Cultural Competency Assessment Essay

The Long Island Adolescent and Family Services or LIAFS is a social service organization that assists the young population in their needs and concerns. LIAFS first started as a support group for young people who were victims of crime and a haven for children who do not have anywhere to go. LIAFS does not operate for the purpose of generating profit. The organization is headstrong in providing support and assistance to adolescents or families who are experiencing difficulties and challenges in whatever aspect of their lives. (LIAFS, 2008) LIAFS obtains its resources to accomplish its goals and objectives from donations and contributions. People who want to help LIAFS further their aims are able to send their monetary assistance to the LIAFS’ office. As of now, the organization is publishing a wish list that contains what they need, such as computers, sports equipments, vehicles, and gifts that the organization will be able to give out to children during their birthdays. (LIAFS, 2008b) The organization is also in need of employees that are willing to work for the said cause, such as cooks, therapists, drivers, counselors, and psychologists. (LIAFS, 2008c) The involvement of the community or the neighborhood is much needed in running programs of the LIAFS. This is highly recommended, especially for non-profit organizations, if LIAFS wishes to sustain resources and take one step higher than what the organization has been attaining or has attained. This concept builds on cultural competency. Cultural competency means that a non-profit organization is able to become culturally aware and through it gain help from diverse groups in society in order to assist the organization is realizing its goals and objectives. (Alliance for Non-Profit Management, 2004) In general, cultural competency assists the organization in providing much-needed quality services to the youth and their families. The need for cultural competency requires LIAFS to employ the help of the community or the neighborhood in understanding a multitude of cultures in order to provide suitable and comprehensive services to cover for the needs and concerns of youth and families. Employing the help of community members requires the need to train them in cultural issues so they too can help in providing needs and concerns that the LIAFS originally provides the youth and their families. Involvement of the community or neighborhood should be on a regular basis because its members need to understand that the welfare of the youth and their families influence the conditions of the community and the neighborhood. Aside from cultural awareness to deal with people belonging to diverse cultural backgrounds and other groups or organizations that operate on a different cultural environment or situation, people from the community or the neighborhood should be able to be informed about the situations that the youth and their families are experiencing. It is important for them to discern that the adolescent population and their families who are experiencing difficulties and challenges need the help of other people for them to be able to improve their situation and way of life. Part of the contribution of communities and neighborhoods include being observant or vigilant about their surroundings. It is important to supervise events or situations in the neighborhood in order to perceive potential risks or harmful environments that might endanger children and their families. Keeping a watchful eye prevents difficult situations such as child abuse, for instance. It is also the role of the community and the neighborhood to protect the rights of the citizens. Once an incident happens, it is their responsibility to act against crime and other events that lead to difficulties and challenges. Another role that the community or neighborhood should play is to be involved in the fund-raising process most especially because LIAFS is a non-profit organization. Members of the community or neighborhood should be able to contribute to LIAFS’ programs and activities with whatever assistance they can extend to the organization, the children, and their families. Community volunteerism is something that should be practiced by members of the community or neighborhood. References Alliance for Non-Profit Management. (2004). â€Å"Cultural Competency Initiative. † Retrieved August 30, 2008, from Alliance for Non-Profit Management. Website: http://www. allianceonline. org/cci. ipage LIAFS. (2008). â€Å"About LIAFS. † Retrieved August 30, 2008, from LIAFS. Website: http://www. liafs. org/about. html LIAFS. (2008b). â€Å"Support and Donations. † Retrieved August 30, 2008, from LIAFS. Website: http://www. liafs. org/donation. html LIAFS. (2008c). â€Å"Employment Opportunities. † Retrieved August 30, 2008, from LIAFS. Website: http://www. liafs. org/employment. html

