Deception Point Page 44

â€Å"Let's go!† Norah shouted, pulling the tethered group along as she headed toward the perimeter of the illuminated circle. â€Å"I don't know what NASA's up to here, but I sure as hell don't appreciate being used as a pawn for their-â€Å" Norah Mangor's neck snapped back as if she'd been rammed in the forehead by some invisible force. She let out a guttural gasp of pain, wavered, and collapsed backward onto the ice. Almost instantly, Corky let out a cry and spun around as if his shoulder had been propelled backward. He fell to the ice, writhing in pain. Rachel immediately forgot all about the printout in her hand, Ming, the meteorite, and the bizarre tunnel beneath the ice. She had just felt a small projectile graze her ear, barely missing her temple. Instinctively, she dropped to her knees, yanking Tolland down with her. â€Å"What's going on!† Tolland screamed. A hailstorm was all Rachel could imagine-balls of ice blowing down off the glacier-and yet from the force with which Corky and Norah had just been hit, Rachel knew the hailstones would have to be moving at hundreds of miles an hour. Eerily, the sudden barrage of marble-sized objects seemed now to focus on Rachel and Tolland, pelting all around them, sending up plumes of exploding ice. Rachel rolled onto her stomach, dug her crampon's toe spikes into the ice, and launched toward the only cover available. The sled. Tolland arrived a moment later, scrambling and hunkering down beside her. Tolland looked out at Norah and Corky unprotected on the ice. â€Å"Pull them in with the tether!† he yelled, grabbing the rope and trying to pull. But the tether was wrapped around the sled. Rachel stuffed the printout in the Velcro pocket of her Mark IX suit, and scrambled on all fours toward the sled, trying to untangle the rope from the sled runners. Tolland was right behind her. The hailstones suddenly rained down in a barrage against the sled, as if Mother Nature had abandoned Corky and Norah and was taking direct aim at Rachel and Tolland. One of the projectiles slammed into the top of the sled tarp, partially embedding itself, and then bounced over, landing on the sleeve of Rachel's coat. When Rachel saw it, she froze. In an instant, the bewilderment she had been feeling turned to terror. These â€Å"hailstones† were man-made. The ball of ice on her sleeve was a flawlessly shaped spheroid the size of a large cherry. The surface was polished and smooth, marred only by a linear seam around the circumference, like an old-fashioned lead musket ball, machined in a press. The globular pellets were, without a doubt, man-made. Ice bullets†¦ As someone with military clearance, Rachel was well acquainted with the new experimental â€Å"IM† weaponry-Improvised Munitions-snow rifles that compacted snow into ice pellets, desert rifles that melted sand into glass projectiles, water-based firearms that shot pulses of liquid water with such force that they could break bones. Improvised Munitions weaponry had an enormous advantage over conventional weapons because IM weapons used available resources and literally manufactured munitions on the spot, providing soldiers unlimited rounds without their having to carry heavy conventional bullets. The ice balls being fired at them now, Rachel knew, were being compressed â€Å"on demand† from snow fed into the butt of the rifle. As was often the case in the intelligence world, the more one knew, the more frightening a scenario became. This moment was no exception. Rachel would have preferred blissful ignorance, but her knowledge of IM weaponry instantly led her to a sole chilling conclusion: They were being attacked by some kind of U.S. Special Ops force, the only forces in the country currently cleared to use these experimental IM weapons in the field. The presence of a military covert operations unit brought with it a second, even more terrifying realization: The probability of surviving this attack was close to zero. The morbid thought was terminated as one of the ice pellets found an opening and came screaming through the wall of gear on the sled, colliding with her stomach. Even in her padded Mark IX suit, Rachel felt like an invisible prizefighter had just gut-punched her. Stars began to dance around the periphery of her vision, and she teetered backward, grabbing gear on the sled for balance. Michael Tolland dropped Norah's tether and lunged to support Rachel, but he arrived too late. Rachel fell backward, pulling a pile of equipment with her. She and Tolland tumbled to the ice in a pile of electronic apparatus. â€Å"They're†¦ bullets†¦,† she gasped, the air momentarily crushed from her lungs. â€Å"Run!† 50 The Washington MetroRail subway now leaving Federal Triangle station could not speed away from the White House fast enough for Gabrielle Ashe. She sat rigid in a deserted corner of the train as darkened shapes tore past outside in a blur. Marjorie Tench's big red envelope lay in Gabrielle's lap, pressing down like a ten-ton weight. I've got to talk to Sexton! she thought, the train accelerating now in the direction of Sexton's office building. Immediately! Now, in the dim, shifting light of the train, Gabrielle felt like she was enduring some kind of hallucinogenic drug trip. Muted lights whipped by overhead like slow-motion discotheque strobes. The ponderous tunnel rose on all sides like a deepening canyon. Tell me this is not happening. She gazed down at the envelope on her lap. Unclasping the flap, she reached inside and pulled out one of the photos. The internal lights of the train flickered for a moment, the harsh glare illuminating a shocking image-Sedgewick Sexton lying naked in his office, his gratified face turned perfectly toward the camera while Gabrielle's dark form lay nude beside him. She shivered, rammed the photo back inside, and fumbled to reclasp the envelope. It's over. As soon as the train exited the tunnel and climbed onto the aboveground tracks near L'Enfant Plaza, Gabrielle dug out her cellphone and called the senator's private cellular number. His voice mail answered. Puzzled, she phoned the senator's office. The secretary answered. â€Å"It's Gabrielle. Is he in?† The secretary sounded peeved. â€Å"Where have you been? He was looking for you.† â€Å"I had a meeting that ran long. I need to talk to him right away.† â€Å"You'll have to wait till morning. He's at Westbrooke.† Westbrooke Place Luxury Apartments was the building where Sexton kept his D.C. residence. â€Å"He's not picking up his private line,† Gabrielle said. â€Å"He blocked off tonight as a P.E.,† the secretary reminded. â€Å"He left early.† Gabrielle scowled. Personal Event. In all the excitement, she'd forgotten Sexton had scheduled himself a night alone at home. He was very particular about not being disturbed during his P.E. blocks. Bang on my door only if the building is on fire, he would say. Other than that, it can wait until morning. Gabrielle decided Sexton's building was definitely on fire. â€Å"I need you to reach him for me.† â€Å"Impossible.† â€Å"This is serious, I really-â€Å" â€Å"No, I mean literally impossible. He left his pager on my desk on his way out and told me he was not to be disturbed all night. He was adamant.† She paused. â€Å"More so than usual.† Shit. â€Å"Okay, thanks.† Gabrielle hung up. â€Å"L'Enfant Plaza,† a recording announced in the subway car. â€Å"Connection all stations.† Closing her eyes, Gabrielle tried to clear her mind, but devastating images rushed in†¦ the lurid photos of herself and the senator†¦ the pile of documents alleging Sexton was taking bribes. Gabrielle could still hear Tench's raspy demands. Do the right thing. Sign the affidavit. Admit the affair. As the train screeched into the station, Gabrielle forced herself to imagine what the senator would do if the photos hit the presses. The first thing to pop in her mind both shocked and shamed her.

