Western Experience Paper

I am a soldier at the Alamo this would be a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. This would follow a 13-day siege, Me and my fellow Mexican troops under President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Bexar which is now modern-day San Antonio, Texas, USA. All of the Texans defenders were killed. Santa Anna's perceived cruelty during the battle inspired many Texan’s both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States to join the Texan Army.By a desire for revenge the Texans defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, which ending the revolution. Several months previously, Texans had driven all Mexican troops out of Mexican Texas. Approximately 100 Texans were then garrisoned at the Alamo. The Texan force grew slightly with the arrival of reinforcements led by eventual Alamo co-commanders James Bowie and William B. Travis. On February 23, approximately 1,500 Mexican troops marched into San Antonio de Bexar as the first step in a campaign to re-take Texas. For the next 12 days the two armies engaged in several skirmishes with minimal casualties.Aware that his garrison could not withstand an attack by such a large force, Travis wrote multiple letters pleading for more men and supplies, but only fewer than 100 reinforcements would arrive. In the early morning hours of March 6 we would be given orders to advance on the Alamo. After repulsing two attacks, Texans were unable to fend off a third attack. As a Mexican soldier I scaled the walls, most of the Texan soldiers withdrew into interior buildings. Defenders unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape.Between five and seven Texans may have surrendered if so, they were quickly executed. Most eyewitnesses and myself could remember that between 182 and 257 Texans died, while most historians of the Alamo agree that between 400–600 Mexicans were killed or wounded . Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texan defeat. The news sparked a panic, known as â€Å"The Runaway Scrape†, in which the Texan army, most settlers, and the new Republic of Texas government fled from the advancing Mexican Army. The last of the Texans to die were the 11 men manning the two 12-pounder cannon in the chapel.A shot from the 18-pounder cannon destroyed the barricades at the front of the church, and we entered the building after firing an initial musket volley. Almaron Dickinson's crew fired their cannon from the apse into some of my fellow soldiers at the door, luckily for me I was not at the door at that time but was there some minutes later. With no time to reload, the Texans, including Dickinson, Gregorio Esparza and James Bonham, grabbed rifles and fired before being bayoneted to death, with me bayoneting Bonham. Texan Robert Evans, the master of ordnance, had been tasked with keeping the gunpowder from falling into Mexican ha nds.After being wounded, he crawled toward the powder magazine but was killed by a musket ball with his torch only inches from the powder. Had he succeeded, the blast would have destroyed the church and killed the women and children that were hiding in the sacristy. As soldiers approached the sacristy, one of the young sons of defender Anthony Wolf stood to pull a blanket over his shoulders. In the dark, I and other soldiers mistook him for an adult and killed him, this would be the first time I would kill a child not even certain if my shot would be the fatal shot.Possibly the last Texan to die in battle was Jacob Walker, who attempted to hide behind Susannah Dickinson and was bayoneted in front of the women. Another Texan, Brigido Guerrero, also sought refuge in the sacristy. Guerrero, who had deserted from the Mexican Army in December 1835, was spared after convincing the soldiers he was being held as a Texan prisoner. By 6:30 a. m. the battle for the Alamo was over. We inspected each corpse, bayoneting any body that moved. Even with all of the Texans dead, Mexican soldiers continued to shoot, some killing each other in the confusion.Mexican generals were unable to stop the bloodlust and appealed to Santa Anna for help. Although the general showed up, the violence continued and the buglers were finally ordered to sound a retreat. For 15 minutes after that, soldiers continued to fire into dead bodies. Following the battle, Santa Anna was alternately viewed as a national hero. Mexican perceptions of the battle often mirrored the prevailing viewpoint. Santa Anna had been disgraced following his capture at the Battle of San Jacinto, and many Mexican accounts of the battle were written by men who had been, or had become, his outspoken criticsWithin Mexico, the battle has often been overshadowed by events from the Mexican–American War of 1846–48. In 19th-century Texas, the Alamo complex gradually became known as a battle site rather than a former mi ssion. The Texas Legislature purchased the land and buildings in the early part of the 20th century and designated the Alamo chapel as an official Texas State Shrine. The Alamo is now â€Å"the most popular tourist site in Texas†. After the Mexican-American war I would retire and soon die some six years later, and my story would be told to by my kids to my grandchildren and generations to come.

Finding Scripture: Money and Nationalism Worksheet and Journal Essay

Money: Matthew 6:19-24 – This verse is telling us that the material things that we have here on earth are not important, the treasures that we are earning while we are here on earth for when we get to heaven are the things that are important. The size of our store house depends on what we do for the Lord while we are here on earth. Matthew 19:16-30 – This passage is telling us that in order for us to inherit the kingdom of God, we must follow Christ wholeheartedly and be born again. If we do not follow Christ we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 1 Timothy 6:10 – The verse is telling us that we shouldn’t love money because it can be our ultimate downfall. It can be coveted by some, and it can detour us from our faith. Colossians 3:23-25 – That if we are going to serve the Lord, we need to do it with a good attitude and do it wholeheartedly without griping and complaining. And if we serve Christ while we are here on earth we will receive rewards in heaven . Matthew 25:14-29 – Whatever the Lord gives us he will bless it, if we remember to give back to him of what we have. We can’t be selfish; we have to give freely wholeheartedly. Malachi 3:10 – Whatever we have we need to give a tenth of everything we have. Our tithe belongs to the Lord, and we need to remember to always pay him first. And God will always bless what you have. God will continually bless you if you give freely to him. Write 2-3 sentences explaining how the six passages above might shape the Christian worldview regarding Money: These verses remind us of how important it is to give God our time, our money, and anything we have wholeheartedly. We owe God a tenth of everything we have. God will continually bless us, if we give it without griping and complaining.  Anything we do for the Lord, whether we serve him, we need to do it in the right attitude. God loveth a cheerful giver. Give a brief summary after each passage listed below. Nationalism: Mark 12:13-17 – I believe this passage is talking about our loyalties to Christ and our loyalties to man. Romans 13:1-7 – Paul is telling Christians about how they should be obedient to the government, but how God is our ultimate authority, he is all powerful over anything else. Daniel 3:1-30 – The verse is telling us the story of Shadrach, Mescach and Obedigo, how back then King Nebuchadnezzar had a image that was set up, and he ordered that everyone bow down to worship it, well these three boys refused to bow down and worship it, they believed in the one true God. So the king had them thrown into the fiery furnace. Well when they threw them in, they looked and noticed that the three men were walking around in the furnace, along with one other person, which was the Son of God. So the King ordered the men to get them out, and when they got them out, the king acknowledged that there was only one true God, and that was the God who had delivered these three men out of the fiery furnace. Daniel 6:1-28 – This passage is talking about King Darius and David, and how they were trying to find fault again Daniel, but when they talked to him they could find no fault or anything else, except the fact that He obeyed the Law of God. Write 2-3 sentences explaining how the four passages immediately above might shape the Christian worldview regarding Nationalism: These passages are telling us that even though we have a government and people that are in high positions, we must still obey them, but God is our ultimate authority, and He is all powerful and all-knowing above anyone else and above everything else. See Part 2 of this assignment on the next page. Part 2 – Journal on Nationalism Use the space below to compose a journal of 250-500 words on nationalism by answering the following: Is there ever a reason for a citizen of any country  to reject obeying the laws of the land if those rulers do not uphold that country’s values and self-regulations? Whether your response is â€Å"Yes† or â€Å"No,† please provide reasoning for your answer by explaining your answer in terms of your worldview. Well first of all, we can define Nationalism as a belief, when members of a entire nation, have similar goals, and common interest in other things, and they differ from many other people. I personally do not believe there is ever a reason for anyone not to obey the laws of a land, even if those ruler do not uphold that country’s values and self regulations. I’m sure there have been times in the past when other people from other countries did not want to obey certain rules, but I’m sure it can be very hard when you come from another country and you are so used to living with different rules and regulations, and then you come to our country and there are also different laws to follow. So yes I would say it is a reason for this to happen. My view on Nationalism is, is that we all have a government, and even though God is our ultimate power, it is still important for us to follow the rules of our government. It tells us in the book of Daniel, how we should obey our government and then also obey God. These passages are telling us that even though we have a government and people that are in high positions, we must still obey them, but God is our ultimate authority, and He is all powerful and all-knowing above anyone else and above everything else. It is so hard sometimes to do the right thing, but with God he will make it better .

Capital Punishment Essay - Death Penalty as a Deterrent to Crime

The death penalty was killed as a deterrent of crime by an undoubted man, and an innocent 12 - year - old girl was taken from her mother. This poor little girl's mother was hit by sorrow and anger, but the murderer did not want to die for himself, but to protect other innocent girls like herself. She sat and stared at the eyes of the man who killed her daughter. She saw inserting a needle containing a liquid they might take their lives. Execution of the death penalty (capital punishment) is an effective deterrence. The death penalty is a criminal who committed a crime such as rape or murder. Discussion about the death penalty has been going on for years and remains a very decisive and complicated problem. Society must protect them from these murderers by depriving their social role, but at the same time we are convicted or sentenced to death for offenses for which innocent people were not committed I have to make sure nothing has happened. Perhaps the most common argument of the deat h penalty is deterrence. The general idea is that enforcement of the death penalty prevents other offenders from committing violent acts. Many studies have been done to prove this belief. One reason for the capital punishment of the death penal servitude is the effectiveness of criminal deterrence. According to the advocates of the death penalty, potential criminals are afraid of receiving such severe penalties, so they will hesitate to commit crimes such as rape and murder. Without capital punishment, the number of deadly sins will increase like murder and murder. The bad guys are not afraid to do what they want to do, from handling drugs to killing others. If they do not punish their crime, the criminals will use the weaker people and the victims. Death penalty and death penalty can be said to be the maximum deterrent. The purpose of punishment is to serve as a deterrent to people who wish to follow the punishment footprints. Of course, if you commit a serious crime such as homici de, you are sentenced to death and actually executed, of course, this creates great fear for anyone who progresses on their footsteps. Nobody wants to die. Therefore, if a criminal knows that you will be sentenced to death if you are committed, they will not commit a particular heinous crime.