Proposed Market Entry Strategy Essay

1. Executive Summary The use of air conditioning is widespread since it does not only provide appropriate room temperature for electrical equipments that make internet and telecommunication works but also provide comfortable atmosphere for cooling rooms in a houses, trade centers, office buildings and many others. The situation reveals that air conditioning equipments have vital roles in society. However, the use of air conditioning devices is associated with high costs since they consume large power of electrical current. Under such circumstances, the development of efficient cooling and purifying devices become the next stage in the air cooling and purifying development. One of air purifying and cooling products available in the market is EnerVent ®, which developed by Northridge Enterprise. The company understands that to win customers’ hearts, there are four key features that EnerVent ® should possess; they are true Fresh air delivery, low costs and low heating air conditioning in compact design, high quality of air purifiers that are not merely circulating the same air in a room, and capability to eliminate harmful gases, mold, and germs. Concerning the issue, this paper has elaborated several issues concerning the market entry strategy for EnerVent ® including target markets, market potential, competitive market analysis, marketing objectives, marketing mix strategy (product, place, promotion, and place) 2. Introduction 2.1. Development of Air Conditioning and Purifying Products Nowadays, the discussion over the benefits of the sophisticated information technology including computers and telecommunications on business and communication is an endless topic in seminars or exhibitions. However, in order to work properly, such equipments need low-temperature in order to prevent overheating so that the use of high-power air conditioning is vast in the equipment rooms. In addition to the use of air conditioning devices for cooling rooms, they also provide comfortable atmosphere for cooling rooms in a houses, trade centers, office buildings and many others. The situation reveals that air conditioning equipments have vital roles in society. This makes sense since the use of air conditioning is widespread and easily found in almost every place that provide comfortable atmosphere. According to ARI CoolNet, air conditioning has several functional benefits as following: ï‚ § Providing personal comfort ï‚ § Improving productivity in the workplace where it relates to the comfortable place the air conditioning provides ï‚ § Increasing good medical and health services ï‚ § Helping vendors to preserve fresh and frozen foods like seafood, frozen potatoes, sausage an many others ï‚ § Protecting electrical equipment from excessive heating Since the use of air conditioning, previously called as manufactured air, is vital in day-to-day activities, it becomes a significant invention in human history. However, recent air conditioning or ventilation products do not end in the development of fancy casing or cooler temperature but also in several values added features. For example, the invention of Plasma cluster technology, which is capable of killing 99-percent bacterium and viruses including Aviation flue viruses, becomes the Sharps’ competitive advantage that generate revenue for the Japanese company’s air conditioning and cooling products including refrigerators, chillers, air conditioner, air purifiers, to name a few. However, the use of air conditioning products is associated with high costs since they consume large power of electrical current. Under such circumstances, the development of efficient cooling and purifying devices become the next stage in the air cooling and purifying development. 2.2. EnerVent ® Products EnerVent ® is manufactured to fulfill the need for efficient ventilation system that has several features including compact design (small) and lightweight compared to existing whole house and individual room air conditioning system. The EnerVent ® has favorable tagline that clearly target particular customers as following: There is nothing like fresh air from open windows on a Spring day. Yet high heating and air conditioning costs keep homes sealed tight to save money. Harmful odors, gases, mold, and germs stay in. Even quality air purifiers can only clean and circulate the same air. The EnerVent ® system offers the best of both worlds, bringing in and circulating out up to 12 true air exchanges daily without a significant energy penalty† The EnerVent ® jargon suggests that there are four features that the company concerns when developing EnerVent ®; they are Fresh air delivery, low costs and low heating air conditioning in compact design, high quality of air purifiers that are not merely circulating the same air in a room, and capability to eliminate harmful gases, mold, and germs. Concerning the size, Figure 1 shows example of several air conditioning designs that appear to be ‘usual’, large, and ‘compact’ design. (a) GMG (b) Delonghi Figure 1 Several Design of Existing Air Conditioning System Source: OK CHINA INDUSTRIAL LTD, 2007 In addition to size, competition in air conditioning system evolves into the provision of fresh air that circulate the true fresh air from the outside instead circulating the same air. This feature is significantly important since people have great concerns over the raising pollution because of industrial plants discard smoke, the forest fire, bad air-refreshing systems in a house, etc. Generally, air pollution in the U.S., to be precise, and other industrial countries is because acid rain in both the U.S. and Canada in which the US becomes a country that emits a large amount of carbon dioxide as the result of fossil fuels burning; limited resources of natural fresh water, water pollution due to pesticides and fertilizers (â€Å"Air pollution from other countries drifts into USA†, 2005). Concerning the capability of eliminating odor, EnerVent ® also present attractive features since the product is capable of eliminating harmful odors, gases, mold, and germs. In the market, this feature is best represented by Sharp’s Plasma cluster product as shown in the Figure 2. (a) Sharp FU40SEK (b) Sharp FU-S40TA Figure 2 Sharp Air Purifier with Plasma cluster technology Source: Callde, 2007; Pantipmarket, 2007 3. Target Markets Since EnerVent ® has particular characteristics that present the â€Å"true† fresh air to either â€Å"whole houses† and â€Å"individual room†, therefore, the target market for EnerVent ® is as following: ï‚ § Brand of Products : – True fresh air like one from open windows on a Spring day – Eliminate harmful odors, gases, mold, and germs stay in – Low energy consumption ï‚ § Customers’ Preferences : People who concern about the need for fresh air in a room that has capability to eliminate harmful materials at low operation costs ï‚ § Ages : above 25 (this is the age where people use their rational reasons when buying a product). This is important since home electronic industry are fulfilled with advertising that trick customers ï‚ § Income Levels : above $2,500 per month (considering that the price of air Purifying is above $100, see Figure 3) Figure 3 Air Purifier Source: Bizrate, 2007 4. Market Potential and Sales Forecast The market potential for air purifiers from EnerVent ® is people who concerns about the People who concern about the need for fresh air in a room that has capability to eliminate harmful materials at low operation costs. The description suggests that EnerVent ® target both high-end customers since they are more concern about complete features regardless the price and low-end customers since they concern about low-operational costs despite high ownership costs. For high end customers, they realize that air pollution is more influencing the children than adult. All of U.S. researchers open their study about finding the polluted air impact at the children. It is believed that air pollution make the children lung become smaller. This evidence assures that air pollution own the chronic impact. In addition, this impact will be permanent at all of the children until they become adult (â€Å"Air Pollution Might Affect Lung Development in Children, Study Finds†, 2004). Bad air quality give the negative impact to the environmental quality and the financial loss because of the air pollution is not small. Because financially, air pollution will improve the cost, which must be become the responsibility of society. It can be in the form of medical expense for pain suffered, decreasing of the work productivity as an effect of air pollution, and decreasing of the prosperity life. Due to the fact that air pollution may provide unfavorable condition for an entire family; therefore, Northridge Enterprise has wide market potential to sell EnerVent ®, the true air purifier. To be specific the market potential for EnerVent ® is as following: 4.1. Middle and High Class market, Offices and Buildings There are many considerations in the minds of consumers when they are buying air conditioning product. In most parts of the world, air conditioning is the consumption of middle and high-class families, buildings and offices. For these people, cost is not the prime factor of consideration. It is quality that concerns them the most. In the light of this consideration, the Enervent will only gain small portion of the market in this segment because there are many air conditioning products which have better features and higher capacity to regulate air in larger offices. The Enervent on the other hand, can only regulate air in a limited space because it does not have the capability of producing cool air as a regular air conditioning machine. There are however, mid and high class households and small offices that prefer to use air purifier because they like the natural atmosphere of their houses and offices. These are generally smaller establishments or places which have plenty, but small to medium-sized rooms. This represents an opportunity for Enervent to enter the medium and high class households, buildings and offices. The opportunity however, is very small compare to the entire market of air conditioning equipment in the medium and high class market. 4.2. Medium and Lower Income Families Air conditioning needs are not the sole demands of medium and high-class establishments. In the modern realm where people’s desire for quality has been considerably enhanced, the need for air conditioning spreads to the low income families and offices. This represents a better opportunity for Enervent to gain larger portion of the market. This is true because for low income families and low-budget offices, the cost of having a full fledged air conditioning system can be quite overwhelming. In previous times, they generally switch to air purifier products because they are cheaper and do not consume too much electricity. However, the presence of the Enervent creates new and better alternative. These people could gain better quality than average air purifiers and pay cheaper costs than the average air conditioner products (Ward, 2007). 4.3. The market for Air Regulator Machines The rapid development of economy in various regions of the world generated massive demands for air conditioning products. In some markets, the air conditioning products are displaying a rapid increase, like the Indian market and Saudi Arabian. They are potential markets because of their geographic conditions and their economic development. On the other hand, there are also markets that displayed declining tendencies in the air conditioning market development because of the over-crowded markets, like China. In Europe, United States and most of the Asian countries displayed stable or otherwise mild development in the air conditioning market (Wind of Change, 2006). The product is, on the other hand, a revolutionary product filling a niche between the high cost air conditioning equipment and the simple air purifier machine. In a sense it has similar but different markets than those of the air conditioner products. Because of the revolutionary nature of the industry, and the contributions from low income, middle and high class markets elaborated above, I believe that the product will take over approximately 5-10% of the air conditioning market in the end of the first year. Furthermore, being the sole producer of Enervent, then the sales number of the company will be similar to that percentage. For instance, if the US air conditioning market is worth US$ 1 billion annually, then Enervent will generate a sales number of US$ 50-100 million. 5. Competitive Market Analysis The air conditioning industry is a global industry. Most of the modern countries plus several of the developing countries witnessed rapid growth of their air national air conditioning industry. In Saudi Arabia for example, demands for air conditioners is the highest in the world. Analysts have stated that the Saudi Arabian market has become a unique investment opportunities for foreign investors. Although not exactly alike, similar rate of growth can be witnessed in India and other developing countries (Saudi Aircon, 2007). Despite the rapid growth of the industry, Enervent cannot expect to gain the full benefit of the market development. The direct competitor of Enervent is air conditioning itself. Despite their significantly higher prices, they have larger capacity of regulating temperature and the condition of large rooms. Modern air conditioning is also equipped with various features that do not exist in Enervent, like self cleaning device, etc. Furthermore, air conditioning has a better and more widespread reputation that Enervent, which is a new and unpopular product. The competitive advantages of Enervent against the direct competitor are price and efficiency. The product is considerably cheaper, lighter and more far more electricity efficient than the average air conditioning machine. Indirect competitor of Enervent is the cheaper and simpler air purifier. The low cost and electricity efficient device is also quite popular as alternative of air conditioners. They generate significantly less cost than the average air conditioner, but cannot act as a temperature regulator. Many considered that the air purifier and the air conditioner market is not the same. Nevertheless, they are the same. Air purifier is an indirect competitor of both the air conditioner market and Enervent. Enervent has the advantage of temperature control with similarly low cost and efficient electricity compare to the air purifier. In addition to the analysis above, there are also other factors in the air conditioner industry that generates opportunities for Enervent to grow, they are: †¢ The emerging new styles of offices In the modern world, people are not satisfied having the same offices as other companies. In order to facilitate such a need for creative office design. The trend toward more stylish offices generates more complicated buildings with less ventilation. Pursuing efficiency, more employees are stationed in smaller rooms. These conditions generated the need for larger capacities of air conditioning. This is logical because managers have realized that poor air quality in the workplace could result in lack of productivity and worse, sickness (Cunningham, 1986). The necessity for more air conditioning system generates more demands of air conditioning machines. However, because companies are constantly searching for ways to enhance efficiency, their attention turn toward products which can deliver similar performance in air conditioning with less prices and more electricity efficient performance. This leads to opportunities for the newly designed Enervent, an air conditioning machine which are significantly cheaper and much more electricity efficient (Piercy, 1982). †¢ New Competitors The highly competitive environment is created by various factors. For one, the amount of players within the industry also plays a great role in shaping the competitive atmosphere. In the air conditioning market, Far Eastern manufacturers have improved their manufacturing capabilities by cooperating with Japanese producers. The new entrants are expected to influence the European market aggressively by means of targeting an established distributor. These new entrants have significantly lower price structures, thus allowing them to deliver cheaper prices to consumers. This leads to harder and more competitive atmosphere in the industry of both air conditioning machines and air purifier machines. In a sense, this also influences Enerven as an alternative between the two products. 6. Marketing Objectives The hardest mission of a marketer in getting the product accepted and recognized within the local environment. The Enervent is a new product with revolutionary technology. Its first year in the market should be the year of promotion and market penetration. Therefore the marketing objectives should be: †¢ Establish presence in local environment There are various factors that could influence how a product will result revenues and profits within its market. Each local environment has different preferences of how products should be. It is important for Enervent to win the hearts of local society by collaborating with local culture and traditions. The failure to achieve that will create poor and undeveloped sales performance. Thus, one of the most important and early marketing objective should be how to generate connection with local markets (Korey, 1986). †¢ Discover new channel of distributions and marketing In the first year of marketing, new products should be brought throughout the markets using various channels and means of transportations. Getting to know the local infrastructure and how will it affect the business is very much important. Thus, discovering new channel of promotion and distribution is also an important objective (Koney, 1986) †¢ Create a distinction Establishing presence and discovering new channels are usually not enough to get the product running and generate revenues and profits. The product needs features or appearance that will differentiate it from other products. This activity is called brand designing (Keegan, 1989). 7. Marketing Mix In the following chapter I will use existing information to make an assessment of how Enervent should be sold. This assessment is important because it determines the shape of the business offering toward consumers. Re-designing the business offerings has been the core purpose of performing a marketing mix analysis. In terms of Enervent, the following is suggested: 7.1. Product Positioning Strategy Enervent should be well promoted to reflect capabilities of the new and revolutionary product. As implied in previous chapters, the product should be advertised as a brilliant alternative to air conditioning and air purifier. It is the combination of both worlds which brings the best of them. The product can also be advertised as the new revolution in air conditioning. The advertising campaign would have to generate the image that Enervent is the next generation of low cost, low energy air conditioning (Keegan, 1989). As mentioned in previous chapter, the product has different opportunities in different segments of the market. Therefore, there is a need to perform different emphasize on different segments of the market. In the medium to high-class households, buildings and offices, the company should focus on promoting the product as a smart replacement of the average air conditioning system because of its air temperature management capabilities and its low cost and energy efficient nature. This would attract those customers which prefer to maintain the naturality of their environments as mentioned before. On the other hand, in the low-income households and offices, the product should be promoted as the new generation of air conditioning. The product should be promoted as the new and brilliant evolution toward environmental friendliness and quality preservation. Because the company is forecasted to generate more sales in this segment, this characteristic of product positioning (as a revolutionary new generation of air conditioning) should be the main scenario of marketing. Other processes within the product positioning activities which require attention includes: paying attention to manufacturing specifications, labeling and packaging to represent the target market we are aiming and the position of our product. The product must also be tested first before it enters the market. Analysts also suggested that the product should be matched with its surrounding environment, whether in times of sale or distribution. For instance, products that travel through the road should contain different specifications and equipments to products that travel through air (Keegan, 1989). 7.2. Pricing Strategy In marketing mix, price is considered as one of the factor that contributes to the total value of product offering. Despite the high quality of the product, if the pricing strategy does no reflect value (which means the value gained from the purchase is greater than the value of money sacrificed for the purchase), then customers would not be appealed to the product. Price has been the most important consideration in buying air conditioner machines for years. Because of the highly advanced technology and the power needed to perform the task of regulating air throughout the surrounding environment, the average air conditioners cost quite a fortune. In terms of Enervent, I propose a new set of pricing considerations which emphasis on acknowledgement of the segments in which the product will be marketed. In other words, the pricing strategy should reflect discounts, bonuses, price competitiveness, etc. Nevertheless, managers cannot ignore the importance of having a valuable product. The psycography of customers sometimes generates new understanding over the behavior of consumers. For one, consumer often mistaken quality with price. Often we find that if we charge higher, people would buy the product more. Managers in charge of the pricing strategy must have considerable sensitiveness toward the behavior of his/her customers. 7.3. Distribution strategy Distribution is also a factor in marketing and selling products. Companies must have provided their officers with sufficient funding in order to prevent lack of funding in the delivery process. Often, the assignment on distribution is in line with order processing stages. In a sense, distribution is an inseparable part of order processing and the process is not over until the products are delivered successfully to customers. In terms of exporting the Enervent, managers of the distribution process should prepare all the necessary export preparation and documentation. Often shipments failed because of the lack of diligence in preparing the required documentation (Basche, 1971). Distribution management includes managing the cost of distribution. In we are to export Enervent as a part of our central operations, than it is important for us to assign the distribution cost to the recipient instead of to our own cost structure. Forwarding freight is crucial in distribution management. Managers of distribution process must also pay attention to other supporting issues like insurance and arbitration. The lack consideration of these small factors could generate problems in later days. In distributing the Enervent, we must also consider the fact that inventory support is crucial for distribution process. Inventory management and warehousing strategies must be accounted to the nature of the product to prevent losses or diminished product quality. 7.4. Promotional activities In terms of advertising and promotion, we have discussed the need to represent Enervent in different ways for different market segments. On the other hand, if reality forces us to choose, we must choose to represent the largest demands on the market. In the Enevernet case, this means promoting the product as the new generation of air conditioning. Promotions can be performed through ‘indirect forms’, like literature, direct mail, etc. There are also a more direct form of promotion which includes exhibitions and trade shows. Often, the presence of a good sales force is also influential to promotional activities. In marketing Enervent, managerial abilities to motivate sales forces are important to promotional activities. This is important considering the product is new in the market. Another way of motivating the promotional activities is by using agents. External agents who receive commissions are generally more motivated to do their job because of the compensation strategy. Reference †Air Pollution Might Affect Lung Development in Children, Study Finds.† 2004. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.californiahealthline.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItem&itemID=105505 ARI CoolNet. â€Å"Air Conditioning: Improving the Way We Live.† Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.ari.org/consumer/history/history-ac.html Basche, J.R. Jr. â€Å"Export Marketing Services and Costs†. 1971. New York: The Conference Board, p4. Cunningham, M.T. â€Å"Strategies for International Industrial Marketing†. 1986. In D.W. Turnbull and J.P. Valla (eds.) Croom Helm p 9. Delonghi.  « Delonghi Portable Air Conditioners – Delonghi Portable Air Conditioning.  » 2007. Retrieved May 7, from http://www.delonghi-portable-air-conditioners.co.uk/images/3176.jpg Korey, G. â€Å"Multilateral Perspectives in International Marketing Dynamics†. 1986. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 20, No. 7, pp 34-42 Keegan, W.J. â€Å"Global Marketing Management.† 1989. Prentice Hall International Editions. OK CHINA INDUSTRIAL LTD. â€Å"Wholesale Air conditioner.† 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007 from http://www.sz-wholesale.com/shenzhen_China_products/Air-conditioner_1.htm Piercy, N. â€Å"Company Internationalisation: Active and Reactive Exporting†. 1982. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp 26-40. Saudi Aircon 2007. 2007. Riyadh Exhibitions. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.recexpo.com/recweb/show_overview.asp?id=79 â€Å"US Market for Air Conditioning.† Worldwide Market Intelligence. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from www.bsria.co.uk/documents/pdf/misc/17200 leaflet.pdf Ward, Susan. â€Å"How to Find and Master a Niche Market.† 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://marketing.about.com/od/careersinmarketing/l/aa060303a.htm â€Å"Wind of change in air-conditioning market.† 2006. China Economic Net. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/27/content_437865.htm