Macbeth as tragic hero Essay

The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy about a Scottish lord, Macbeth, who becomes too ambitious. He starts off as a brave, loyal and noble man, but his ambition and thirst for power lead him onto a path of ruthlessness and self-destruction, and ultimately his own death. While Macbeth is manipulated by various people and occurrences, the main ones being the witches, Lady Macbeth and Fate, one theme that remains constant throughout the play is the power of choice. Macbeth does have the ability to choose, and it is this ability that makes him a tragic hero, not a victim. There are certain characteristics that someone must have in order to be considered a full tragic hero. One of the main ones is that the character must have a fatal flaw. In Macbeth’s case, it is his ‘vaulting ambition’ (1:VII:27). Ambition can be a good thing, but when in large doses as Macbeth’s was, it can be dangerous, and, as Macbeth proved, even fatal. Another important characteristic of a tragic hero is the conflict between good and evil, and the choice between these two things. Macbeth consciously chooses evil over good. A victim, on the other hand, has no power over what happens to them. Macbeth did have some control over the situation, which means that he was not a victim. However, Macbeth himself can’t be entirely to blame. He was influenced and manipulated, particularly by the witches. If the three ‘Weird Sisters’ (1:V:7) had not said anything to Macbeth in the first place then none of it would have happened. The ‘Weird Sisters’ put the idea of becoming ‘king hereafter’ (1:III:49) into Macbeth’s head, and, consequently, the idea of murdering King Duncan. The witches knew that this would happen, they wanted it to happen. They also manipulated Macbeth later on in the play, with the three apparitions. They gave him false confidence, and, once again, they knew and wanted this to happen. They created ‘toil and trouble’ (1:IV:10), and they created it on purpose, to lead Macbeth to his demise. However, Banquo was also present at the first meeting with the ‘Weird Sisters’, and they made a prophesy for him, too. But Banquo chooses to ignore what they say. Macbeth could have made th is choice as well, but he didn’t. Although the witches did manipulate Macbeth, he wanted to believe their prophesies, and he chose to believe them. Another person who was a big influence on Macbeth was his wife, Lady Macbeth. He was going to let ‘chance crown me king’ (1:III:43), but Lady Macbeth knew that this wouldn’t lead to anything. She also knew that Macbeth’s sense of loyalty and honour could stop him from killing Duncan and therefore becoming king and fulfilling his ambitions. She urges him to ‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’ (1:V:63-64). She also questions Macbeth’s manliness, another weak spot of his. She knows that he doesn’t like her doing this, and she knows that it’s a good way of persuading Macbeth to do what she wants him to do – that it’s a good way of manipulating him. But Macbeth wanted to be manipulated. He let his wife influence him. If he really didn’t want to murder Duncan then he wouldn’t have. Even before he spoke to Lady Macbeth he was having ‘horrible imaginings’ (1:II I:37). Even though Lady Macbeth helped turn these into realities, she did not physically force her husband to commit murder. Once again, Macbeth had the freedom, power and ability to choose. Another important role in the Macbeth is the role of Fate and destiny. Being a tragic hero, Macbeth was destined to die from the beginning. It could have even been Fate that Macbeth made the wrong choices. However Fate can’t manipulate, Fate just is. Macbeth says that he is going to leave everything up to chance, but he doesn’t. He chose not to. Perhaps this was also due to Fate, but what would have happened if Macbeth had chosen not to kill Duncan? This is another thing that makes Macbeth a tragic hero – the audience is left feeling sympathetic about what might have been. No matter how manipulated, everybody has the power of free will. The fact is that Macbeth chose his path himself, and although Fate may have played some part in his downfall, the power of choice played and even bigger part. The ability to choose overrides Fate and destiny. The entire play could just be put down to human nature. Greed, power, ambition; greed for power and ambition is a part of human nature. However human nature is a bit like Fate, in that it cannot manipulate, it just is. Nearly everyone would like to believe that they can be great, and if they are told so would want to believe it. Macbeth just takes it one step further  by making it happen. In a way Macbeth is taking Fate into his own hands. His ‘vaulting ambition’ drives him to do this. It is Macbeth’s ambition that leads him to murder people, as well as leading to his own death. His ambition ultimately becomes his nemesis, which makes him a full tragic hero. Macbeth’s ambition and his greed for power is like a fire. The witches, Lady Macbeth and Fate did manipulate him and add fuel to the fire, but the spark had to be there first in order for them to do this. Although Macbeth was influenced and manipulated a great deal, he still had the power and the freedom to choose. It is the choices he made that make Macbeth not a victim, but a full tragic hero.

Toxicity testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Toxicity testing - Essay Example Thus, chronic testing extends over a longer period than the sub chronic testing. The observation period for sub chronic testing is about three months, while the observation period for chronic testing is about twelve to twenty-four months (Hamilton, 1977). Sub chronic testing usually involves lesser group of animals than chronic testing. While chronic testing could involve a large group of animals of about twenty for each sex (for rodents), sub chronic testing could take about ten for each sex (for rodents) (Hamilton, 1977). The name sub chronic testing is even an indicator that it involves a lower level of toxicity testing o the chronic testing. In carrying out the toxicity experiment, there are several factors that should be considered in order to determine the most suitable toxicity method. It should be noted that, if a large group of animals is involved, the chronic testing method is preferred, but if it is only a few group of animals, the sub chronic testing method is preferred over the chronic testing