A critical analysis of the media's reporting of politics and the Essay

A critical analysis of the media's reporting of politics and the political process - Essay Example Powell (1990) says that it is ‘this form of connection that will determine our lives’. Thus, critical analysis of media’s reporting of politics and political process has become essential to evaluate its role in the changing dynamics of socio-political and economic paradigms of a nation. The various elements of political system vis-Ã  -vis changing dynamics of society, government, political parties, corporate world etc. have become vital ingredients of exploitation by the media. In the recent times, the role of media in the political campaign has come under lot of flak for myriad reasons (Bakir, 2006; Hall Jamieson & Waldmann, 2004; Patterson, 1980). While sometimes media exploits them for its own vested interests, other times it is exploited by the system, especially the political parties and politicians and the corporate world to garner support for their own political agenda (Kepplinger, 2007; Ridout & Mellen, 2007). The media, everywhere in the world, is a leading agency for projecting the ideologies and news to a huge target population or viewers. The larger the audience base, the more powerful it becomes. The media in its various format like television, radio and newspaper and magazine, basically has the main objective of informing the audience of the events and news that are taking place around the world or it may just be region-centric, depending whether it is targeting domestic or international market. In the early eighties, there were about 80 media houses which have now shrunk to only five. These are Time Warner, Walt Disney Company, Murdoch’s New Corporation, Viacom and Bertelsmann. This cartel of big five, control a lot more than media houses. Each of them has stake in all forms of mass media; be it radio and television, newspaper and publishing house or motion pictures. They have become strong

Enhancing the Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Enhancing the Marketing Plan - Assignment Example It is important that the marketing plan should consider the opportunities, strengths weakness and threats of the product in the market. Moreover, competitor analysis will help the marketers to implement strategies to counter the stiff competition. Virtual sex software may not have much competition in the market since it is a quiet new business concept. At the same time there are many other sex related products in the market. Such products may raise some resistance to the entry of the new product; virtual sex software. Such resistances can be overcome using carefully formulated marketing strategies. This chapter analyses the marketing plan for the introduction of the new product; virtual sex software. Even though virtual sex pleasure is a quiet new business concept, there are plenty of other sex related products in the market for a long period. For example, live sex shows in televisions and internet, webcam related sex activities, sex movies, sex CD’s etc are already in the market. These items are already familiar to the people for a long time. But all such items provide only the visual effects and it is impossible for the users of such product to change anything in the content of it. On the other hand, virtual sex software helps the users to engage in virtual sex activities with any of the persons they like. There are no barriers or restrictions for such virtual sex activities. Only requirement virtual sex software users needed is the ability and skills in using computers and software. The major weakness of this product is that as in the case of other sex related products, virtual sex software also offers virtual sex rather than real sex. Moreover, the users of this product need good computer knowledge and ability to handle multiple tasks using the software in order to derive maximum pleasure out of the software. As mentioned earlier, the closest competitor for the virtual sex software might be the sex movies and live shows. All such shows and movies

The impact of information technology on accounting world Essay

The impact of information technology on accounting world - Essay Example BACKGROUND Accounting is as old as mankind and people used accounting to settle their scores even when the barter system was in place. People used different methods of keeping records of their transactions and claims to settle their exchanges as monetary transactions. When accounting was revolutionized, people brought up several new ways of book keeping which were beneficial and easy to go about. Different rules and principles came in to being when people gave rise to concepts of accounting such as accrual, matching, fair presentation and consistency etc. With progress in this field, people adopted the use of profit and loss statements as well as balance sheets to conduct their accounting but even then paper records were maintained. This was a hectic exercise which required a lot of time and tracking of records to keep them up-to-date with their daily transactions. This need of time gave rise to Information technology to come and level up the score where the requirement of time savin g and keeping track of records could be maintained. Not just that, the way conventional accounting used to take place could also be revolutionized and new and easy ways of book keeping can be brought up where standards and ease are both maintained simultaneously. BEGINNING ERA In the beginning era when information technology was introduced in the field of accounting, people started opting soft databases in place of hard copies of their records for the purpose of book keeping and tracking the transactions. This not only helped the hectic procedures of keeping the accounting records secure but also helped in the reduction of storage cost. The use of software that can calculate the results better and more accurately were used to make the calculations simpler and quick. Presentation was shifted from paper based presentation to soft copy presentation which required little time to make and edit the changes. New software was developed to cope up with the requirements as new standards of ac counting came into play and the level on complexity was increased. Both accountants and auditors started relying on the information technology far more than the paper work as it gave them time and cost saving and thus a new era on information technology was introduced in the field of accounting as well as that of auditing. CURRENT STATE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ACCOUNTING The current state of information technology in the field of accounting is very diversified and wide as the companies and information technology agencies have developed several ways of countering the needs and requirements of today’s fighting era. As the information technology has grown up in today’s era, it has persuaded the managers to implement it in their companies to manage their duties and responsibilities in a more appropriate and designed manner. The current state of accounting involves the use of following accounting software and techniques: Database management systems Spreadsheets Audit t echnique software Word processing and graphic presentations Tax assessment software Decision support systems Inventory and sales management systems Data evaluation and management software etc These are the major software that is implemented today in the field of accounting and management which have given this era of advancement a new dimension. The new era of accounting has also given rise to the in-house development of software and the companies have started their own software houses in

Reformation in Northern Europe has an effect on painting Essay

Reformation in Northern Europe has an effect on painting - Essay Example The essay "Reformation in Northern Europe has an effect on painting" analyzes what influence has the reformation in Nothern Europe on painting. In fact, reformation led to the fromation of protenstantism with constituent branches spread across Europe. The spread of reformation was enahanced by use of images, which become remarkably effective in dissemination of information regarding the negaitve practices of the church that the reformationists were opposed to thus art was applied to popularize the reformation movement . First, the main cause of the reformation was deeply rooted in dissatisfaction with the practices upheld by the church. This movement is attributed to protests founded by a German named Martin Luther who was an Augustinian monk. In 1517, he expressed his arguments against the abuse of indulgences that were solely official pardons granted upon repentance of one’s sins. The particular objection raised by the reformist was the parctice of selling indulgences that a llowed christians to literary buy their â€Å"ticket† into heaven. This practice had become quite popular in the beginning of the 16th century. Martin Luther, the founder of the reformation objected to the basic tenets of the Roman Catholic Church, which entailed the clergy’s exclusive manadate to grant salavation. Martin Luther believed that a person’s salvation was dependent on an individual’s faith and not solely on priestly mediation. In addition, Martin Luther considered the Bible to be the true and ultimate source.

Real Estate Development and Investment in the course Msc Project Essay

Real Estate Development and Investment in the course Msc Project Management - Essay Example ers & constructers as these contemporary methodologies are much more accurate and reliable as and when contrasted against traditional approaches of property valuation and management. Modern approaches of property valuation ensure that operators and other massive investors do not use the traditional approaches to their own personal advantage. Some analysts believe that the property bubble could have been avoided if the property prices had stayed on track. A diminutive part of the bubble-burst is also blamed on brokers, as even today most of the populace do not use a certified property valuator and just get their estate agents to estimate a value for them. Although, contemporary methods are much more complex and time consuming as compared to traditional methodologies that are less effective and easily manipulated, but the old methods do provide results within an extremely shorter time frame. As a matter of fact, with the increasing popularity of the Web 2.0, one may easily search for the property prices using old methodologies such as â€Å"Comparable sales† online through various WWW region specific services, such as a decent website for such an analysis in the UK is www.mouseprice.com. (Calnea Analytics Limited, N.D) At the outset, no two properties can ever be valued at an analogous value as no two properties are the same. A property might be worth much more for a particular occupier, whereas that same property could be worth nil to another. (Kilpatrick, 2004) The traditional property valuation methodologies used to focus much more on the property’s location and rates of surrounding property; but the new methodologies focus more on the use of a particular property. Nevertheless, even according to the modern approaches, a property may be of a significantly distinctive value for two different buyers. For example, a wheat farmland might be worth more to a wheat farmer than to an occupier who wants to set up a ranch. Therefore, a wheat farmer will consider

Economic Downturn Hits Oz clothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Economic Downturn Hits Oz clothing - Essay Example The focus in this paper is on Oz clothing, a manufacturer of clothing in Australia that is facing serious threats to their operation in the business due a variety of internal problems and also due to the policies incorporated by the Australian government. The organization cannot withstand the competition from the foreign competitors in the market and is facing a threat for existence. The Industrial relations and the practice maintained by the organization were poor in nature and are adding up to the resistance in the process of revival. The importance of Industrial relation has been highlighted over here and efforts have been made to identify that how the success of various elements and process in the organization depends on the proper alignment to the Industrial relations. The impact of the policies of Industrial relation on the employees helps to have a clear understanding on the motivation of the employees. The employees and the laborers of the organization are a prime part and co ntribute a lot to the organizational success. The organizations should provide proper care and maintain their responsibility towards them by framing policies in line with the industrial relations. The overall problems of OZ clothing can be segregated into two factors, internal and external. The internal factors denote the set of issues which are present within the organization and prevent the organization to reach its desired goals, and the external influences are the factors outside the organization which prevents the cause of the organization. ... The primary reason for the failure of the organization can be contributed to lower productivity which has occurred due to the adoption of obsolete technologies used by the firm. As a result of the use of the obsolete technology an overall increase in the price of the products per unit is also increasing. The company is facing serious issues with the process of manufacturing. The increase in cost of the manufacturing is also associated with the high amount of labor costs. The process of effective utilization of labor is absent in the company and thus labor has emerged to be a factor of high cost for the company. The skills of the labors in the production department are also under question. The organization also faces serious issues with the line of products they deliver to the customers. The organization generally deals with underwear as their commodity product. Customers believe that their products are not original and are also not fashionable. In view of the perceptions from the cus tomers; the retailers are canceling the orders of the products. The products are also highly priced than the competitors and it is also acting as a major cause for being unpopular in the market. The product designing team of the organization has not brought any innovation in the design or the quality of the products and has failed to satisfy the needs of the customers. The absence of fashionable products in their product line has also been a major cause for the customers easily falling to the low priced products outsourced from China. The organization also has low source of capital and this further prevents them to opt for the new technologies or look after

