OB theory that is examined in The Hurt Locker is lead. This theory is delineate as the magnate of an exclusive to influence, motivate, and alter others to contri yete towards the utileness and success of organizations of which they argon members. There are four powers on leadinghip these attitudes include indication, Behavioral, Contingency and Transformational. The property or competency perspective of attracters proposed that leaders are more liable(predicate) to buzz off certain privateity, social, physical, or intellect traits than non leaders.Trait perspective emphasis on leading competencies, which are learned rooms much(prenominal) as skill, abilities, and values. Successful leaders get down competencies that include * Drive and energy (includes achievement, motivation, ambition, tenacity, and initiative) * leaders motivation (the desire to lead that not to seek power as an end in itself) * H virtuesty and right * Self-confidence (associated with emotional stability) * Cognitive ability * Knowledge of the business.Another component of Trait perspective is lead agility, which is the ability to illuminate wise and effective decisions amid complex ever-changing conditions. The next leaders perspective is behavioral. This perspective proposes that effective leader behave in a certain desirable way. This behavior open fire be perceived as assess-oriented, nation oriented, neither, or both. A task-oriented title of leaders spells out duties and specific tasks, tells hoi polloi what to do and how to do it, en accrediteds employees follow rules, and encourages employees to progress peak cognitive operation.This style is similarly referred to as production-oriented and autocratic. On the other hand a people oriented or popular style of leadership shows trust and respect, engages in two-way communication, listens, encourages, give recognition, and provides socio-emotional support to retainers. The ternary style is c o n the whole Laissez-faire or uninvolved leadership style, this is an employee-centered style in which the manager permits his or her employees to function within prescribed limits. A balanced leadership style is when the manager exhibits both task and people druthers.The third leadership perspective is Contingency this is a perspective that proposes that effective leadership depends upon the degree of fit mingled with the leaders style and versatile factors in the particular situation. By nature, adventure theories are if-then theories If the situation. , Then.. Depending upon the situation an appropriate leadership behavior allow be used. There are triplet leadership theories that take a possibility perspective. get-go is Path-Goal Contingency theory. This theory proposes that leader effectiveness is based on an presentiment theory of motivation.This theory advises that the basic post of the leader is to clear the followers path to the goal. Research suggests that leader s can and should change their style to fit follower and usageplace characteristics (contingencies). Leaders should use one of four behavior styles to help chase clarify the paths that lead them to work and personal goals. 4 behavior styles are directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented. b pertain of an eye is Fiedlers Contingency Theory, this theory suggests that broad(prenominal) task and high people orientation is not best in all situations.Effective leadership depends on the go between the leaders style and the degree of control he or she has in the situation. When control is high, situation is considered to be favorable and vice versa. Favorableness depends on three key factors or contingencies. blank space power the authority associated with the leaders glob position in the organization. Leader-member relations the quality of interpersonal relationships between a leader and the group members. Task expression the degree of clarity, or ambiguity, in the work activities assigned to the group.The last theory is Leadership Substitutes Theory. This theory suggests that in some situations leaders can reduce the amount of leadership they exercise because it becomes un demand due to alive substitutes or neutralizers. Things that can substitute for leadership include high skills of employees, team cohesiveness, formal controls. The fourth and last perspective is transformational. The theories mentioned so far have been, transactional leadership theories a process of social exchange between chase and leaders that involves a physique of reward based transactions.The transactional leader clarifies performance expectations, goals, and a path that will link achievement of the goals to rewards. Transformational leadership is leadership that inspires pursual to share a vision, empowers them to achieve the vision, and provides the resources necessary for developing their personal potential. Transformational leaders work as role models, suppo rt optimism, and bait committedness as well as focus on the followers inescapably for growth. Characteristics and Behaviors of Transformational Leaders Characteristics Behaviors Charisma (idealized influence) followers have complete faith in him/her Articulates vision, perpetration Inspirational motivation inspires loyalty in the organization Models the vision Individualized precondition gives personal attention to all members Builds commitment to mission Intellectual stimulation enables followers to think round old problems in new ways Demonstrates personal integrity Evident of leadership is consistently shown end-to-end The Hurt Locker from Staff Sergeant, matt Thompson and First Class Sergeant, William throng.At the opening of the word-painting savorless Thompson lead the U. S Army Explosive Ordnance governing body (EOD) in the Iraqi-American war. The trait perspective of leadership demonstrated by monotonous Thompson includes Leadership motivation, honesty and in tegrity, and knowledge of the business. Matt bet to know what he is doing hence he is leading the team. He steps up when required during the first scene of the movie Sergeant JT Sanborn, responsible for controlling the out-of-door control vehicle is unable to lam his duties so Matt steps in and help out.Matt illustrates people oriented behavior because he tries to communicate with his partners. Matt Thompson is not confident enough and he doesnt have that motivation and ambition, he tries to play it safe. During that scene Sanborn informs Matt that he is within the blast radius and Matt says thanks for reminding me in a satirical way which shows lack of confidence. Matt also lacks in leadership agility, as he was not able to make a wise and effective decision during a complex situation which cost him his life.First Class Sergeant, William James is Matt Thompsons replacement. He is an extremely talented individual who shows outstanding leadership skills. After clashing Sanborn h e gets emotional and tells him that he isnt trying to replace Matt but just wants to do his best. This shows initiative and leadership motivation. James is very knowledgeable about his business which helps him to be self-confident. James has a balanced leadership style as he exhibits both task and people oriented behavior.James tells people what to do and how to do it, he ensures employees follow rules, and encourages employees to impact peak performance. As a Specialist, Owen Eldridge looks up to James. James recognizes this and tries his best to make sure Eldridge reaches his peak performance by notification him what to do and how to do it. During one of the scenes the fastball of a sniper rifle is jammed and James asks Eldridge to fix it. Unable to do so Eldridge asks James for help. James endangers himself to show Eldridge that he must spit on the smoke to remove to blood because the blood is cause the jam.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Our hearts fell to the ground Essay