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 4

Marketing - Essay Example They also serve as the management team with specific roles and responsibilities. Adam Balon, 26, handles the sales functions of the company. He graduated with a degree in Economics and earned a place in Harvard MBA. He has worked as a marketing manager for Virgin Cola UK. His competencies include developing brand strategies, budget management and extensive experience in dealing with impulse and grocery multiples to drive listings. He has previous positions as brand manager, logistics and production planning in Virgin Cola. He has worked as a business analyst in the financial services and grocery retailing. John Wright, 25, manages the operations of the company. He graduated with a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering. He worked as a consultant at Bain & Company. His competencies include developing start up plans setting up new ventures, business cases with negotiating strategies to invest/dispose business units and heavy involvement in IT and recruitment operations. He has worked across different industries in manufacturing, financial services and media. Richard Reed runs the marketing functions of the company. He graduated with a degree in Geography. He has 4 years experience in the advertising industry. He served as an account director on BMP DDB Needham Marketing agency that handles the Volkswagen business account. His competencies include devising and implementing new marketing strategies to double the market share. He has intensive knowledge in macro-planning and retail communications that would exploit new services and new revenue streams to the agency. He has previously served as business director for BMP’s interactive marketing consultancy as well as director for new business. The core competency of Fresh Trading Ltd is centred on marketing and business strategy as derived from the experiences of the management team. Core competency is defined as the collective learning in the

Leasing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leasing - Case Study Example However, the disadvantage to leasing is that, if circumstances dictate that a business must change its operations significantly, it may be expensive or otherwise difficult to terminate a lease before the end of the term. (Wikipedia contributors 2006) For example, if Hasbro finds Maxie a failing project at the middle of the leasing term, it is expensive or difficult for Hasbro to terminate the lease. 8. At the end of the five year lease period, Hasbro would base two factors to determine their decision of whether or not to buy the machinery. The first factor is whether the "wear and tear" level of the machinery is more than or less than it should be as a five-year-old one. If it happens that the leased machinery is so "worn and torn" that it doesn't even worth $6,000 at the end of the lease, Hasbro would not buy it at the end of the lease definitely. The second factor is, considering the technological advancement within the five-year period, some more efficient machinery might have been produced. In this case, Hasbro would recalculate the profit and costs of purchasing a newer model before making their decision of whether or not to buy the machinery at the end of the lease.

Authority in Tudor Era England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Authority in Tudor Era England - Essay Example However, it is worth mentioning that the events that followed point out that the Henrician Reformation was not successful in itself i.e. when taken on its own. The events that followed Henry VIII’s death did cause the Protestant Reformation to be a success in England. The circumstances and public opinion helped ensure that. However, from the point of view of the Reformation that Henry VIII sought to bring about, or did bring about, it is clear to see that it was not a success. Although there were many features that are considered to be factors to the English Reformation, the emergence of common law and feelings of nationalism, as well as the weakening of feudalism, along with the creation of the printed press that resulted in an increased flow of information and thought in the academia, however, it was basically the government policy, that of Henry VIII to be exact, that was the leading cause of this Reformation, with some claiming the entire cause of the Reformation to be Hen ry VIII’s particular needs (Newcombe 1). Henry VIII, who had married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, did not have a male heir. He now sought to marry Anne Boleyn, his present wife’s maid of honor. ... Caught between a desire to marry Anne Boleyn, and keeping his faith intact, Henry VIII was further influenced by those in his Court, who took this as an opportunity to further goad the King into declaring the Crown’s break from Papal authority. Anne Boleyn and those who sided with her ensured that the King was slowly enticed into breaking away from the Papal authority. Henry VIII, for his own reasons, was swayed by the counsel he was provided. Using praemunire, an edict that forbade allegiance to foreign rulers, Henry VIII moved against the clergy of England who supported the non-annulment of his marriage to Catherine. He proclaimed that all allegiance was owed to him and that he had spiritual jurisdiction as well. Henry VIII proclaimed that only those clergy who agreed to this would be pardoned, the others to be prosecuted under praemunire. However, this alone cannot be termed as the lone precursor to the Henrician Reformation. Other factors also fostered and furthered the Re formation. One such factor was the invention of the printing press. With the inventing of the printing press, the distribution of the Bible was made much easier, what is more the Bible was distributed amongst the masses, or smuggled. This, along with German reformer Martin Luther’s views regarding the sacrament of the altar being subservient to the preaching of the word, entailed that now people were no longer dependant on the interpretation of the Bible by the clergy alone. This also sought to cause harm to the Papal authority. Slowly, with the influence of Anne Boleyn, these ideas were transported into the English towns and village, although it is pertinent to note that the people did not support them at first. As