Customer Strategy Development Project Research Paper

Customer Strategy Development Project - Research Paper Example According to FedEx Company Management, International Corporations are the most profitable customer groups. The group consists of international companies who purchase products from different countries to the destination industries. FedEx provides excellent transportation services for such products. Most international corporation customers are modern companies between ages less than 30 years old. Moreover, the international corporations have an extremely high-income level ranging from &50 billion Per Annum. The purchasing habit of this group is recommendable because they make massive purchases for their raw materials that require efficient transportation to the designated areas (FedEx Corporation, 2013). E-Commerce Companies forms the next group of companies served by FedEx. FedEx Company offers various services to E-Commerce companies such as mail delivery, goods transportation both locally and internationally. E-Commerce companies are of any age, and the income levels range between $ 20 billion to $30 billion per Annum. FedEx Company customer profile also caters to individual customers. Most people prefer sending emails, parcels, and other vital information via courier companies. FedEx offers services to individual adult customers over 18 years of age. In addition, individual customers can be of any sex and the income levels have less significant provided the person meets the charge requirements. The most targeted customers under the international corporations' segment include Computer and technology industries like Apple, Google, Max, and Sony. On the other hand, FedEx targets most E-Commerce companies and the rapidly growing small businesses all over the world because they offer excellent business to the company. FedEx has entered into the collaboration with OfficeMax to place its self-service drop boxes in all OfficeMax stores across the nation.

Ten Simple Ways to Improve My English Essay Example for Free

Ten Simple Ways to Improve My English Essay 1. This is what most people would advise: read. Read anything and everything in English. You can read storybooks, newspapers, magazines, blocs, comics, English textbooks, instructions and ingredients on food packages, advertisements, etc. For story books, don’t force yourself to read something too difficult or something you know you won’t enjoy. Make reading fun! Read books that you enrjoy eading. I hate to read books that bore me too. 2. Watch English movies with subtitles. This would be my favorite way of learning English. Not only do I get to have a fun time watching the movie, I’d be learning new words at the same time and knowing how to pronounce them! Usually, you can get movies with English subtitles on DVDs. 3. Listen to English songs. Read the lyrics as you listen to the songs. Listen to your favorite songs and sing along to them Actually, turning on the radio or putting on an English Music CD might just be one of the best ways to retain or remember vocabulary and grammar that you hear in the music lyrics . According to BPS Research Digest, as sighted in the May 2008 addition of psychologies  Magazine, the answer to the age old question of learning a language, might lie in a songThe researchers concluded that we find it easier to remember words if theyre set to music, partly because its more emotionally engaging, but also because the words are structured in a way that makes it easier for us to segment the information and store it in our memories. So turn up your speakers or put on your headphones and prepare to learn English with music. In addition, by combining the benefits of music with reading the lyrics simultaneous you will be able to learn English faster. Try it out with Perhaps , Perhaps, Perhaps by cake. The songs I have just said are clear, fun and usually focus on a specific form of grammar. . 4. Start a bloc in English. This is one way for you to practice your writing. Blog on something that you love. If you are a fan of movies, start a blog and write about your favorites movies, your favourite characters, what you think could be improved in the movie, what new movies to expect next year, etc. Besides blogging, try joining online forums, engage in online chatting and more. 5.If you don’t want to maintain a blog, why not write to a pen pal? It’d be even more fun to have a pen pal from a different country! I used to write to other people from the US, Germany, Mexico, and even Yugoslavia. I remember feeling excited when I see letters with foreign stamps on it in my mailbox. If you don’t want to spend too much money on stamps, then get a local pen pal. Perhaps Email will do. 6.Write in your diary/journal in English. This is where you can write anything in it. But if you do write something you wouldn’t want others to read, make sure you hide it somewhere safe! Or try not to write anything offensive at all in case someone does find it. You can also write about neutral stuff like the places you went that day, what you ate, who you met, what you did, etc. 7.Be best friends with a good English dictionary. You can use Oxford, Collins, Cambridge,. Buy a dictionary that you’re comfortable with and USE it at all times. Keep it next to you when you’re reading. I always put my favourite Oxford dictionary by my side when I’m reading. So when I stumble upon a word I don’t know, I don’t have to get up and look around for it. It’s right there by my side. Thus, I have no excuse for not looking the word up! 8.Speak the language whenever you can. Speak it with friends and family. You can also sing along to English songs! Try karaoke! Don’t be shy to try speaking the language. Don’t be afraid that others will tease you. In fact, they’ll admire you for your courage and confidence. I think that is the best way to improve in language skill is to use it!! Even if you have a problem with it, you should still keep on trying! Theres no better way than to practice, just like sports or art or any other skill that one tries to learn. Reading is also excellent, but when you talk to native speakers, it brings confidence and skill! I am also learning a language that is not my own, and I can say truly that the native speakers will usually for the most part help you and be encouraging; almost anyone appreciates a foreigner trying to learn their language. So, just keep trying to practice with people. Go out with friends, start up conversations, try out your grammar, and also listen to the native speakers. Try to mimic their grammar patterns and listen to what context the words are being spoken in. This is something that printed material can not give you. But remember the #1 thing: dont be afraid! You can do it! Dont let anyone tell you that you are not good. It takes time, and just keep trying! If people intimidate you too much, try listening to tapes, I know people that do this and get good results. But nothing will be better than just talking to people who speak english. Dont be afraid to ask the person, Can you explain? or I dont understand; can you repeat it? 9.Learn a new word a day. Keep your own vocabulary notebook and write a new word and its meaning in it every day. Refer to it as often as possible so that the new words will stick in your head. 10.You can also learn new phrases, idioms or proverbs a day. A kick in the teeth, sit on the fence, make a clean sweep, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, a man’s home is his castle, etc. When you come across a saying that you like, write it down and its meaning in your notebook! Actually, there are many more ways for you to improve your English. If you have extra money to spend, you can even sign up for English courses, English camps and so on. But why throw away your money when you can learn the language in cheaper waysLearn at your own pace. There’s no need to hurry when learning something especially a language. Make learning English fun. Don’t give up too soon or get discouraged. Don’t get stressed out when it becomes a little difficult.

Are diamonds taken out of context today Essay Example for Free

Are diamonds taken out of context today Essay In todays society, we [as people] take many things out of context. For example, diamonds. A diamonds, is a naturally occurring gem that has become prized for an unknown reason. They have no absolute value, except the price man delegates them to be valued. Humans discovered diamonds over four thousand years ago. Since its discovery, the diamond has been the hardest natural substance on the earth. Along with its hardness, it is also the purest and most rare of all gems, making it both functionally and culturally valuable. With this combination of qualities, it is easy to see why it has been an object of obsession, ever since its discovery. However, I have come to believe that throughout our recent history of the gem, its cultural significance out weighs its functionality. Since, their discovery, diamonds have meant many things to many people. It has always been of the same beauty as it is today, but it started out as an evolutionary tool. The supreme hardness of the diamond makes it a fundamental industrial material that affects everyday life. According to the Museum of Natural History, It has three primary roles in industry: it is used as a cutting tool, it is imbedded in another material and used as a tool or abrasive, and it is also turned to powder or paste for grinding and polishing. It is selected for such use where its hardness and resistance to abrasion its long working life and fast cutting action outweigh its cost(AMNH). For any type of stone or masonry, as well as all types of metal that requires drilling, shaping, or polishing, diamonds may perform the task. In fact, diamonds are in such demand that, four times the amount produced naturally is grown synthetically for industry alone. That amounts to over 500 million carats or 100 metric tons (AMNH). As you can see, there are many functional uses for diamonds. They have created options, never thought possible, with previous technologies. Some of these things include; shaping eyeglasses, other gems, computer chips, and even blades used in critical surgeries. Record needles have used diamonds in for producing music for about fifty years. Unfortunately, due to ruthless marketing and advertising, the diamonds path soon changed. [As I stated above] Diamonds have always contained the same beauty. However, before 1938, the value of diamonds derived primarily from their worth as a rare stone. In 1938, the New York advertising agency of N. W. Ayers(r) was hired. Their job was to change the public attitude about diamonds. A company you might have heard of, DeBeers(r) the largest controller and harvester of diamonds in the world hired the agency. These two companies wanted to transform diamonds from a financial investment, to a symbol of committed and everlasting love. Finally, in 1947, an Ayers(r) advertising copywriter came up with the slogan a diamond is forever and the rest they say, is history (IBC). DeBeers'(r) new slogan revolutionized the diamond market. With their new symbol of love and faith, the diamond came to represent many different things from earlier days. Today the diamond symbolizes wealth, durability, status, and peerless quality. Across time and cultures, diamonds have also been associated with invulnerability, lighting, magic, healing, protection, and poisoning (AMNH). In the past, this beautiful nearly flawless gem was an extraordinary technological gain. However, today the combination of their beauty and near imperfection, makes the diamond the most sought after gem in the world. Due to advertisement and DeBeers(r) new slogan, diamonds became the cultural icon that they are. You see diamonds today in many forms: Earrings, necklaces, rings, watches and any other piece of jewelry you can imagine. I have even [personally] seen diamonds on a persons teeth. With all of these new places to put diamonds and the ever-growing demand to own them, it seems the views have changed. Besides the status symbols diamonds deliver they also represent longevity. By pairing an intimate personal commitment and a gem that lasted forever, they gave the notion that this was the only gift that can symbolize commitment. The pressure for a man to buy his new bride a symbol of their eternal love and loyalty for each other is extreme. It almost seems absurd, in this day and time, that a man would not buy a diamond to offer a woman for her hand in marriage. There is even a diamond guide: The four Cs. This guide helps a person understand these things: Cut, Color, Carat and Clarity of diamonds. This guide allows magnified inspection to prove purity of the gem. This also allows retailers to increase prices on gems that reach higher standards. Well, at least they last forever! Unfortunately, although a diamond lasts forever, after time companies suggest an upgrade to larger gems that represent stronger love. With this staggering support of logic, the diamond industry will forever boom. They have helped lead our culture, as well as many others, into almost idolizing the diamond. In my opinion, human desire for diamonds shows how advertisers have done their job. We have allowed a company to decide what we think is valuable. The ads for diamonds appeal to our inner desires to have something rare and precious. It seems to be in us all, to want nice things, but diamonds have coerced us to want more. They symbolize power and success and for some, diamonds represent quality of life. They are our cultures only remaining treasures; with the help of DeBeers(r) and other diamond retailers, it will remain that way until the end of our time.