An Example Of Transition Economy Economics Essay

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Cultural landscape - Essay Example The economic status of the region is better than in other parts of the United States. The educational system is superb which provides its youth with opportunities for growth and professional development. One of the greatest virtues of Atlantic City is the diversity of its people. Religion plays a big part in the cultural landscape of a region. For instance in the Middle East religion affects the daily lives of its people evidence by the fact of the existence of a holy war that has lasted centuries. In my region religion influences the people positively because it helps build moral and ethical standards. Some of the religions that are practiced in my community include Roman Catholicism, United Methodist, Muslims, Evangelical Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Baptist. The religion that is practiced the most in Atlantic City is Roman Catholicism with a participation rate of 61.4% of the population (City-data). People in Atlantic City have a wide variety of religions to choose from. The religious movement in Atlantic City has helped a lot people especially the

Should United States governors balance their budgets by raising taxes, Research Paper

Should United States governors balance their budgets by raising taxes, cutting spending, or a combination of both - Research Paper Example It is only natural to realize that some things that have happened in the past will directly affect what happens in the future. Therefore, one has to consider specific scenarios that have occurred in the United States which began in the 1980s with the mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, and buy-outs. Nothing happens without future consequences. Mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, and buy-outs are all a part of the business â€Å"game.† It’s merle an exchange of ownership that commonly involves stocks and assets that are transferred to another owner in exchange for up front cash or stock options in most cases that benefit high level executives. The â€Å"game† presents no investment in the future of the company or corporation, its merle an exchange of wealth. This scenario contributes many problems to the current operating business atmosphere. Mergers bring about immediate economic problems that include, loss of markets to foreign competitors, continuing trade deficits, inadequate operating capital, declining productivity, debt heavy corporations, and loss of many jobs. The debt is due mainly to financing in order to carry out the merger. These problems plus lagging research and development add to the complications of business operations after the merger is finalized.Another factor that has played a significant role in the situation of state and federal government budgets now are government financial bailouts. The first of these was the Savings and Loan Bailout of 1989 due to more than half of America’s Savings and Loans failing between 1986 and 1989. This was primarily due to lax government lending policies. These business bailouts have directly affected the budget, deficits, and economic stability of our federal and state governm ents. The US passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act in October 2008 for a $700 billion financial sector bailout. This resulted in the bank rescue of 2008, which called for a $250 billion cash infusion into the banking system. The bailout of Bear Stearns in April 2008 ended in lending the firm $29 billion to JP Morgan to buy the troubled firm. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed in the late summer of 2008. The federal government committed up to $200 billion to save both these giant mortgage lenders. Also $100 billion in cash credits was guaranteed to each of them to prevent bankruptcy. In September 20089 the federal government took control of American International Group (AIG), who was one of the largest insurance companies in the world. The government took control of the company and guaranteed them $85 billion in loans. In addition, the government took a 70.9 percent equity position in AIG, making this the first time in history that the government controlled a private insu rance firm. These are all major contributors to the economic environment of today. Can the government continue to bail out troubled businesses and over-extend themselves’ with even more debt? Economics is unpredictable and no one can say what the future holds. But within this scenario, the federal and state budgets and deficits have to be controlled by some means. With these factors in mind, would an increase of taxes on a federal and state level fuel the growth of the economy? In retrospect the government must look for ways to cut budget spending with little or no detrimental feedback to private businesses and corporations. It’s the common public consensus that government, both federal and state, need to make cuts; and unnecessary government spending seems to be one option. There are several arguments about government bureaucracy, but its obvious that there is a great set up for civil servants. When hired, they are put on probation for one year, after that they are gr anted tenure unless they do something illegal or make an unforgiveable error; their job security is all but ensured. This alone, would prevent federal and state representatives from