Final Exam Paper Operations Management Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Final Exam Operations Management - Term Paper Example All the players have a critical role in the creation of quality goods and services. For smooth operations among, the players information has to fro to and fro on a timely basis. Human beings differ in thought, and therefore, to harmonize their roles in value creation one has to manage the chain. The critical activities cannot operate in a vacuum and thus will require other supporting processes like accounting and finance. The overall upper management tries to ensure the critical activities, and the supporting activities communicate seamlessly. At this point, one should understand why operation management is vital. Other than leading one to career in future, the benefits are beyond measurable instrument in the logistics field. First resources are very scarce, and it requires one to make fast and sound decision for their usage. Decision regarding trade-off are a day-to-day activities, the degree of benefit and loss are the determinant factor in making the correct verdict. Understanding and appreciation of the role played by the supporting processes in the organization cannot be underestimated (Oakland, 49). Lead time can be influenced by how client’s request is handled by the finance department. Operation management assists in determining the best model for a firm in it is production. A good example of a model that can be adopted is the lean manufacturing model. The model discourages activities that will not add value to the end product. A firm should always make reasonable expenses, and the expenses should be minimi zed without compromising the quality of the final product. An organization is determined by how it can produce its goods and services. This being the case then the goods and services need to be of the best quality. The push by consumers to have value for their money makes a firm to think of other means to meet the demand from the consumers. However, before an organization decides whether to design or redesign its goods and services,

Editi a paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Editi a paper - Essay Example there are many jobs that require a bilingual employee. Hence there is a huge demand as well as market for bilingual or multilingual people who can easily be employed in such organizations. A person who speaks two languages or more has more opportunities to find a job easily. There are also many other benefits of being a bilingual. As for my experience as a bilingual, I would say I am so luck for being so. As a bilingual, I have come across various incidences which point towards the significance of knowing more than one language. I have learnt many things from reading and interacting in my second language â€Å"English†. My knowledge in English, as a second language has helped me in my career as well as various other aspects of my life. Before learning a second language, my reading and interacting were limited to my first language â€Å"Arabic". The various interactions I had through reading and writing far exceeded the experience I gained through interaction in my first language – â€Å"Arabic†. When I decided to join the foreign language program, I have not imagined that I would benefit so much  from learning a second language. Prior to enrolling in a foreign language program, my experiences were limited in nature; however my scope was widened post learning the second language. After graduating as an English major, I was presented with endless opportunities to explore however I decided to be an English teacher whereas I can choose another job but I prefer to be a teacher. After enrolling in this Master program, I realized how very important to be the true significance of being a bilingual is and used this opportunity to teach educate bilingual or even multilingual students. The issue of â€Å"Bilingualism† is very important of utmost significance not only for bilinguals but it is also in other equally relevant fields such as important since it is related to

Impact of technology on patient care Research Paper - 1

Impact of technology on patient care - Research Paper Example Also, most cooking can be done in a matter of minutes with microwave technology. Our means of transportation has improved over time; cars now run on solar and even electric energy. Likewise, one could not discount the innovation in mobile technology. Now, people could not only call and receive messages from another person at the same time; but also see the person one is conversing with despite expansive geographical distance. Recently, a CNN report about the improvement in Twitter revealed that individuals chat with followers while viewing real time activities and instantly commenting on the account page. As such, advancement in technology has impacted most aspects of life; not leaving behind the area of health and patient care. Among the most noted technological advancement in this field include the application of the electronic health record, telemedicine, wireless communication, sensors and wearable technology, portal technology, mHealth, as well as other advanced medical tools, d rugs, and equipment (Jayanthi, 2014). As a result, the delivery of patient care has been noted to be more efficient as interventions are tailored to the unique health needs of culturally diverse clientele. In this regard, the current discourse hereby aims to present the impact of technology on patient care. The paper would initially provide a review of previous studies made on the subject; specifically how technology relates to patient care, how technological advancement impacted patient care, as well as the areas of patient care impacted.