Influence of Self-Managed Learning on Lifelong Development

Influence of Self-Managed Learning on Lifelong Development Introduction Self management learning is the only way to know oneself, to develop oneself and to sustain oneself. Days are going very fast and people lagging behind lack of such attributes will not go very fast. So there is a need of self management to grow inner side. Such management abilities determine the present and future condition of an individual either in personal or in professional. LO1: Understanding how self-managed learning can enhance lifelong development 1.1 Evaluation of approaches to self-managed learning Self managed learning is a way individual finds different aspect in learning things, enhancing skills, developing oneself which could lead the society adjustable with the diverse environment. People learn those skills from the surroundings, family, culture and to some extent carrying nature in born. There are many ways to develop one but the thing is that the individual wants himself to be pouring into which dice. Sectors are available and with the interest factor one has to choose the preferable one. Here are some approaches described below: Seminars and Conferences: Seminars and conferences in colleges or universities to be performed or organized by the high professionals. These are the best suited option for anyone to express oneself. The way a seminar goes on is the snapshot of the real world knowledge which is quite absent in text books. Internet: Internet is going through our veins and now-a-days very few people are unaware of the fact of internet using. Internet has brought people an opportunity of distant learning. One sitting before the desktop or laptop may acquire the knowledge level of home and abroad with some clicks. (Micheal, 2008) Social Networking: Social networking has given a new era of people and people in present world are totally getting involved into this. Time spending in social networking may be the source of self managed learning. Facebook, Twitter or else sometimes provide very useful data or information that helps the people to learn the world. Workshops and professional consultancy: Some agencies sometimes create the opportunity for interested people by providing workshops and professional consultancy which to a large extent helps to people become self reliant. 1.2 Proposal of ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts could be encouraged, using any learning style for this criterion Lifelong learning either in personal or in personal contexts should be concrete and well determined. Some factors are to judge to assess the criterion of becoming self managed learner. This criterion may be SWOT analysis, as it the indicator or assessment of one individual and the easiest way to know oneself in the context of business or personal purpose. Perfect evaluation helps to determine the durability of an individual’s lifelong learning. Strength Good learning skills Determination Hard working Honesty Weakness Control of temper Laziness switching mind absence of perseverance Opportunity Globalization E-learning facility Digitized market Future leader Threat Racial criticism Location disadvantage Absence of proper communication Economic downturn Figure: SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis evaluates one’s potential or judgment about going to take the advantage or not. This is nevertheless a superb criterion about self managed learning. If anyone can justify the way discussed above properly, undoubtedly he will be able to know his pros and cons and go to right direction. 1.3 Evaluation the benefits of self managed learning to the individual and organization: Self managed learning goes through the dedication of someone. The success rate of any business venture or in personal life is determine how long a person dedicates oneself to learning. Self managed learning helps people improve their some skills. These are: Brainstorming power: Brainstorming is the process which comes through relating many things together. People adopting this by various learning aspects. Ultimately this brainstorming helps people to create a new and innovative idea and helps building the leadership or entrepreneurship skill. Team work skills: Either in personal or in professional lives, every person has to work as a team to achieve the goal. Self managed learning helps to run the team in a right or perfect way. Individuals without the knowledge of self learning face various difficulties to deal with. Here is an opportunity of combining various knowledge in a package. Presentation skills: Presentation preparation has become mandatory in business era. Successful persons are successful is just because of their convincing presentation. Those presentation skills come from inner side which has to be developed with self learning. Communication skills: Those skills are preferred in business world. Business is for people and to satisfy the ultimate customer, the communication techniques have to adopt. These skills are highly demanded when it becomes a matter of product launching affairs. Hurdles breaking: Self learning obviates all hurdles coming towards the venture or in personal life. Learning curve here helps the people to overcome the situation. LO2: Be able to take the responsibility for own personal and professional development 2.1 Evaluation of own current skills and competencies against professional standards and organizational objectives: Objectives of an organization: The purpose of the organization Employee satisfaction to achieve the goals Turning it to profitable one Problem solving elements Customer satisfaction Suppliers availability Inventory availability Innovative idea Retaining the maturity stage in product life cycle Support system Longevity of the business Combining these objectives with personal skills: a) To maintain the customers’ satisfaction level, communication skill is very important b) Supplier retention has to be complied with the knowledge of the absolute market c) Inventory or raw material availability needs the proper knowledge and prediction power d) Product life cycle affairs need some strategy which comes with the vast knowledge skills e) Digitized services comes up with the knowledge of internet surfing f) Innovative ideas and development of new products comes up with the pros and cons of the product changing capacity This is how the personal skills compile with the other factors to set a business objective and leads to a better future. 2.2 Identify own development needs and the activities required to meet them To work in an organization needs much more attention and skills. Practical lives are not written into the books. Working with different scenario and coping difficulties are just affairs of some acquired knowledge. Dealing with organization one needs to have Time management skills Organizing skills Leadership skills Technical skills Technological skills (John, 2003) Skills absence of different persons varies. Those having lack of time management skills have to adopt some completion of tasks measuring time. Those who are not efficient in organizing have to accumulate some affairs already scattered. Individuals lacking leadership skills have to raise their voice boldly in favor of some legal affairs might be of business purpose, social aspects or else. Absence of technical skills need much work to do onto them; this skill comes through various tools like statistical matters, accounting concepts, marketing hurdles etc. Lastly, technological skill is required to cope with the modern era of business, society or culture. 2.3 Identify development opportunities to meet current and future defined need: Development opportunities are always demanded from any class or any group of people. Identifying the current needs and then meet up the requirements when and where needed to rectify is important factor to go forward into professional or personal life. Current needs: Being a student, the time is to standardized oneself in a furnished way. These things don’t end with simple talks, rather it needs much perseverance. Current needs are limited to set the future and develop the humane inside with skills either personal or professional. Future needs: Past is past, present becomes past within a twinkle of eyes and so future is our present. So every person in his personal life or in professional is concerned with the future. To project a plan is always for future. So to make the future whatever design has been made is possible if maintained: Strategically leading needs strategic management Marketing obstacles need SWOT analysis Projected finance needs the cash inflow and outflow projection Preparing account for home and office needs accounting concept Combining all needs organizing skill 2.4 Devising a personal and professional development plan based on identified needs Development plan paves and indicates a man about their present condition and future prospects. Whatever the situation is now, it should not affect the future. And for this development plan has to be designed in a way that sets an entire plan into the mind. The development process should be flexible meeting the requirements needed up to different stages or hierarchy. Some of them are given here as a snapshot: Developing the curriculum vitae as it is the total pros and cons of an individual Learning technical skills to adopt with many tools used in accounting, finance, marketing, management Working on the enhancement communication skill as it is required most in the present era Technological adaptability is needed much at present times as technology is progressing over the night Innovative ideas are to generate to sustain oneself in the market Gathering knowledge from home and abroad to be compatible with the world Using globalization opportunity to make individual compatible Long term planning to design the entire project in pro forma sheet LO3: Be able to implement and continually review own personal and professional development plan 3.1: Discussing the processes and activities required to implement the development plan Individual Development process deals with six steps to be discussed here after: Conducting skills assessment: The two-way interaction process has to be dealt here to develop the plan. No person alone can execute the plan. It needs skill compiling and assessment to accomplish the work. Establishing development objectives: Development objectives deal with the notion â€Å"what†. The criterion one has to develop in him/herself is mandatory to recognize the facts. Identifying developmental activities and monitoring strategies: Development activities and work on monitoring on them have been discussed earlier such as seminar, workshop, job rotation, cross training, self development etc. Preparing Individual development Plan: Preparing development plan is needed to be focused on the ground of maintaining the potential of individual. It should be designed in a way that helps to develop the other matters and leads to success. Implementing plan: Implementation of plan has been executed towards the best suited goal. This factor is related with other variables and also dependable on the other variables to fetch it towards the success ratio. Monitoring and revising plan: To sum up, the factor to monitor the entire development plan needs much reviewing. It functions like the control factor of everything. 3.2: Undertake and document development activities as planned Development plan is to be measured based on some relevant factors which initiate: Priority identifies the factors: Critical to one’s current role Critical to one’s future role Cost benefit analysis between two time period Activities can constitute the learning variable among the individual and professional stages like seminar, on job training etc. Support describes the need to help achieve the development plan of individual, relates everyone in learning, collaborating and assisting each other. Target and actual dates relates the proposed work t be accomplished and cost benefit analysis regarding the time period of completion. Date Review describes the progress on personal development plan and involves all pros and cons to stand a complete data on the prospect. 3.3 Reflecting critically on own learning against original aims and objectives set in the development Development plan either personal or professional reflects the individual learning in both ways. They are to judge the current scenario and match it with the future prospects. If any error found in completing the factors, the conflicts should be resolved and hence develop the ultimate structure of the plan. Here is an assessment template in which the learning criterion is best judged through self questionnaires procedure. What are the development objectives? Priority What are the original aims of individual based on skills? What support/sources are needed to achieve the objectives? Target date for achieving objectives? Actual date for achieving objectives? Review Date: Figure: Personal Development Plan Questionnaires are to set here to match critically analyses original aims and objectives set earlier. 3.4: Update the development plan based on feedback and evaluation The above set questionnaire pattern shows the way to time to time check up the data needed and acquired. It will be easy to solve the gap between two variables, expected and already acquired. As human skills are not stagnant, it requires frequent update like any software. The experience thus shows the things mentioned. So based on those criterion individual needs to update their criterion and make the future requirements successful by making up to date acquiring process. It will help to: Enjoy the benefits of updating Relevance of knowledge with work Coping up with hurdles Time to time improvement (Jay, 2000) For example, one needs to start up his career with affiliate marketing. She has to acquire knowledge about the available sources where the marketing or promotion can be handled. To know the perfect knowledge she has to go through various stages keeping up to date as per the profession needs. LO4: Be able to demonstrate acquired interpersonal and transferable skills 4.1 Selecting solutions to work-based problem People many a time get frustrated and depressed when faced with challenges. There are ways to sort out the problem. First one is conflict arising and the other one is conflict resolving. These two methods help make a man conflict-friendly and conflict-competent. (Hicks, 1999) There are seven steps to be followed in resolving problem: Identifying the factors Clear about the problems Situation or problems arouse before may be different Realizing interest of all Relating all factor in favor of all Best suited option is when it meets interest of all Communicating others to choose Listing the probable solutions Creativity enhancing through brainstorming Separation of listing and evaluation of the options Evaluation of options available Positive and negative sides figure out Separation of evaluation and selection of options Selecting best suited option so far What the best option is. Any scope of compiling best suited alternatives Documenting the agreements Listing pros and cons though less important issues Agreeing inverse situation, monitoring and cross check Situation may vary, so always prepared for the possible hurdles Monitoring the facts Creation of opportunities and finally implement 4.2 Communicating in a variety of styles and appropriate manner at various levels in the negotiation practice in the class Negotiation is very important element in business world. Those who conduct fair negotiation through his/her personal life; s/he may be able to negotiate in professional life. Negotiation of various styles goes through- Preparation: Preparation of negotiation is the main concern. As much as it is good in preparation, it will be good for designing the plot. The class negotiation is the same case here. Exchanging Information: Information exchange through various medium plays major part here. It combines two people relating the same factors based on the self interest of both parties. Bargaining: Bargaining is the two-way channel and if successful, then moving on to the next step otherwise comes back to the previous stage, bargaining. Closing and commitment: Closing the negotiation based on the fulfillment of interest of both parties is the commitment of going forward. 4.3 Evaluation and usage of effective time management strategies Time management strategy deals with some factors: (Mikolu, 2013) Setting priorities: First setting up the demand the things of a person or a business. It helps set the latter factors. Breaking things down: All issues should be broken down into many segments to deal with all small to small issues. Creating a schedule: Schedule set up is the timing management which helps to focus on the work to be completed part by part. Focusing on quality: Time management does not mean that one sacrifices the quality. It has to be directed by the best quality of service or products. Avoiding distraction: Distracted matter should be resolved and hence the lead got to rectify the affairs regarding the issues. Help from professional: If any matter unsolved, it needs the consultancy of experts and settling down the issues. Conclusion: Self management planning helps set up an individual in the way the career needs. The pros and cons of relating all factors may be justified in building one’s potential. The possibilities grown up are to deal with these self management planning. REFERENCES BPP. (2013). Business Decission Making Business Essential. BPP Learning Media. Drucker, P. F. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities. Drucker, P. ( 1967). The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done. Glei, J. K. ( 2014). Make Your Mark: The Creatives Guide to Building a Business with Impact. Hicks, T. (1999). The Business Journal of Sonoma/Marin. Institute, P. M. (January 1, 2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK(R) Guide. Jay. ( 2000). How to Write Proposals and Reports That Get Results) Mullins — Management and Organisational Behaviour (Pitman Publishing, 1996)