Legal compliance and negotiations skills Assignment - 3

Legal compliance and negotiations skills - Assignment Example Settlement may significantly affect the tax liability of the plaintiff hence its disadvantage. It is also worth noting the potential of the defendant playing hard ball. This may compromise the agreement and provoke further misunderstanding. Besides, it still involves a lawyer who has to be paid hence partial gain from the compensation accrued to the plaintiff. The mediator is always non-partisan and likely to work on acceptable socio-economic and political principles to facilitate mutual understanding between the parties to the dispute. Besides, mediation involves in-depth understanding of underlying factors that may have led to the dispute and make effort to negotiate in respect of the same (Guasco & Robinson, 2007). In that regard, it facilitates truth justice and reconciliation for sustained peace. It is also worth to consider mediation due to its independence from the politics of majority influence hence emphasizes truth and honesty. Despite the overriding preference of mediation in conflict resolution, it lacks judicial support and either of the party may easily opt out thereby stalling the reconciliation process. The mediation team is not secured by the law but acts on voluntary basis and this gives the parties to the dispute leverage to determine their own interest. Mediation is time consuming as it relies on mutual consensus between the parties which may take time to achieve hence prolonged resolution period. This is a dispute resolution tactic that is applicable in the event couples fail to reach agreement through other options like mediation or negotiation and are still interested in out of court settlement. It has advantage in the sense that one can choose an arbitrator in line with the personal lawyer’s recommendation. This will offer the best outcome and deliver quasi-legal ruling. It also saves time by setting strict arbitration process deadline (Guasco & Robinson, 2007). This is made

Business Performance of Specsavers Research Paper

Business Performance of Specsavers - Research Paper Example On the marketing front, Specsavers pioneered a slew of industry standards. For example, it was the first company to start a debt scheme for contact lenses along with free home delivery. This initiative changed the way a customer financed her eye care purchases. Specsavers’ advertising campaigns were perfectly designed to strongly communicate the special features offered by Specsavers. The â€Å"Should've has gone to Specsavers† campaign reinforced the superior services offered by Specsavers. One of the most important USPs of Specsavers was its great value-for-money positioning. Due to economies of scale, it could negotiate better prices with its vendors, and then passed on savings to its customers. Specsavers offered 2 for 1 glass at  £75, an offer that has been very successful. Specsavers also targeted market niches by offering special pricing for its products/services. For example, Senior citizens (over 60 years) were offered a massive 30% discount on glasses. However, the most revolutionary innovation was on the products/services domain. Prior to the arrival of Specsavers, this industry was served by small chains or independent opticians. While these chains offered low-cost services, there was an enormous room for improvement in their services. Those providing high-quality services were costlier & often charged a high premium. Specsavers’ new partnership model brought together for the first time, the best practices of retailing & service delivery concepts along with the best available opticians, but at a much competitive price. While Specsavers offered their partners a range of business support services like accounting, marketing etc, the frontline opticians were free to do what they did the best. The opticians, hence, could concentrate on delivering their best services to the consumers. On the product front, they  pioneered innovations like offering varifocal glasses. Specsavers offered the option of returning ‘varifocal’ glasses (some people take time to adjust to these) within a period of 30 days from purchase.

Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Writer's choice - Essay Example In today’s business environment culture of a country is perceives to be quite crucial for the successful operation of the business. Accordingly, different countries of the world have distinct cultural values and norms which differentiate them from other nations. In order to analyses the role of culture on the business practices, China is being selected as a country due to its diverse culture. Concerning with the cultural aspects of China, social structure is chosen to ascertain valuable understanding. Thus this paper will primarily intend emphasize on the social structure of the country as part of their culture in order to attain considerable understanding (Diller, 2011). China is considered as the country to be analyzed owing to the fact that it is among the biggest nations of the world with rich cultural heritage right from the olden days. This aspect attracts people from all part of the world to visit the place for various purposes. Politically, the country also has various aspects to be showcased. The government of the country is administered by a single party called the communist party of China. This depicts that power lies in the hands of the few selected people only. The political condition of the country is considered to be quite stable for business it encourage business to establish in the country. This aspect reduces the risk of business operation in the country owing to the support of the government. This also depicts the mindsets of the government regarding business. Economically, the GDP of the country relatively impressive as it is the second largest economy after the USA. Moreover, average income of the people of the country is increas ing on a regular basis which further depicts that each and every person of the country is ensuring more values towards the society which ultimately resulted in hike in purchasing power of the people. This affects the mindset of the people and they are more and

Financial Inclusion Essay Example for Free

Financial Inclusion Essay Role of Government in financial inclusion Abstract:- This research paper contains the full information about the financial inclusion of the world’s economic. In this research paper we describe the financial inclusion basic meaning, definitions, scope significance. Now we move towards the second phase which include role of government role of banks in financial inclusion. we also include the reforms that has been done by the government and the other government organizations . We also include the main article that has been given by the different ministers about financial inclusion its reform. Financial Inclusion Meaning: Financial inclusion is a policy adopted by many countries to include more people in the financial set up of the country. It aims at tackling poverty and deprivation in the country. In simple terms financial inclusion refers to making the finance or the financial/banking sector more accessible to people. For example: Debit cards, internet banking and direct debit facilities are now common, convenient and cheap ways of paying for goods and services. Yet there are still people who are excluded from using these services. People who are losing out as they are unable to take advantage of the benefits offered by the range of financial products available. In developing and poor countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Afgan etc there are many people who do not even have a bank account or who are unable to take advantage of the loans and deposit benefits offered by banks due to various reasons like lack of knowledge, fear, lack of proximity etc. Today, personal debt is at a record igh and borrowing without a bank account means using high interest lenders. Many of the people in this position live in our poorest communities and find themselves without choice or access to basic financial services, making it even more difficult to find routes out of poverty. Defination: Financial Inclusion is the delivery of banking services at affordable costs to vast sections of disadvantaged and low income groups. Unrestrained access to public goods and servic es is the sine qua non of an open and efficient society. It is argued that as banking services are in the nature of public good, it is essential that availability of banking and payment services to the entire population without discrimination is the prime objective of public policy. The term Financial Inclusion has gained importance since the early 2000s, and is a result of findings about Financial Exclusion and its direct correlation to poverty. Financial Inclusion is now a common objective for many central banks among the developing nations. Financial Inclusion in India The Reserve Bank of India setup a commission (Khan Commission) in 2004 to look into Financial Inclusion and the recommendations of the commission were incorporated into the Mid-term review of the policy (2005-06). In the report RBI exhorted the banks with a view of achieving greater Financial Inclusion to make available a basic no-frills banking account. In India, Financial Inclusion first featured in 2005, when it was introduced, that, too, from a pilot project in UT of Pondicherry, by K C Chakraborthy, the chairman of Indian Bank. Mangalam Village became the first village in India where all households were provided banking facilities. In addition to this KYC (Know your Customer) norms were relaxed for people intending to open accounts with annual deposits of less than Rs. 50, 000. General Credit Cards (GCC) were issued to the poor and the disadvantaged with a view to help them access easy credit. In January 2006, the Reserve Bank permitted commercial banks to make use of the services of non-governmental organizations (NGOs/SHGs), micro-finance institutions and other civil society organizations as intermediaries for providing financial and banking ervices. These intermediaries could be used as business facilitators (BF) or business correspondents (BC) by commercial banks. The bank asked the commercial banks in different regions to start a 100% Financial Inclusion campaign on a pilot basis. As a result of the campaign states or U. T. s like Puducherry, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala have announced 100% financial in clusion in all their districts. Reserve Bank of India’s vision for 2020 is to open nearly 600 million new customers accounts and service them through a variety of channels by leveraging on IT. However, illiteracy and the low income savings and lack of bank branches in rural areas continue to be a road block to financial inclusion in many states. Apart from this there are certain in Current model which is followed. There is inadequate legal and financial structure. India being a mostly agrarian economy hardly has schemes which lend for agriculture. Along with Microfinance we need to focus on Micro insurance too. The scope of financial inclusion The scope of financial inclusion can be expanded in two ways. ) through state-driven intervention by way of statutory enactments ( for instance the US example, the Community Reinvestment Act and making it a statutory right to have bank account in France). b) through voluntary effort by the banking community itself for evolving various strategies to bring within the ambit of the banking sector the large strata of society. When bankers do not give the desired attention to certain areas, the regulators have to step in to remedy the situ ation. This is the reason why the Reserve Bank of India is placing a lot of emphasis on financial inclusion. In India the focus of the financial inclusion at present is confined to ensuring a bare minimum access to a savings bank account without frills, to all. Internationally, the financial exclusion has been viewed in a much wider perspective. Having a current account / savings account on its own, is not regarded as an accurate indicator of financial inclusion. There could be multiple levels of financial inclusion and exclusion. At one extreme, it is possible to identify the ‘super-included’, i. e. , those customers who are actively and persistently courted by the financial ervices industry, and who have at their disposal a wide range of financial services and products. At the other extreme, we may have the financially excluded, who are denied access to even the most basic of financial products. In between are those who use the banking services only for deposits and withdrawals of money. But these persons may have only restricted access to the financial system, and may not en joy the flexibility of access offered to more affluent customers. Steps towards financial inclusion