Physical Activity at School Is Important Essay Example for Free

Physical Activity at School Is Important Essay Physical activity is important in many various ways. Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity a day on most days of the week. Your activity can be spread out through the day. Try for 10 minutes at a time, but even a few minutes’ counts. A big reason physical activity important is having strong bones. Another big reason is having a healthier heart and lungs. Another reason physical activity is important is because everybody needs a lot of energy. All three of these reasons are important in our everyday lives. My first reason is you get stronger bones. Having stronger bones is one of the main reasons of physical activity and its importance. A personal experience that has happened to me is that my uncle never exercised and got osteoporosis. Exercising just a few minutes each day will gain you stronger bones. Every minute counts. Want muscles? Exercise at least 30 minutes’ each day for a long period of time I guarantee you results. My second reason is having a healthier heart and lungs. This is also one of the main reasons of physical activity and its importance. A personal experience I’ve gone through is that my grandpa died from chronic disease. Try keeping your heart and lungs extremely healthy. Avoid heart disease and acute disease. Nobody likes that. Live a long and healthier life. My third and final reason is having more energy. More energy throughout the day is magnificent. A personal experience that I’ve gone through is having no energy. Exercising allows more energy to flow through your body and be more enthusiastic during the day. In conclusion I believe physical is important in various ways. One reason is because you maintain stronger bones. Another reason is because you get a healthier heart and lungs. And the last reason is you get more energy. This content has shown most of the important reasons of why physical activity is important.

Morally Wrong To Commit Suicide?