My Story :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Story Early in the morning, twenty four years ago on the twelvth day in the month of July, a baby boy was born at St. Mary's hospital in Athens, Georgia. The Pollock household of three had grown by one. Jennifer, the new boy's three year old sister, had already named him. The new boy was to be called Jody Lamon Pollock. Jody was the name she picked, and Lamon was the mother's father's name. So this is how I came to be Mr. Jody Lamon Pollock. My parents both grew up in a small south Georgia town called Pelham. My mother, Nancy, was the daughter of a farmer and a seamstress. She was the oldest of four girls. My father, Howard, was also the son of a farmer and a house wife. My dad was the ninth of eleven children. Mom and dad were high school sweethearts through out their high school days. They got married August 15, 1971. They will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this next month. My father started working for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) when he graduated high school. My father nor my mother attended college. The USDA moved my parents all around the state for the next couple of years until they finally ended up in Jefferson, GA where they have been ever since. My mom landed a job as a secretary at the First National Bank of Jackson County when they first moved here. Since then she has worked her way up through the ranks by hard work and perseverance where she is now the Senior Vice President of Regions Bank. I have only one sibling as I mentioned earlier. Jennifer, who is three years older than I am. She graduated from Jefferson High School. She has since earned an Associate Degree from Gainesville Community College and is also employed by Regions Mortgage. In April of 1995 she married Jon Ray and they continue to reside in Jefferson, Georgia.

Hamlets soliloquy Essay -- essays research papers

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a complex play regarding the kingdom of Denmark, and the unusual stage it is going through. The main focus of the play concerns Hamlet, prince of Denmark, and his feeling of ambiguity toward his recently lost father and his remarried mother. Hamlet is a complicated character who plays assorted roles in order to manipulate people. These various roles make it problematic to develop a sense of the real Hamlet. Only during the soliloquies is the reader given a chance to understand Hamlet, they allow the reader to attempt to decipher who is the real Hamlet and what is an act. The first soliloquy allows the reader to initially delve into the character of Hamlet, by showing his anger and distaste towards his mother. The soliloquy also shows that, even through his anger, he is in a coherent state of mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though this first soliloquy occurs rather promptly in the play, there are still a lot of proceedings that lead up to it. Hamlet comes back from school to find all is not well in the state of Denmark. His father has died a mysterious death, and his mother has already remarried his father’s brother. In royal times it was customary to mourn the death of royalty for a year, yet his mother only waited two months to remarry. She not only waited two months, but she was committing what Hamlet and others considered incest. This anomalous marriage paired with the recent meeting whit his mother and stepfather, where Hamlet is embar...

Airport Security Essay -- Safety Airlines Terrorism Papers

Airport Security On September 11, 2001, twenty Arab men boarded four different airplanes with the intent of attacking our country. They boarded the planes with the intent of causing tremendous damage to New York City and Washington, D.C. Two planes crashed into each tower of the World Trade Center, one plane crashed into the Pentagon, and the last plane crashed into a Pennsylvanian field. These twenty men cut short over 3000 lives. The innocent people that died had no need to have their lives taken in the way that they were. However, they lost their lives because they were American, and to the terrorists, they stood for certain principles. How were these terrorists allowed to board these planes with the weapons that they used for the take over? There is an easy answer to that question: airport security was virtually nonexistent. Anyone could be in the terminal. Friends and family could be with the passenger up to the time that the passenger went through the gate. However, since that fateful day, security has been tighter at the airports. Now, before passengers board a plane, they have to go through an x-ray machine and a metal detector before entering the terminal. Sometimes they have to go through random searches at the plane's gate. One question raised from the tighter security measures is whether these security measures invade people's personal rights. Airport security has changed since September 11, but this change is not always a good thing. One of the major changes that has taken place in airport security is more searches are being done. As a result of increasing the number of searches taken place, more people have their privacy rights violated. Another result of the increase of airport security is that less peopl... ...y.html Simon, Harvey. "Homeland Security and Defense." Aviation Week. n.d. 5 June 2002 Swenson, Dan. Personal interview. 23 October 2002 Sperry, Paul. "Know Your Rights at Airport Checkpoints." Worldnetdaily. 9 January 2002, 15 Oct. 2002 http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25974 "Suggestions for Reducing Security Related Threats." Airsafe. 22 October 2001, 16 September 2002 http://www.airsafe.com/events/war/moresafe.htm The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible: The NIV Version. Indianapolis, Indiana: B.B. Kirkbridge Bible CO., INC., 1990 "Travelers' Blues." Free-Market Net. n.d.15 October 2002 http://www.free-market.net/spotlight/airtravel/organizations/ "Women Travelers Complain of 'Busy Hands' Among Airport Guards." Startribune. 25 November 2002, 15 Oct. 2002 http://www.startribune.com/stories/1631/850064.html

Explain the role of children and young people’s personal choices

As the children grow up they tend to do things that other children do, being influenced, and starting to hide stuff from their parents. Sometime children are really aggressive because they didn't get what they wanted so they start to abuse the other children or young people. Sometime it is just that they think that everyone else doesn't know what is good for him/her so they just want to do their own choice, but they don't know always was is good for them so they end up doing bad things, like smoking, drinking, drugging, etc.  which is going to affect them maybe for all their lives. Personal choices made as a child and young adult effect nearly every aspect of life. From education to family planning – poor choices can lead to poverty and few opportunities, while good choices can open up a world of possibilities. Family experience as a child can very much play a role, but young adults are fully capable of taking responsibility for the life choices they make.In accordance with Article 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, the outcomes of the Governments Every Child Matters framework and the Early Years Foundation Stage, children should be provisioned for by ensuring that children are involved and engaged with, allowing them to be heard, to make decisions, contribute their experiences and be supported and safeguarded throughout their development.According to Tassoni (2010) the EYFS clearly states that a curriculum for children under five years should be balanced of adult-led and child-initiated activities; an environment needs to be rich in resources and displayed in such a way that the children can determine their own play. . An early years setting should encourage healthy snacks and encourage parents to supply healthy balanced lunchboxes.