Literature Review Of Essential Oils And Aromatherapy Nursing Essay

Literature Review Of Essential Oils And Aromatherapy Nursing Essay Aromatherapy is perhaps the most increasingly popular Complementary and Alternative Medicine in this century. It is suitable for both physiologically and psychologically problems. Research and several studies have looked at the variety benefits of essential oils and aromatherapy in our life. Aromatherapy can improve the quality of life and it can promote physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Much of this research has focus in benefit of aromatherapy and essential oils. Benefits of Aromatherapy: According to Life Mojo Team (2009) suggested that aromatherapy connect the physical and emotional effects of massage within the medical and psychotherapeutic properties of essential oils. Aromatherapy relieves physical pain, exchange personal mood, reduces stress and heal the body. A essential oils is a liquid that distilled from the leaves, stems, flowers, bark, roots or others elements of plants. It is used in various ways such as bathing, massage, inhalations and compresses. They argued that these can be advantageous for healing physical pain in muscle as well as calming anxiety and easing other negative emotions. The chief focuses of this article are the benefits of Aromatherapy which are increasing muscle relaxation and tone. It can lower blood pressure, reduce stress level and it can be relieved tension headaches. It can be decreased constipation and abdominal spasm and helps womens problems such as PMS (Premenstrual syndrome) and menopausal. Emotions like anxiety and depressio n can be alleviating. The essential oils like lavender can relief dry, smooth and inflamed skin. Blending essential oils likes lavender and rosemary can help in relaxation and anxiety in palliative care. However, essential oils should be avoided from pregnancy women, people with hypertension (high blood pressure) and cancel people who receiving chemotherapy. Health Benefits of Aromatherapy Essential Oils: According to Kate Le Page (2010), Aromatherapy provides relief from mental, physical and emotional health problems. At this point, Farrer-Halls (2005) agree with Life Mojo Team (2009) that essential oils reduce stress and anxiety, decrease the likelihood of skin irritation and increase the benefits of healing properties. Therefore, Kate Le Page (2010) suggested that blending oils such as Lavender and Sandalwood improve sleeping. Also, essential oils are useful in cooking such as in small amounts to flavor foods, drinks and toothpaste. Benefits of Aromatherapy and Essential Oils: However,  Michael Vincent (2009) suggested that aromatherapy oils can be effectiveness in sports injuries, as a result people having the facility to perform in sports of their selection activity. Therefore he argued that the concentrated of essential oils are both physical and emotional in the body likes facial oils which are helping people to chill both mind and soul. Essential oils access into blood and can effectiveness both beauty and health. On the other hand some oils can be harmful to the human skin due to the fact that they will be irritating your skin. 7 Essential Benefits of Aromatherapy: Moreover some of the more valuable work of this kind, like Ramos (2010), identifies the top seven benefits that occur from using aromatherapy. Initially aromatherapy using rosemary essential oil can improve the mood and offer feelings of satisfaction. Also through essential oils the complementary therapy can actually induce calm, relaxation, and a deep sleep for a refreshed feeling in the morning. One more advantage of aromatherapy, with applying essential oils, is to improve complexion, by providing anti-inflammatory benefits to decrease dryness, irritation and calm red and rough skin. A professional complementary therapy treatment using gingers and peppermints properties can guarantee a relief of chronic asthma. Utilizing aromatherapy we can treat nausea and stomach problems. Particularly it targets to the first stage of digestion and is creating an instant reaction to flow digestive juices, in order to ease a number of stomach problems. Furthermore at the point that aromatherapy h elps reducing the symptoms of PMS, Ramos (2010) agrees  with the view  of   Lifemojo Team(2009), whose article is  stated above. Specifically he argues that aromatherapy methods, like aromatic baths or a massage with essential oils can reduce the symptoms of Premenstrual syndrome. Finally the seventh more important advantage of aromatherapy, according to Ramos (2010), is that it helps to get rid of a bladder infection. A bladder infection can be treated promptly using the essential oils and pressing over the bladder or taking aromatic bath with essential oils. To sum up these articles are providing the benefits of Aromatherapy and essential oils. Aromatherapy is a Complementary therapy that uses plant materials, known as essential oils. It is suitable for both physiologically and psychologically problems. An essential oil is a liquid that distilled from leaves, flowers and other elements of a plant. It alleviate a variety of mental and physical health conditions and it also reduce stress levels. Although Life Mojo Team (2009), Kate Le Page (2010), Michael Vincent (2009) and Ramos (2010) present their opinions about the benefits of aromatherapy and essential oils, there is  scope  here for  more  research that. Do you believe that Aromatherapy helps people with cancer?