Morally Wrong To Commit Suicide? When asking ourselves whether it is morally permissible to commit suicide, we must first define suicide. There are three types of suicide, firstly knowingly endangering ones life. Secondly the act of intentionally terminating ones life, and finally intentionally bringing about ones death, either by actively terminating ones life, or by not taking the necessary steps to preserve it. This will therefore mean that sometimes we may find suicide morally permissible or impermissible, however it can become circumstantial depending on which type of suicide is being carried out. Many of us have pre-conceived ideas about suicide and its permissibility. This is sometimes due to religion, law, or perhaps even the way it is portrayed in the media. We here about stories often but we must take into account that the majority of us will never know what it feels like to want to end our lives. It therefore makes it hard for us to answer this question immediately. I will be arguing whether we as individuals have the moral obligation to commit suicide and the effects it will have upon both ourselves and others. I will be achieving this by examining both consequentiality and deontological theories. External factors and principles will also be a key in my work to ensure that all factors are considered to ensure that a valid judgment is made. I will attack this subject from numerous angels showing both the permissible and impermissible forms of suicide. Thomas Aquinas argued that its unlawful to kill yourself for three reasons. [1] Because everything naturally loves itself, the result being that everything naturally keeps itself in being () wherefore suicide is contrary to the inclination of nature, and to charity whereby every man should love himself. Hence suicide is () contrary to natural law and to charity, [2] because () every man is part of the community, and so such, he belongs to the community. Hence by killing him he injures his community (). [3] Because life is Gods gift to man and is subject to his power () hence whoever takes his own life, sins against God For it belongs to God alone to pronounce sentence of death and life.(T.Beauchamp, Suicide, In T.Regan(ed.),Matters of Life and Death (New York (etc,):McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition, 1993).p.87.) Hume reply: Some lives are not worth keeping. Given our natural horror against death, people only commit suicide if their lives are no longer worth keeping. Our duty to preserve life (including our own) only applies to life which is worth keeping. The moral importance of natural inclination to self perpetuation only extends to a life which is worth keeping. Therefore, suicide is not an act contrary to self love and self perpetuation. It is not always true that by killing oneself one injures the community for example, a) a person does not make any contribution to the community or is not living in the community, example a hermit. b) a person who is an actual burden on society or whose death anyway is a benefit to others or just a community, Examples, illness requiring massive treatment, soldiers sacrificing for their comrades or fighting an evil regime. Similarly even if one contributes to the community suicide only withdraws its contribution it does not directly harm the society there fore withdrawing ones contribution is sometimes permissible. Humes Objection about ownership is either god determines all our choices or we determine them ourselves, if god determines our choices, then our choice to commit suicide cannot be against his will and hence cannot be violation of his right to choose. If God granted us self determination then out choice to commit suicide can also not be against his will. Therefore committing suicide is not to wrong God. Hence we are back to the first argument as the prospect from which hume is trying to figure is different. Committing suicide might be wronging God in different sense namely by failing to respect his moral commands, which is also not to commit suicide. Consequentiality and deontological theories The deontological theories are based around Morality. They focus on the duties and rights of the individual or situation. One has moral duties to ones self not to harm or end life. However if an individual no longer wishes to continue due to external factors or they no longer feel lifes beneficial to ones self then they would desire to die. However the deontologist would refuse this request upon a number of factors. The first being that the individual may not be in the perfect frame of mind at the time, therefore may make an impulsive choice which they may have regretted. However it could be argued that the individual has the best judgment of whether their life is worth lifting at the time compared to any other living agent. Secondly as agent we also cannot predict the future. This means that the individuals path of life could not be foreseen, dismissing the knowledge that that person may go on to