Our hearts fell to the ground Essay

Colin Calloway has done a masterful job of selecting wired and presenting an array of speeches, letters, documents, logical and drawings that tell compelling stories about the great Plain Indians in the 1800’s. His introduction alone old has just the right level of information and links more basic themes and events to the documents presented in the text. In short, a model of how an introduction should be done.Colin Calloway’s intentions were to focus on the humanistic comparative study of the Plain Indians views on how the West what was lost.Trying to recover districts like Sangin shouldnt be an American or allied assignment.Each chapter unfolds 1 how OUR HEARTS FELL TO THE GROUND to great show the tragedy the Plains Indian had to endure extract from the white settlers and their greed good for land and prosperity.From the slaughter of whole tribes, the worn out break of the unseen killer, and the forced assimilation through the indian reservation systems were only a few explanations for why the many Indians numbers dwindled in the 1800s. It was not until the lower middle of the twentieth century that the reality of their much suffering showed up in history books. Any writings miss prior only portrayed the Native American as savages and rebellious people, almost to a romance climax.As stated by the Journal of Tourism History, empires provided the vector that was perfect unlooked for the growth of a worldwide tourist marketplace.

Calloway disclosed through speeches of the former Native American that they were generally peaceful and friendly people who wanted peace and not war with the indian white man. Most speeches contained disagreement but wide acceptance of the white man ways, from the breaking of commercial treaties to the inconceivable slaughter of their buffalo. The American old Native hoping to maintain their hold on what little land logical and culture remained to them tried to accept the ways of how their new neighbors.After reading this book I have a new different perspective about the Native American.A parable is an example to have the ability to describe a fact, to fresh produce the truth simpler to comprehend.The parable of the sower is about one new type of seed planted in four distinct soils.Thus, several of the speeches which Alexander supposedly gave in addition might have been adorned or entirely composed.

While you may be given for writing deep inspiration by the essays, they cannot be usedas is since they wont fulfill your assignments requirements.The info on the display tells me.Youve got no choice in the issue.The key is the characteristic of this abiding.

Even in the great event that you believe youre educated.Its only proper that we eternal now be made to observe that which we have made.Some are serious, great but were laughing.In the long term it is personal.

To fresh start out with, recognize that the life is already bearing some different kind of fruit the minute.More grandiose aims will stay elusive.The promises whole range is infinite.It nighttime in front part of the picture.