Comparison of Tolerance in Various Faiths

Comparison of Tolerance in Various Faiths Tolerance as a skill and an attitude to life has become essential for the very survival of humanity. One of the fallouts of the much discussed globalization process is the demand to meet, work and live with people of totally different culture,.. ethnicity and backgrounds. How one manages this heterogeneity of cultures and lire styles is very crucial for the survival of humanity. In 1995 when UNESCO declared the year as a year of Tolerance, the purpose indeed was to bring to light the high levels of intolerance manifested all over the world. UNESCO called for education for tolerance to counter the influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others. The most significant thing about the whole exercise was the acceptance of the fact that the diversity of our worlds many religions, languages, cultures and ethnicities is not a pretext for conflict, but is a treasure that enriches us aI1.(UNESCO,1995). Just as religion and various faiths have created intolerance, they also have the resources and the fundamental insights and practices to build a tolerant world. This paper is an attempt to highlight how various faiths and religions can contribute to the building of tolerance in the world at large. It will look at the context of the discussion, various religious faiths and search for commonalities that build tolerance. Distortions also need to be identified. The argument of the paper is that the core of any religious faith promotes tolerance and hence the struggle is to keep faithful to the core of religious faiths and practices. THE CONTEXT: A MULTI-RELIGIOUS SOCIETY India is known for its multiplicity of religions. It is in fact the cradle of world religions. Being the birth place of many religious traditions and an eternal source of spiritual inspiration and guidance, Indian is looked upon as a source of spiritual succour. It is interesting that everyone in India, barring a very small minority officially profess a religion, though they may not be practicing it. Table 1. India Land of Religions Hindus 80 per cent Muslims 14 per cent Christian 2.4 per cent Sikh 2 per cent Buddhists 0.7 per cent J ains 0.5 per cent Others 0.4 per cent Religion not stated 0.07 per cent It is only a minuscule section who does not publicly affirm any religious affiliation. It is still a regular experience that people from the West flock to India looking for spiritual guidance and fulfillment. At the same time, religious fundamentalism and consequent communal disharmony have become everyday experience too. Communal riots have become a regular feature, destroying the very peace that religion tries to build and maintain. There are claims that in three to five years there were 37,000 communal riots in the country (Hussain, 2002). The fact is that there is communal disharmony created by the fundamentalist groups in various religions and abetted by political interests. Religion by its very nature works for harmony. Can these religions regain their original inspiration for harmony and peace? Understanding Religion It is important to understand religion in its original meaning. Very broadly, religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. This definition includes all of the great monotheistic religions, Eastern religions, neopagan religions, a wide range of other faith groups, spiritual paths, and ethical systems, beliefs about the existence of Gods and goddesses.(Glock and Stark, www.hewett.norfo/k.sch.uk/curric/soc/reliqion/re/1.htm) Five core dimensions of religion Five core dimensions of religion as listed by Glock and Stark (ibid.) are the following: The belief consequence The practice consequence ritualized worship The knowledge dimension information and knowledge about the beliefs The consequence dimension affecting behaviour The expectation experience Expectations regarding and experience or through prayer. Invariably every religious system contains these components of belief, rituals, information and knowledge, behavioural consequences and the expectations that guide the whole system. At the primordial level religions come together or are able to vibe with each other in the areas of expectations and experiences. At the belief levels, particularly the dogmatic articulations, the rituals, or the behavioural traditions, there are likely to be diversities. A brief look at major religions Hinduism: Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. It claims about 837 million followers, i.e. 13 per cent of the worlds population. Geographically, it is the dominant religion in India, Nepal and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka. According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches there are about 1.1 million Hindus in the U.S. A more accurate estimate may be 7, 66,000 Hindus in 2001 in the U.S. and in Canada 1,57,015. As the worlds oldest organized religion, Sanathana dharma, is best known for its tolerance. It is this religion which gave enough freedom for its followers to think on its basic principles. It even accepted and accepts the valuable concepts from other religions. The Rig Veda proclaims, Let the knowledge come from all the directions. It is this free thought and tolerance that allows the existence of many disciplines under this big tree each respecting one another. Hinduism is also the worlds largest pluralistic tradition. A multiplicity of spiritual paths and ways are recognized as valid in Hinduism. Hinduism is not based on the teachings of a single prophet or a single book. The teachings of many different sages and saints find home within Hinduism. God may be worshipped both in male and female forms. Hinduism has much in common with the earth based religious traditions ofthe world. Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future. It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology. It covers both the natural and spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. It teaches that all existence is suffering, that suffering is born of desire and that freedom from suffering, Nirvana, can be achieved by following the eightfold path that combines ethical behaviour, wisdom and mental discipline, including meditation. It has found followers in substantial number of people. Christianity as a religion focuses on the Fatherhood of God, and brotherhood of man. Jesus and his life form the basis for Christian faith. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the means by which God saves the world. Christianity is a way of belief, worship and life characterized by love. With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents in 2001, Christianity is the worlds largest religion. It is the predominant religion in Europe, the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Philippine Islands, Australia, and New Zealand and is spreading widely in Asia, China and South Korea. Though Christianitys association with the colonization of the world has given it a different face, Christianity too like other religions carries a core of tolerance and love. Islam is a monotheistic religion which originated with the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, a7th century Arab religious and political leader. Today, Islam is the second largest religion, and has about 1.4 billion followers, spread across the world. Islam emphasizes submission to the will of God. Etymologically it means peace, acceptance submission and total surrender of ones self to God. The divine revelation was communicated to the world through Muhammad, the prophet, the final one. The Koran, the traditions, Hadith and the manner of life of Muhammad, Sunna guide the life of a Muslim. For Islam, there is no god but God, Allah and Muhammad the prophet, is the apostle. Judaism propagates monotheism. The primordial experience of this community is the covenant election of Israel to be the bearers of this belief. Divine transcendence, God as the ground of all existence, ethical conception of God, concern for individual moral culture, universalism, election for service, and the unity of history in the purpose of God are some of the basic tenets of this ancient religion of the Jewish people. The practice of Judaism has been marked by the study and observance of the laws and commandments revealed by God and as written in the Torah, as well as those found in the Talmud. Around 14 million followers make Judaism the worlds eleventh largest organized religion. Seeking for the common and the Universal Religions have contributed to the peace of the world, but they have also led to division, hatred, and war. Religious people have too often betrayed the high ideals they themselves have preached. Thus people have felt obliged to call for sincere acts of repentance and mutual forgiveness, both personally and collectively, to one another, to humanity in general, and to Earth and all living beings.(UNESCO, 1994) It is true that religions can make a substantial contribution to an emerging culture of peace and harmony. The contribution the religions can make to an emerging culture of peace and harmony is to seek out what is common, or universal in all the religions. However, discovering a universal ground upon which the various religions could relate is problematic when it is attempted at the level of belief or ideology or in the doctrinal sphere. (Teasdale, Wayne and UNESCO, 1994) Religiosity divides, Spirituality unites In discussing religion as an instrument of peace and harmony, one needs to make this distinction between religiosity, which only can divide, and spirituality which can unite all believers. Religiosity focuses on the differences, whereas spirituality emphasizes what is common. Spirituality provides meaning to life and reality. It reveals the significance of life, making sense of situations and helping one to derive a purpose in life. Spirituality focuses on values, beliefs, standards and ethics one must cherish. Transcendence is the quality of spirituality, inviting the believer to move beyond the experienced. Spirituality connects, with the self, others, God and nature. Spirituality is also an invitation to become, to unfold life, reflecting and experiencing, ultimately leading to an experience of who one is and how one knows. In this sense, spirituality is more primary, primordial, numinous and a religious experience, and the emphasis is decidedly on experience, not on doctrine or b elief. Points of Similarity found in dialogue between spiritualities A close analysis of the various spiritualities reveals the following similarities which would really become a basis for building a culture of peace, harmony and tolerance 1. Experience of an ultimate reality, known by different names e.g. Allah, God, and Brahman and so on Ultimate reality cannot be limited by any name or concept Ultimate reality is the ground of infinite potentiality and actualization 4. Faith is opening, accepting and responding to Ultimate reality. Faith in this sense precedes every belief system 5. The potential for human wholeness- Enlightenment, Salvation, Blessedness, Nirvana etc. 6. Ultimate reality may be experienced not only through religious practices but also through nature, art, human relationships and service of others 7. As long as the human condition is experienced as separate from ultimate reality, it is subject to ignorance and illusion, weakness and suffering. 8. Disciplined practice is essential to the spiritual life; yet spiritual attainment is not the result of ones own efforts, but the result of the experience of oneness with Ultimate reality. Similarly there are some common practices too in all spiritualities. Practice of Compassion Service to others Practising moral precepts and virtues Training in meditation technique and regularity of practice Attention to diet and exercise Fasting and abstinence Relationship with a qualified teacher Repetition of sacred words( Mantra, Japa etc) 9. Movement and dance Formative Community. It is an amazing unity. There is so much common in the religious striving of humanity, in the common search for peace, harmony and ultimate satisfaction. Whereas fundamentalist and disruptive forces will focus on the religiosity and the differences, spirituality will seek for the commonalities and the harmonious. Agenda for the youth and Youth Animators. The social scenario in India and the world over demands an active youth population striving for peace and tolerance. In order to build a world of peace and harmony, tolerance as a skill and an attitude must precede. Hence the youth needs to take this agenda. And in this agenda for a harmonious world, where tolerance is the hallmark of every interaction, the youth must get involved in the following agenda: 1. Facilitate a change from religiosity to spirituality. Where there is so much of exhibitionism in religiosity, spirituality is quietly practicing peace, harmony and tolerance. 2. Confront the social and religious reality with insights from social sciences. Much of fundamentalism is fed on rumors, stereotypes and prejudices. This can be challenged with data and insights gathered from Social Science research. When factual data and critical analysis are combined, insights follow which will make a difference to practice. 3. Promote a new culture of spiritual activism. The society does witness substantial religious activism, the kind that divides and disrupts. A new culture of spiritual activism can and must be promoted to build a tolerant world, a world of peace and harmony. The commonalities in the spiritualities provide the basis for action. Conclusion There is far too much of communal disharmony in India and the world over. All of this is created by human being and much of it in the name of religion. The survival of humanity depends on the levels of tolerance that men and women are willing to develop and practice in their every day living. Religiosity has helped deepen this crisis. If communal disharmony is man made, communal harmony and tolerance also can only b e made by man. The only difference being that the latter needs to be built up as the result of a planned action towards a tolerant, just and humane society. As the paper argues, this can be facilitated by a focus on the spiritualities that unite. The youth and the youth animators can contribute to the building of a tolerant society by inculcating and training youth in healthy spirituality and by downplaying the difference creating religiosity. As UNESCO declared, We are aware of the worlds cultural and religious diversity. Each culture represents a universe in itself and yet it is not closed. Cultures give religions their language, and religions offer ultimate meaning to each culture. Unless we recognize pluralism and respect diversity, no peace is possible. We strive for the harmony which is at the very core of peace. References: 1. Hussain Syed Shanawaz. 2002. Reported in rediffmail. com 26 April 2. UNESCO. 1995. Various Papers in connection with the International Year of Tolerance 3. UNESCO. 1994. Declaration on the role of religion in the promotion of a culture of peace 4. Glock and Stark. Quoted in Sociology at Hewett. 5. www.hewett.norfolk.scl1.uk/curric/soc/religion/reI1.htm

Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers fc

One of the most controversial topics in America today is the death penalty. Four thousands of years the death penalty has been used all over the world. In the earlier centuries the townsmen would hang people if they were accused as being a witch, but they were not witches at all. They merely knew a little more information than the next person. They were wrongly accused, and that is why I see the death penalty as immoral, unethical and just wrong! People were put to death for no reason; they were accused because there wasn't enough evidence to prove their innocence. Here in America you are innocent until proven guilty. That is not the way it is, you are guilty until proven innocent is the right way to look at the society today. In this essay I will show statistics, pros, cons, moral issues, etc about the death penalty. The word "capitol"; in"capital punishment"; refers to a person's head. In the past, people were often executed by severing their head from their body. The United States is one of the very few industrialized countries in the world that executes criminals. It is one of the few countries in the world that executes mentally ill persons, persons with very low IQ, and child murders (i.e. persons who were under 18 at the time of their crime).On August 22, 2000, "Virginia and Texas each executed two men who committed their crimes when they were under 18"(Sara Rimer and Raymond Bonner).Which in my personal opinion is just wrong. As of October 19, 2000, during the last decade of the 20th century, 547 prisoners were executed in the United States --one third of them in Texas. Another 3,500 wait on death rows. When asked whether people prefer to keep or abolish the death penalty, about 60 to 80% of American adults say that they want to keep capital punishment. Numbers vary depending upon the exact wording of the question asked by the pollsters. When asked whether they would like to see executions continue or have them replaced with a system that guaranteed life imprisonments with no hope for parole, ever; that the inmate would work in the prison to earn money; that the money would be directed to helping the family of the person(s) that they killed. Capital punishment has been a cause for debate for many years, and people continue to ... ... the race of the defendant or of the victim in deciding whether to impose the death penalty".(Bonner). From the facts that I stated above i think death penalty is very much racist. In conclusion, the death penalty may seem to be the best course of action but in reality I believe that it is not. As I have said, it is the best deterrent America employs against murder, it saves our country money, and most importantly, it guarantees that a murderer will not have the chance to kill again. But America goes against its own law and joins the society in this wrong doing. An innocent life may be at stake and no one will ever know. Bibliography: 1. Bonner, Raymond, "Push Is on for Larger Jury in Military Capital Cases <NYT-Military.html>," New York Times, September 3, 2001 2. Bonner, Raymond and Rimer, Sara, "Mentally Retarded Man Facing Texas Execution Draws Wide Attention <NYT-Penry.html>," New York Times, November 12, 2000 3. Cohen, Richard "Hangman, Be Gone <WPost-Hangman.html>" The Washington Post , September 26, 2000 (op-ed) 4. Expert documentation: executions /http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Leadership and Management Essay -- essays research papers

1. A. Is there a difference between effective leadership and effective management? Yes, I believe that managers are analytical, structured, controlled, deliberate, and orderly. Leaders are experimental, willing to take chances, visionaries, flexible, unfettered, and creative. These are the differences between management and leaders. B. Someone from the 21st century who I believe is an effective leader is Steven Jobs, of Apple computers. I believe he is an effective leader because he pursues visions even when his competition has a strong hold on the computer industry. He still motivates his people to keep coming up with ideals to stay competitive with Microsoft and not let them run a monopoly on software and patents on computers. His power base is that he senses opportunities and pursues dreams to keep his company competitive. C. A leader of the opposite sex that I think is like Steve Jobs is Martha Stewart. She had a vision to take home decorating and cooking to another level by connecting with millions of homemakers through TV shows and the selling of her products through K-mart. Martha was just pursuing her dreams to play in the corporate world with men. She senses opportunity when she sees it. She had the intuition to make her company a profitable one when her critics told her it would never work. D. I do feel that there is a general pattern of male/female leadership styles because leaders must be able to apply influence, develop people, set examples, inspire people, mana...

The Effects of Violence in the Media Essay -- essays research papers

The Effects of Violence In the Media â€Å"Someone just got shoot on the streets due to the violence in the media.† That is what some people are saying that violence in the media is the cause of that. The controversy of the effects that violence has on people has been going on for a long time. This paper is going to prove both sides of the controversy and let one decide which side is right. Violence is on the news and on everyday action shows. Theses everyday shows are targeted for the kids of the world who are in the stages which are important for their lives. At this point in their lives the kids can make life changing decisions the violence on TV has some effects on that decision. One might watch a scene from â€Å"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles† which may show them betting up a bad guy for trying to hurt someone. â€Å"The consequences of killing, especially by the "good guys," are seldom shown.† It doesn’t show the turtles getting in trouble for hurting someone it shows them as being the good guys. In real life you won’t be going around betting people up with out getting into trouble as well. It’s not like the kids won’t see so act of violence on TV for there is 50-60 times more violent commercial TV for the children then for the adult’s prime-time programs. Do you try to stop that by putting up parental controls on your TV? If you do that you have the protection on your TV but what about the TVs at their friend’s houses? â€Å"The typical American child watches 28 hours of television a week, and by the age of 18 will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.† With all of that violence on TV there is a good chance of a child thinking that violence is the answer to all their questions. Yet it isn’t just the TV that brings us the violence there are other factors. â€Å"Girls who watched more than an average amount of violence tended to throw things at their husbands. Boys who grew up watching violent TV shows were more likely to be violent with their wives.† This is true but what if you didn’t watch the violent TV shows but your parents acted that way to each other? Would you turn into a wife better or would you turn into a caring person? This hasn’t been proven so I can’t give you an exact answer. What I do believe is that children look up to their parents ... ...eed to be able to perform your best when you are in reality. One bad thing about thinking you are in the dream world is that you might think that you are in that dream world all the time. â€Å"He was blaming the doctors and nurses for his pain, since on TV getting shot didn't seem to be all that big of a deal.† This is showing that some people can’t realize when they are out of that dream world. If they don’t realize that they are out of the dream world then they might act the same way as they see on TV. They might just go and bet someone up because they were doing something that they didn’t like or they were doing something wrong. â€Å"Children who watched one to three hours of television each day when they were 14 to 16 years old were 60 per cent more likely to be involved in assaults and fights as adults.† This is saying that people might act like the people in the TV shows that they might watch in real life. Take for instance someone just watched â€Å"Fight Club† they might turn around and start fighting each other for sport and think that they can get away with it. If you are doing that in your own home that is ok but when you bring it out onto the streets you could be arrested for it.

Assess the usefulness of Marxist approach to an understanding of crime and deviance’ Essay