say, find the cure for aids, benefiting the whole community, or the opposite, he may pu t a drain on others quality of life by becoming say a drug dealer, bringing a load of negative externalities to the community. If so the deontologist would say that it is not permissible to for the agent to commit suicide. Consequentiality looks at situations from another angle. They focus upon what actually happens and the utilitarianism theory that people should aim for the greatest overall utility. An individual could save millions of lifes if he self sacrificed. The consequentiality would argue that the man should self sacrifice in order to save millions of lives. This is due to the man only being one life against millions, whereas the deontologist would say no the man has the right to his life and the millions would die and this is what is morally right. However such jobs and hobbies such as the army and skydiving mean that the individual is putting their life at risk, therefore should the individual be allowed to carry out such activities as they may be seen as morally wrong as one is putting ones life at risk, but for the consequentiality there is greater pleasure, utility in the long run therefore making it permissible for them to do so. All in all Suicide is a complicated issue, as there is not only moral argument but many other theories and believes which also must be taken into consideration. Deontologist do not believe that an agent committing suicide is permissible as it is morally wrong to oneself, others and god. However the consequentiality believes that it is morally permissible to end ones life if it has a greater utility to others. I believe suicide is moral permissible as in such cases as the army and fire-fighters who self sacrifice for others. It may all come down to principle, can suicide ever be completely morally permissible. We have duties to ourselves to self preserve, if we do not then we may not be acting morally therefore it is not morally permissible. Are al lives worth keeping or is it permissible in some ways to allow some people to die. Do we as agent who cannot see the future ever have the skills to decide? It is all on the individuals perception and there are extremes and complications of every matter of suicide.

Evolutionary Attitudes :: essays research papers

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes a time when discrimination was extremely common. In the fictional society of Maycomb County, we can see the primitive forms of discrimination emerge through definition of social classes due to wealth, background and association, as well as the predominant theme of racism towards African Americans. Although in present day Victoria, the subjects of discrimination encountered are different, society’s attitude and response to these flaws are much the same. In Victoria, the homeless problem as well as youth stereotypes present huge venues for discrimination within society. In addition to this, Aboriginals and oriental demographics are segregated by society due to colour and culture. Although civilized society has evolved between Maycomb and Victoria, presenting both communities with different challenges, it has not broken free of the engrained discriminatory behaviour within each of its foundations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The discrimination faced by families such as the Cunningham’s, in To Kill A Mockingbird, was based upon society’s emphasis upon social class. As with the Cunningham’s, many families were hit very hard by the depression, and thus were not as wealthy as many other families in the community. Therefore, families such as these were offered little respect by other member’s of the Maycomb community based on their wealth or associations. Maycomb’s high society looked upon some of its neighbours as below themselves. Maycomb sees these people as a burden. According to inherent honoured codes within society, the importance and meaning of such fine breeding has been ignored, making these people less than those who come from â€Å"fine† families . In cases such as the Cunningham’s , members of the community who do not fall within the parameters of a â€Å"fine† family are objectified. An example of this can be seen when W alter Cunningham, a schoolmate of Scout’s, is invited over for dinner. â€Å" ‘He ain’t company Cal, he’s just a Cunningham-’ ‘Hush your mouth! Don‘t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ company, and don’t you let me catch remarkin’ on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo’ folks might be better’n the Cunningham’s but it don’t count for nothing’ the way you’re disgracing’ ’em†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 24) As Calpurnia points out to Scout that the Cunningham’s, despite society’s belittlement of such families, it does not give anyone the right to act superior. Although families such as these are not restricted from interaction from society, they are nonetheless victims of society’s prejudices.