Competitor Analysis Essay

Tata Nano’s competitors can be classified on three scales – Economy, Performance and Convenience. Based on Economy Though Tata Nano was launched as the 1 Lakh car, it’s exact price range varies between Rs.1.59 lakhs to Rs.2.23 lakhs in the market at present. With this price range, in the four wheelers category there is Maruti 800, Maruti Suzuki OMNI, Maruti Alto 800 and Hyundai Eon which has a price lesser than Rs. 3 Lakh. Being the cheapest car available in India, they also have competitors in the two and three wheeler segments. Tata Nano would be the next best option for this segment of customers if the budget limit is in this range. Tata Nano positions itself to be a family car available to those who can afford a bit more than they would spend for a two wheeler. Based on Performance Tata Nano has a 624 cc engine and has a maximum power of 37.4 bhp. Compared to its counterparts in the same price range, Tata Nano has a disadvantage on its engine capacity and maximum power. Mileage is also a crucial factor for consumers in India who look for â€Å"Value for Money† products. Tata Nano claims a mileage of 22.2 Kmpl for its base model and this compromises on its engine capacity and other performance characteristics. Most of the other features of the probable competitors of Tata Nano are almost at parity with it. Based on Convenience During the planning stages of Tata Nano, the team of engineers who designed the vehicle faced the toughest challenge of releasing a car that was both attractive as well as cheap. Tata Nano is 8% shorter and has 21% more interior space than Maruti 800. Tata Motors Limited have given due importance for the design of this low budget car to not lose out in the market just because of it being unattractive. It has the best in class maneuverability – lowest turning circle diameter. The weight of the vehicle is just 600 kg which is also comparatively lesser than Maruti and Hyundai Cars. This could be taken as both an advantage as well as a disadvantage. But in this case, the light weight of the vehicle contributes to some of the crucial distinguishing features of the car mentioned above. Some of the major launches by competitors that are specially focused to give competition to the Tata Nano are Bajaj’s RE60 and Renault has also announced that it would be releasing a new car in this category. None of the launches against Nano could disrupt Tata Nano’s market share significantly. Tata Nano is also planning to bring in variations to its initial model to get in line with its re-launching scheme of focusing on a the youth segment than the family segment. Comparison of Specifications of Tata Nano and it’s closest competitors Top 10 best-selling cars in India

Othello’s character Essay

Shakespeare’s character, Othello, was certainly a believable character. Although he was a man who was a leader, of high military/social standing, he was still just a man. Perhaps when one holds such a high standing within a community or nation, their followers/admirers tend to forget that they are, just as we all are, only human. Othello’s mistake was that he unknowingly allowed himself to be influenced by Iago. Manipulation is a very powerful tool, especially if used by someone who has taken the time to study the human mind. With manipulation comes distrust, doubt, insecurity, and perhaps even fear. Othello was manipulated beyond his ability to recognize what Iago’s ‘plan’ was. His love for Desdemona, jealousy and insecurities most likely clouded his ability to percieve what was really going on and as a result he not only committed the tragic sin of murdering his true love, but also committed the ultimate sin of self-destruction. Although the saga of Othello was written long ago, the similarities of its misadventures are very similar to those of today’s society. How many of us have been truly duped by someone that we have put our complete faith and trust in? How like the people of today to be fueled by jealousy and rage their normally crystal clear outlook could turn to complete and utter despairingly gray? What would it take to turn the complete love and devotion of a husband into a murderous stranger toward the one person that he has pledged to love for all of eternity? How sad that Iago’s extreme jealously could target and destroy something as pure and beautiful as the love Othello had for Desdemona. It is quiet tragic that such jealousy could destroy such a great and powerful military leader. It seemed for as much as Othello loved his wife, she was in fact his Achilles’ heel. I cannot imagine the sickening horror that Desdemona felt when she realized that there was no defending herself from the tiny, poisonous seed planted by Iago. There was no defense in the eyes of Othello as his wife paid the ultimate price. I wonder how many relationships today have fallen victim to tragedy because of a well-placed comment of doubt or shadow on one’s character. In today’s extreme number of murder and divorce, I think that Othello and his terrible story are quite believable.

Food Waste Reduction in the Factory

3. 0Food Waste Reduction in the Factory It is obvious that dealing with food waste reduction in factory is simply just reducing the creation of food production in factory. Of course, this is some kind of irrelevant ways to prevent the production of food waste in industry without using any of an smart engineering method to actually reduce it without reducing the creation of food production in factory. At the same time, the profits that the factory made would not have occurs any reduction if an applicable food waste reduction techniques is applied.Thus, sources and products can be saved from waste which concurrently will also save from the consumption of time, money and workload in the factory (Creedon, 2010). Therefore, a necessary food technology engineering method should be applied to the reduction of food waste in factory. First of all, before the factory actually thinking of reduces the food waste of the food created in the factory, they should first know and to determine the char acteristics of every particular biscuits produced in Khong Guan.After the characteristics of every particular biscuits has been determined, then they need to monitored either hand-operated or non-hand-operated machine to detect the most acceptable range for the characteristic of every type of biscuits. The most vital characteristic of the biscuit that they should have been concerned on is the moisture content. The moisture content plays an important roles since its ensures that biscuits are generally free from microbiological spoilage and have a long shelf life if they are protected from absorbing moisture from damp surroundings or atmosphere.Biscuits have relatively high energy density compared with other baked goods. The biscuit produced in Khong Guan has a moisture content of about 1 to 5%, if it exceeded than that, it can be considered spoiled and be thrown away as food waste (Baked info). Technically, we cannot produce a good and perfect quality of the biscuit constantly in a d ay without have any unwanted or abnormal biscuit produced throughout the process. An abnormal biscuit is biscuit that is produced from the factory that did not meet the ranges and requirements of the quality or characteristic of the biscuit production.Hence, it is also called as unwanted since they do not want to have any irregular features of the biscuit production for the community. In this case, they use the most common engineering way of reducing the food waste by opt to recycle in order to save food waste, money and time in the factory. Another technique they use to recycle the food waste is by using the excess/extra dough after the molding has press on the dough sheet to make the rectangle shape of the biscuit and the extra one they recycled back to mix it with the fresh dough again.This procedures repeat itself on every dough has made after the molding process in order to get the used flour and reuse it for the fresh one. This way is not only save the food waste created from the process, but also save more cost on buying more flour for the fresh dough production (Answer TM, 2009). The other common cases happened such as, the over flour created, abnormal shape of the biscuit, extra moisture content of the biscuit or the cream as we have mentioned before at above, and etc.All of these matters they have put in more awareness so that the biscuit production produce more constantly good products by using recycling method. Since recycling is apparently the easiest way to reduce the food waste produced in factory (Brokerage, 2012). Thus an engineering thought has been made that, since they cannot produce a 100% good quality of biscuit constantly throughout the biscuit process production, but they are able to actually reduce the food waste creation by opt to recycle the unwanted or abnormal biscuit to repeat the same process to obtain a better quality of the biscuit products.There are other methods they use to reduce the food waste in factory which they use the cold chain and packaging method where they store the food into the so called refrigerator to ensure the characteristic of biscuit requirements are maintained in ranges. The transportation of temperature sensitive biscuits sometimes requires an in-depth knowledge of the cold chain: a poorly controlled step can result in the loss of a biscuit or a biscuit that becomes toxic.Moreover, lack of knowledge about the cold chain or about the rules applicable to the use of packaging can result in lost biscuits. Thus, this method is able to cut food waste and create good security of the biscuit. Other than that, the methods of reducing the food waste of biscuit in factory also affected by the workers themselves in the factory. Of course, people nowadays in a modern era started using more advanced technologies to produce products in any factory. Otherness in Khong Guan, most of the process was operated by human’s hand to produce some particular types of biscuits.Hence, this is an importa nt procedure that needs to be operated thoroughly in order to avoid human’s error. Otherwise, the characteristic of the biscuit produced does not meet its requirement and this will cause a major destruction of the biscuit products that will eventually lead to food waste. The other method such as improving a quality control and process monitoring rigorously of the biscuit also can be made in Khong Guan factory. Steps can be taken to ensure that the number of reject batches is kept to a minimum.This is achieved by increasing the frequency of inspection and the number of points of inspection. For example, install particular automated continuous monitoring equipment can help to identify production problems at an early stage. This step can reduce the product waste at early stage and avoids any complication before the process moves to the mid-stage of process. Another common methods can be used in any food processing factory is to obtain a good designs of a silo as the raw material storage. Why this is important?Well, as we already covered an essential part of particle technology that so much related to the food technology, we need to find what is the best condition to design a silo that used to store raw material before it proceeds to the processing part. Otherwise, like I said, the design of the silo is not at the specific range in terms of angle of repose or the sizes, it will create an arc shape which blocked the material to flow through. Eventually, the hopper storage will get clogged and lead to food or material waste.Hence a better design of the silo/hopper for any particular raw material needs to be aware as well. References â€Å"Waste minimisation. † Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 13 April. 2013. â€Å"Angle of repose. † Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 13 April. 2013. Answer TM. (2009). Retrieved April 12, 2013, from What is the moisture content of biscuits? : http://wiki. an swers. om/Q/What_is_the_moisture_content_of_biscuits Biscuits. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 13, 2013, from Bake Info: http://www. bakeinfo. co. nz/Facts/Biscuit-making Brokerage. (2012). Why Recycle Food Waste? Retrieved from ECO Food REcycling LTD: http://www. ecofoodrecycling. co. uk/services-products/why-recycle-food-waste/ Creedon, M. (2010, July 15). Less Food Waste More Profit. Retrieved April 13, 2013, from http://www. carlow. ie/SiteCollectionDocuments/All%20Services/Environment/Business%20Waste/less-food-waste-and-more-profit. pdf