There are numerous Marxist theories that help us to understand crime and deviance in different ways, however they are all based around the same ideas. They believe capitalism causes crime in three different ways including, selective law enforcement, criminogenic capitalism and ideological nature of the law. Traditional Marxists believe that crime is inevitable in all societies because capitalism is criminogenic suggesting that it is societies very nature that causes crime. According to traditional Marxists society causes capitalism in different ways. One of which is due to poverty. The lack of social mobility means that people find it difficult to move up the social classes . And therefore those in poverty that cannot afford necessities such as food result in utilitarian crimes (crimes with a purpose) for example theft In order to survive. Another way that capitalism causes crime is due to capitalism advertising products encouraging the false need and desire for consumer goods. A false need makes an individual believe that they need a product when in reality they don’t, for example cars, phones etc. They can achieve this through the media for example TV advertisements and billboards, because people believe this is what they need if they cannot afford it legitimately then they may turn to crime. Thirdly capitalism can cause crime through alienation (individuals feeling isolated from the rest of society) as a lack of control of their lives may lead to crimes of violence and other non utilitarian crimes without a purpose for example domestic violence etc. This could occur whereby a partner feels frustrated with his social position and therefore takes it out on members of the family etc. Finally capitalism encourages a dog-eat-dog world therefore regardless of social class people always want more. This leads to crimes from all different classes. The wealthy commit crimes such as fraud and tax invasion, statistics just don’t show this as much. David Gordon 1976 explained this as he said crime is a rational response to the capitalist system and is found in all social classes, even though statistics make it look as though it is concentrated amongst the working class. Here David Gordon is explaining that crime is just a response to the way society is run, that it is the capitalist structure of society that creates these crimes, and that even though statistics represent more working class as the criminals, in reality all classes are guilty of crime. Traditional Marxists also proposed the theory that law making and law enforcement can have an effect on crime in society as law making and enforcement serves the interests of the capitalist class. The ruling class have the power to change laws, prevent laws and enforce laws. An example of when we have seen how quickly laws can be enforced by the ruling class was during the summer riots in 2011 when laws were quickly passed through parliament to give police powers to force individuals to remove headwear. This shows that it is the ruling class that have power and therefore laws are based on the ruling class views not considering the working class opinions. As well as this Marxists also argue that certain types of crime are likely to be dealt with more rigorously than others. For example street crimes such as assault and theft are more likely to be pursued by the police than white collar crimes such as fraud. The English government have only made some attempts to deal with white collar crimes however the USA targets the offence more seriously. As well as this certain groups are more likely to be on the receiving end of law enforcement. For example in inner city areas the police patrol more therefore working class are more likely to get caught because working class are more likely to live in the city. David Gordon argues that the selective enforcement of the law benefits capitalism in three main ways. By punishing the working class which protects the capitalist system which is responsible for the crime. As well as defining individuals as ‘social failures’ directing the blame away from the system. And thirdly defining criminals as ‘animals’ and ‘sick’ for example, justifying putting them in prison. Keeping these individuals out of the public eye allows us to forget why the crime occurred needed to help us solve the problems. Traditional Marxists also explore the ideological nature of the law; this function is valuable in allowing the ruling class to maintain their position of wealth. This process is what Althusser named the ideological state apparatus. This includes the school and the variety of forms of media, and it is through these that the ruling class is able to socialise individuals into accepting ruling class ideology. ISAs are responsible for promoting ruling class values of self interest and competition and as a result create a society in which basic values support the capitalist political and economic system. Marxists also believe that crime and the law can perform an ideological function by essentially brain washing individuals. For example some laws may appear to benefit the working class for example the health and safety laws at work, but these, according to a Marxist FrankPearce are only there to benefit the capitalists by ensuring a fit and healthy work force. In addition to this by prosecuting a large proportion of the working class it makes it look like the capitalists are caring for its citizens, it also helps divide the working class so many blame each other for crime rather than capitalism. There are many positives and negatives of traditional Marxist theory in helping us to understand crime and deviance. A large strength is that the theory successfully explains how crime cuts across all social class lines, as it shows evidence of all classes committing crimes. Therefore it is a macro-theory and can be applied to the whole of society making it generalisable. Another strength is that there is a lot of evidence to show the presence of law enforcement, for example it was illustrated through news showing law making over night during the summer riots. However weaknesses of the theory include the fact that the Marxism view underestimates the free will of a criminal by blaming the system, it is too deterministic by over predicting the amount of crime present especially in the working class. Not all those in poverty are committing crime and would never turn to committing crime. Marxism does not explore this factor efficiently. Another weakness is that it largely ignores the relationship between crime and important non class based inequalities for example gender and ethnicity. Neo-Marxists who are considered new Marxists support some traditional Marxists views however some views vary and It is important to explore these different views in order to understand crime and deviance. Neo Marxists focus on ideology. So where by traditional Marxist Althusser believed in brain washing. A Neo-Marxist Antonio Gramsi came along and put forward the ideas that people do realise they’re being exploited. He presented us with the term relative autonomy of the state (self power and self control) and put forward the ideas that people do realise they’re being exploited. Another New-Marxist theorist Taylor et all challenged the Marxist theory by stating that workers are not driven to crime through economic necessity. They believe that this theory was too deterministic and doesn’t question an individual’s free will. They also go against the interactionist theory and state that young males do not commit crime because they have been labelled. As well as challenging the sub cultural theory by arguing that young males do not commit crime because they are part of a subculture. Instead Taylor suggested his own theory as to why people are lead to committing crimes. He states that people commit crime often because they are angry at capitalism. They express their anger through crime rather than politics. This suggests that individuals are committing crimes on the basis of being frustrated with the structure of society that they live in and express this frustration through committing crimes, maybe because they don’t feel they will ever be heard through politics etc due to the ruling class having power? Taylor put forward the new criminology theory: a fully social theory of deviance. This includes six main parts. Firstly, the wider origins of the deviant crime. This is in the unequal distribution of wealth and power in capitalist society. A strength of this is that it doesn’t look at a micro situation, it looks at the whole of society. Secondly, the immediate origins of the deviant crime, this is the particular context in which the individual decides to commit the act. For example in the summer riots people looting due to the immediate origins being anger due to recession, cuts in public benefits of society being closed down for example youth clubs and libraries. Thirdly the act itself and its meaning for the individual e.g. rebellion against capitalism. Fourthly, the immediate origins of social reaction, so the reactions of those around the deviant, for example the police and the family and their reactions to discovering deviance. Next are the wider origins of social reaction in the structure of capitalist society, questioning who has the power to define actions as deviant? And lastly the effects of labelling on the deviants future actions, for example getting a job. A strength of the Neo-Marxism theory is that critical criminology has forced sociologists to look at the wider social, economic and political factors and it has offered a new approach to how crime is shaped by the individual’s actions within an unfair criminal justice system. However a weakness of the theory is that it is too general to explain crime and to idealistic to be useful in tackling crime. There are numerous similarities and differences between traditional Marxists and neo-Marxists which are useful in helping us to understand crime and deviance. Similarities include the fact they see capitalist society based on inequalities between the social classes and this is a key to understanding crime. They both agree that the state makes laws and enforce laws in the interests of the capitalist class which is important when considering how classes are represented within decisions of the law and how these decisions can have a different effect on both classes. And they both believe that to prevent crime capitalism should be replaced by a classless society. However differences between the theories are that neo-Marxists believe that criminals are not passive puppets who’s behaviour is shaped by capitalism this is important in assessing how valuable the Marxist theory is as it puts forward the idea that although a criminogenic capitalist society does effect crime and deviance there are other factors as well. Another difference is that Neo-Marxists use interactionist ideas to see how the behaviour of the victim, offender, media and criminal justice system all interact to influence how the situation developed. Therefore this too exploring other possibilities as to why the crime was committed. Overall the Marxist theory as whole is valuable in explaining why crime is committed as it looks at the problems in society as to why individuals within our society commit crime. It explores how the very nature of our society can cause these crimes by looking at all different perspectives for example through the criminal justice system, poverty, media and advertising etc. It also has explanations for both utilitarian and non utilitarian crimes and can be applied to the whole of society as it also explores white collar crime and not just crimes committed by the working class. Therefore the fact that it is a macro-theory makes it very useful as it is easily generalised. Overall the theory as a whole is very strong in helping our understanding as why crime exists.

Ell Assessments Essay

With the rise in immigrant students comes a rise in students who do not speak English. Schools are facing the need to not only teach these students their regular academics but also a new language. In Guthrie, Oklahoma, there may seem like there would not be as much need for such programs but the fact is that English language learners are also here. ELL students need assistance from the schools they attend in order to master their English skills and be able to become productive citizens when they graduate. Schools have had to come up with procedures to identify ELL students, assess and monitor their learning and proficiency, keep teachers informed, and ensure ELL students access to grade-level content and develop language simultaneously. When a new student enters school in Guthrie, Oklahoma first they are required to fill out a home language survey form, (Oklahoma Department of Education, 2012). This form basically asks what the primary language spoken at home is. If another language other than English is spoken then students are required to take the WIDA placement test, (Miles, 2013). If a student scores below a 5. 0 they are considered to be an English language learner, (Miles, 2013). That is how they identify ELL students at Guthrie Public Schools. Parents also need to be informed of these tests wither 30 days before school starts or within two weeks of school starting, (Oklahoma Department of Education, 2012). Throughout the school year schools have to assess ELL students to determine their progress. At Guthrie public schools ELL students in elementary school are monitored for progress every quarter by a bilingual tutor, (Miles, 2013). In junior and high school students are monitored daily by their teachers for progress, (Miles, 2013). The tutor and teacher monitor students social activities, their regular classroom environment, their activity in class, behavior, learning comprehension, as well as formal assessments. Formal assessments are tests done every quarter to see how much a student has progressed from the previous quarter. If a student is being social with other students during recess, actively participating in class, and learning the curriculum being taught then the ELL student is considered to be learning and comprehending English. ELL students are exempt from taking standardized tests for two years so they can become proficient in how to read, write, speak, and understand English, (Miles, 2013). Students must show proficiency in English in order to not be considered ELL anymore, (Oklahoma Department of Education, 2012). Another important part of ensuring the progress of ELL student is keeping their teachers informed of ELL student’s status. The way Guthrie public schools inform teachers of the ELL’s status is by sending them and email or letter with a copy of their test scores, (Miles, 2013). Teachers need to make accommodations for the students because they want the ELL students completely immersed in English. ELL students attend regular classes with regular peers, (Miles, 2013). Teachers assess ELL students daily just like they assess non ELL students. They do informal assessments like how they participate and communicate in the classroom to assess how they are progressing in English language proficiency and comprehending the curriculum. Formal assessments teachers may do would be homework sheets where students need to fill in the blank with the correct word or a spelling test. Teachers take the grades ELL students make in their class and assess if students need extra help like a tutor to better their English proficiency skills, (Miles, 2013). The way a school helps an ELL student achieve proficiency will vary depending on the requirements of the school district and state. Guthrie public schools is located in central Oklahoma. In the 2009-2010 Guthrie public schools had 108 English language learners out of 3,309 total students enrolled in the school district, (USA. com, 2011). They have adapted all of the state requirements which meet the federal No Child Left Behind act. Regardless, of the number of ELL students or location of the school, there school always be a way to identify, assess progress and proficiency level, keep teachers informed of ELL’s language proficiency and ensure ELL students have access to grade-level content and develop new language skills simultaneously. Schools should always be prepared to receive new students into their school and welcome them with a positive school spirit. REFERENCES Miles, S. (2013). Phone interview, Head of ELL department for Guthrie Public Schools. Oklahoma Department of Education. (2012). Identification and Exit Criteria for Oklahoma’s English Language Learners. Retrieved from: http://ok. gov/sde/sites/ok. gov. sde/files/Bilingual-ID-ExitCriteria. pdf.