E-Marketing analyzing websites Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E-Marketing analyzing websites - Term Paper Example The company was established in the year 1999 by Jack Ma. His aim was to make internet accessible, beneficial and trustworthy for every individual of the society (Alibaba, n.d.). The company is presently headquartered at Hangzhou, China. The primary business of the company is to facilitate online selling and buying from anywhere in the world. Also for the B2B segment it connects organizations with manufacturers and suppliers all over the world. It employs around 24,000 people and has operation in 70 countries of the world. The company claims that as of March 2012, it had 79 million registered online users who are spread across 240 countries of the world (Chinadaily, 2012). ... also sells internet infrastructure services, business management software, export related services, and offers educational services to develop e-commerce and enterprise management professional. The major competitors of the company are eBay Inc., DHgate.com, Bikudo.com, Global Sources Ltd., and HC360.com among others (Crunchbase, 2012). Situation Analysis (SWOT) Strength The company has strong market position Balanced business Model Less exposure to international trade environment The company is earning more revenues from the value added services. Integration of e-commerce Weakness The company finds difficulty in to contradict the selling of forged products. Opportunities Robust growth of Chinese economy Opportunity to foray into the Indian market The company should continue to expand value added service offerings (Marketline, 2011). Threats The biggest threat of the company comes in the form of internet fraud. Problems related to litigation Intense competition Segmentation Targeting Differentiation Segmentation is a major part of marketing. It is about sub-dividing the heterogeneous market into groups of homogenous segments (Allen, Macy and Hutchison, 2009, p.21). Segmentation helps companies to effectively target the customers (Croft, 1994, p.1). Among the available forms of segmentation i.e. psychographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, and behavioural segmentation, alibaba.com segments its market on the basis of demographics. They offer wide range of products and services so that every age group, gender, and occupation gets satisfied. The company targets its customers through the help of its existing customers. It depends heavily on the word of mouth promotion. In addition, customers are also targeted by means of promoting products through popular media.

Apple - Organization Profile Strategic Analysis Research Paper

Apple - Organization Profile Strategic Analysis - Research Paper Example By mid 2011, Apple had approximately 364 retail stores based in at least 13 countries, as well as a robust online store. Towards the end of 2011, Apple had 60,400 permanent, full-time employees globally. Its global annual revenue for the year 2010 was $65 billion and $ billion in 2011. The company’s shares are highly demanded in the stock exchange market with the latest sale price totaling $570 per share. Foundation Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak, established Apple in 1976, focusing on the sale of Apple 1 personal computer kit, which were hand-built by Wozniak. The company’s incorporation took place in early 1977 exclusive of Wayne who sold his shares to Jobs and Wozniak (Lashinsky 27). Ownership Apple Inc. is publicly owned after the company launched its IPO, in 1980, generating more capital than any other company since Ford Motor in 1956. Apple Inc. is a for-profit, C Corporation trading under the AAPL ticker on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Business The comp any’s business has evolved significantly since the early 1980s when its main products included the Mac. Today, the company concentrates more on the design and production of personal electronics such as iPhones and iPads than Macs since its iPads and iPhone generate more income than Macs. Industry The company is among the key players of the consumer electronics or devices industry, which encompasses some of the world’s biggest corporations. Research shows that the consumer electronic device industry generated revenues totaling $512 billion in the 2011 financial year (Lashinsky 115). This indicates a growth rate of 12% compared to the total revenue in 2010. Furthermore, in 2011, the industry experienced 29% positive growth in unit sales. This is indicative of the overall profitability of the industry. Competitors The industry is highly competitive encompassing large multinational corporations dealing in the manufacture of hardware such as computers and handset phones, so ftware and operating systems. Apple’s main competitors include Microsoft, Motorola Solutions, Samsung Electronics, AdMob, Songbird (POTI Inc.), Sony, Adobe Systems, Research in Motion, MUBI, SlideRocket, Hewlett Packard, LG, HTC, Palm, Nokia and Dell among others (Lashinsky 84). Industry Leaders While the consumer electronics industry is highly competitive, there are few companies that lead the rest in terms of market share, capitalization and profitability. The industry leaders are companies that continue to redefine their products in accordance to the latest technology. The leaders include Microsoft with regard to the provision of software and operating systems, market capitalization, revenues and market share. Nokia and Samsung are also leaders in the consumer electronics industry with regard to sales of handsets and market share for cell phones. Apple Inc. is also a key leader in the industry. Industry Structure The industry is highly competitive and dynamic and is curren tly enjoying relative maturity, which is characterized by declines in overall profitability, as well as intense market competition (Lashinsky 72). In this context, leading brands resort to improving competitive advantage through expansion. This results in the adoption of strategies such as brand consolidations, acquisitions and mergers. These structural approaches help companies to maintain their positions in the highly lucrative

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

English - Essay Example Its arguments were sound and that, in a way, a semblance of connection could be found still when the writer assumed a combative mood towards a perceived error in reporting. Given the same circumstance – wherein a report is published in a subject that I am well versed of – and that I find it offensive or erroneous, I would probably do the same. Here, one can see that the author is passionate and not a passive and somehow I identify with that kind of attitude. Rockwood writes from a personal perspective, using his own voice. He was unapologetic as he dispenses his judgment without any reservations. He criticized the editorial â€Å"Get Bullish on Wind Power† according to his own terms. He outlined his ideas connecting them with the subject of his critique. In the process, the persuasion in the tone of the entire piece does not seem to prioritize the objective to persuade. The style employed followed those statements of facts and that arguments against it would constitute either fallacy or the lack of credibility. Indeed, Rockwood cited several arguments that are supported by evidence and his own technical knowledge on the subject. In how the piece was written, there was no hope to sway the mind of the reader so that the reader comes to believe what the writer believes. The objective was to enlighten. He was merely stating what the truth was and reality and that those arguments that digress are most probably fallacious. Rockwood’s essay was meant to refute the claims, positions and suggestions put forward by an earlier article. It is a critical essay and argumentative in the sense that it advances its own perspectives. However, I found the style lacking in this context. It is supposed to address the points made by the earlier editorial but it did not do that. Instead, it cited new arguments that someone could have claimed that the essay was written as original - without any previous connections to early work - and the reader

Chromatographic and Hyphenated Methods Research Paper

Chromatographic and Hyphenated Methods - Research Paper Example Thermometers should be available to take the correct reading during the heating process. One can easily forget to transfer the reagents to 5 volumetric standard flasks. This will limit the dilution of the reagents with the correct amount of acetone (Holler, et al., 2006). Following the right procedure and collecting all the requirements before the experiment will be helpful. During the experiment, the following components must be evaluated in the experiment. The quantity of esomeprazole in the product, which is the drug is one of the components to be determined. It is also significant to determine the stability of the drug in the environment. The process of preparing the drug should also be examined to ascertain its validity to the process (Holler, et al., 2006). During microanalysis, it is important to take a keen interest in the following; the content of esomeprazole in the drug, functionality of the drug and the effects of the drug patients. It is also important to examine the suitability of the drug to its function. The following should also be looked into Nexpro, torrent, Raciper, Ranbaxy, Bezos, Glenmark. There are different methods for separating ingredients. One of the processes is base-acid extraction. This is a desirable method for separating valuable chemicals from the unwanted gunk. The principle behind this theory is that chemicals alkaloids in general, exist in two forms. Water-soluble component together with an acid and an oil.

Choose a criminal case that has been covered by the media Research Paper

Choose a criminal case that has been covered by the media - Research Paper Example However, it is essential to highlight here that the paper also dissects the case as well as theoretically analyzes it. Introduction Sexual abuse has existed since time immemorial. What is intriguing about the molesters is that they have crept in to church molesting innumerable people. The media reveals that while selecting a new pope, Archdiocese of Los Angeles reached a $10 million defrayal after four men accused the former priest of sexually abusing them. It was also highlighted that the former priest was also criminally convicted in another case (Medina, 2013). It is essential to highlight here that Michael Baker was accused of molestation of minimum 23 boys over a period of 30 years. Moreover, in 2007 he was convicted for sexually abusing two boys. Certain internal documents revealed that Cardinal Mahony and some of his assistants helped the accused priests by protecting them against law enforcement. Priests accused of such a hideous act were sent to treatment centers and were la ter allowed to take by ministry (Medina, 2013). After the release of the internal document additional proofs surfaced that unveiled that the Archdiocese in 1987, signed a plan proposed by one of his most earnest of advisors that emphasized on sending Baker to a psychiatrist to which he agreed. Many officials such as Mr. Fanaldi expressed that such a minor action was taken so that they would know that Baker was in safe hands. He also highlighted that Mahony was apparently aware of the Mr. Baker’ crime than he seemed to acknowledge it. Nevertheless, the lawyer of church, Mr. Hennigan accepted that Mr. Baker was perhaps one of the most serious offenders and that the church should not have given him the ministry back he was accused of such heinous crimes (Medina, 2013). Theoretical Analysis of the Case The case has been presented in the paper time again until the people were thoroughly aware of the case and the justice was done with the molested victims. Basing on the manner of m entioning the case in the article, it is not incorrect in saying that the writer uses a liberation theory through the coverage of the case. However, before the case theoretically explained it is imperative to under the theory journalism. In accord with libertarian theory, the articles usually reflect the truth bearing in mind that individuals are very well aware of it. Hence, the theory implies that individuals are rational beings and it is not easy to cover a crime from them (Biagi, 2010). If the example of the mentioned case is taken, the New York Times presents the article in a libertarian manner to its readers. Like in the article, the writer quotes the lawyer of the church who accepts the crime and quotes the plaintiff Mr. Fanaldi. Both people quoted in the article were very direct and suggestive of the fact that the church’s ministry was involved in the case to the extent where they were able to influence the charges against the accused priest. Moreover, it can also be said that the writer felt that it is the social responsibility to provide the people with a true picture of the case. Perhaps because it will make them aware of the fact that such pedophiles are not only limited to the streets but are present everywhere (Biagi, 2010). Media Involvement in the Case The media generally plays a vital role in the coverage of events

Undergraduate Education by Marty Nemko Assignment

Undergraduate Education by Marty Nemko - Assignment Example Nemko feels that lectures are very unproductive, however, colleges are a big business and use of lectures is the cheapest method to instruct the masses. He further argues that several professors lack the desire to educate undergraduates, but do it anyway since that’s where the cash lies. The rate of graduation at 4-year colleges is about 40%, which would be not acceptable in any other enterprise. Nemko elaborates the statistics used by colleges to make them appear more elite. He has a feeling that colleges misleadingly advertise custom-made experience amongst other things. He then elucidates what he would do to fix the system. Nemko wants colleges to provide reports that have got genuine statistics and that can directly apply to an individual. He claims that this would at least provide a student with a reasonable preview of his/her next 4 years. Nemko favors online interactive lecture and concludes by stating that continued funding of these poor enterprises will yield and chan ge nothing. It is therefore very clear that Marty Nemko presents an effective argument in â€Å"America’s Most Overrated Product: Undergraduate Education†. Nemko is very clear in his presentation as to why a college education is the most overrated product in America. He in no uncertain terms presents his argument using factual data that he has authoritatively researched on. He explains how even the parents who have no money will spare nothing to have their kids get a college education. He calls it mortgaging their future so as to pay for their children’s college education and gives the approximate figures of $200,000 for a 4-year college degree.

Writing about cultural practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing about cultural practices - Essay Example Among friends or acquaintances, before parting, they sometimes shake hands as gesture of saying good-bye. For people who have had some misunderstanding, a handshake would mean that everything is ok with them already and that the conflict has been resolved (Kissell , par 6). This social norm of shaking hands has persisted because it is an international norm which is accepted by all races. The handshake has been a mutual sign of goodwill and peace (Haymond , par 1). It is a socially acceptable way of greeting other people in public rather than kissing or hugging. The handshake was believed to have originated as a way of showing that one’s right hand was not carrying any weapon; thus, if two men met and they both show their empty right hands, that means that there exists a level of trust between them (Kissell , par 3). Kissell goes on further to state that the shaking of the hands was supposed to remove any hidden weapon that may be kept in the sleeves. In today’s modern world, the handshake is very difficult to avoid. Some even consider it an insult if the handshake is not accepted (Kissell , par 2). For example, if a person is trying to make amends with another person and he offers his hand and the other person refuses to shake his hand, this would convey the message that one is not accepting the other person’s apology. The norm of shaking hands should be abolished because the world today is exposed to numerous sources of infection and the handshake is one of the most common ways of spreading infection. The handshake makes every person susceptible to be infected (Potty , par 4). Viruses such as AH1N1, Swine flu or Avian flu can easily be transmitted through a hand shake. Although frequent hand washing is always advised, one cannot avoid touching door knobs, grocery carts, elevator buttons, escalator railings, train handrails or money. It has also been a common practice to cover one’s mouth with

Magazine Content Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Magazine Content Analysis - Essay Example Some magazines target the minority while others target the majority. Indeed, we have minority-targeted magazine like the Black Enterprise magazine and mainstream-targeted magazines like BusinessWeek magazine. This paper presents a content analysis of minority and mainstream magazines. In doing so, the paper will explain how advertisement in minority-targeted magazines and mainstream-targeted magazine by establishing the similarities and differences there in. Ideally, advertising produces magazines that target diverse audience. A mainstream-targeted magazine refers to a magazine with a huge readership and demographic categories while minority-targeted magazine relates to a magazine with limited readership and few demographic categories. In the recent times, the number of minority-targeted magazines have been increasing subject to the appreciation, increase, and buying power of the minority. Indeed, advertisers have realized the potential in the minority and have since tailored different advertisements targeting their needs, perception, and potential. The frequency and quantity of minority-targeted magazines have led to an intrusive and consistent mode of advertising that the minority cannot afford to disregard. Some of the minority-targeted magazines include the Black Enterprise magazine, African American Golfers Digest, Black Collegian Magazine, and Black Men Magazine. With respect to the Black Enterprise magazine, we can establish that the magazine is more prominent in black neighborhoods. The magazine has a capacity to reach about 6 million people and hence the need to analyze the content of the adverts contained in the magazine. The content in Black Enterprise magazine seems to target Black Americans and their needs. Notably, the magazine contains adverts of cigarettes and alcoholic drinks that suit the social needs and purchasing power of the blacks. Most notable is the fact that adverts in the Black Enterprise magazine

Larsen and Toubro Case Study Essay Example for Free

Larsen and Toubro Case Study Essay Organizational Development (OD) is a planned long term effort led and supported through the top management to improve an organization’s ability and to solve its own problems by continuously working together and on managing the culture using behavioural skills. Thus, there are some certain aspects worth discussing about which are- OD is a planned effort. It requires a lot of effort, patience, and faith and is time consuming. Secondly, OD usually uses outsiders. These ‘facilitators’ as they are called are process specialists and are involved in depth in this process. The pioneers of OD in India were Larsen and Toubro India (LT). OD at LT started by calling in 2 eminent professors- Dr Udai Pareek and Dr TV Rao to study the appraisal process at the company. The existing appraisal system had many faults and needed to be corrected. The difficult task started by the professors interviewing some bosses and subordinates from different departments (using Diagnosis or Action Research) and they got a very interesting feedback. Some of the aspects of the feedback were – juniors wanted to know how well they were doing on the job, but weren’t told; people wanted to know what the growth opportunities in the company were; the appraisal form was too lengthy; some bosses had too many subordinates to appraise, etc. After getting the feedback from the employees the professors gave a report to the top management about the actual problem. The appraisal system had to serve not just one but many purposes namely it should help people understand their strengths and weaknesses, their own progress on the job, how they can perform better, and how they could grow in the company. So the appraisal process had to address the issues of appraisal, potential, counselling, career development and training all in one! The top management after reviewing the report gave the go ahead and they did two main things which were the most important which were bifurcating the Personnel department into personnel department and HRD department. This bifurcation was the first sign of ‘structural’ change. Secondly, a team of 6 senior managers was formed which would be responsible for implementing the changes required. The story continues when the 6 task force and the professors decided that the appraisal process had to involve the line managers personally, the performance goals must be set jointly by boss and junior and the appraisals must also involve feedback and counselling to people. Thus, they prepared a Performance Appraisal Manual by involving the departmental heads and other senior managers to analyze what kind of objectives could be set and then added such guidelines in the manual. To address the issue of feedback and counselling, the team identified around 29 senior line managers and some senior staff with a flair for public speaking. These selected people were put through a workshop on how to be good ‘Givers’ and ‘Receivers’ of feedback and then later conducted the same workshop for other employees at HQ and regional offices. Thus, the first workshop was a ‘Train the trainer’ workshop which was cascaded to the other employees. After putting in so much of effort now the management at LT wanted to know whether the process was working for them or not. So again the professors interviewed some seniors and juniors about how the appraisals were going on. This time different views came into the picture – the goal setting was seen as time consuming, appraisal was becoming a numbers game, and was tending to become ritualistic. The HRD department was asked to conduct a survey (Participant Action Research). The survey also threw new light about the new appraisal process. The bosses now did involve their juniors in the goal setting and there was ‘healthy resolution’ of difficulties and there was a ‘high degree of trust’ between the seniors and juniors which led to ‘increased joint understanding about the job’. After receiving such a feedback, they again tried to simplify the appraisal form by adding the definitions of the attributes listed in the appraisal form. In addition, they held refresher courses in feedback skills for both ‘givers’ and ‘receivers’ of feedback. The facilitators felt that the appraisal system has stabilised when 80 to 85% of the appraisal forms were returned within six weeks of the target date. Also the HRD department started analyzing all the appraisal forms. The data from the analysis was used for listing high and low performers for a certain period; for finalising departmental developmental plans and for preparing the list of department wise employees and the training courses they needed. The above mentioned process took LT 8 years to complete and stabilise themselves. Thus, I can conclude that OD is a long term process which requires a lot of patience, support from the top management and a vision to a bright future.