Does it or Does it Not? :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to believe that some one or thing exists, it must be a universal idea that others have at least heard of. It also must be tangible to a human being and have some sort of physical evidence or others accounts of evidence to show that it does in fact exist. If the object or person cannot provide hard physical evidence, then how does it get humans such as our selves to believe in them? The answer seems simple enough, faith.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Religion, in general, has been around since human beings have first graced this planet. No one knows exactly how it actually came about, but we know that it is here and still is here today. God may or may not exist. Through the faith of the people He most definitely exists to them. He is praised, worshiped, and glorified by over one billion people through out the world. Those one billion people trust and believe that God exists without having to have physical or logical evidence. They say that through all things God exists. Why? Because supposedly He created all living things on this planet. Scientists, however, have their own idea of how Earth was created. So, how do we know that He truly does exist? We cannot see what He looks like, or what He sounds like. We also do not have records of His birth or death. There are many beautiful murals and paintings of Him through out the world, but which one is He? How can someone devote their selves and time into something they cannot see or hear? It seems like a waste of time to some. To others, religion acts as a crutch for comfort and safety. Some say that he does exist in our everyday lives in everything that we experience. Others, however, believe that He exists in money and say that if people donate money the â€Å"Good Lord† will heal you and love you, but you have to donate some money first before he can do anything. It is sketchy and since when was having faith in God a paid service? Some people only pray for what they need, and sometimes might not even really need it and act as if God is Santa Claus. He is also a crutch for those who are insecure and need to find comfort. Therefor e, meaning that it could be a trick of the mind.

Enviromnetal Degradation as a Result of Overpopulation :: Environment Pollution Research Papers

Enviromnetal Degradation as a Result of Overpopulation Introduction There are simply too many people on our planet, and the population is not showing any signs of slowing down. This is having disastrous effects on our environment. There are too many implications and interrelationships to discuss in this paper, but the three substances that our earth consists of: land, water and air, are being destroyed. Our forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, bearing enormous impacts on the health of earth. Our oceans and seas are being polluted and overfished. Our atmosphere is injected with increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, which hurts the entire planet. All of these problems can be traced to our vast, rapidly expanding population, which has stressed our world far too greatly. Our Population In 1994, the world population was 5 602 800 000. This population had a doubling time of only forty-one years (De Blij and Muller, 1994, p.527). The massive amount of people has had highly destructive impacts on the earth’s environment. These impacts occur on two levels: global and local. On the global level, there is the accumulation of green house gases that deplete the ozone layer, the extinction of species, and a global food shortage. On the local level, there is erosion of soils (and the loss of vegetation), the depletion of water supply, and toxification of the air and water. The earth is dynamic though, all of these aspects are interrelated, and no one impact is completely isolated. All of these destructive elements can be traced to our enormous population. As the population increases, so do all of the economic, social, and technological impacts. The concept of momentum of population growth is one that must be considered. It states that areas with traditionally high fertility rates will have a very young structure age. Thus, a decrease in the fertility rate will still result in a greater absolute number of births, as there are more potential mothers. Populations are very slow in adjusting to decreases in fertility rates. This is especially frightening when considering that South Asia has a population of 1 204 600 000 (and a doubling time of thirty two years), Subsaharan Africa has 528 000 000 (doubling time: thirty one years), and North Africa/Southwest Asia has 448 100 000 (doubling time: twenty seven years) (De Blij and Muller, 1994, p. 529-531)and all of these areas have traditionally high fertility rates.

Imaginative Journey

Imaginative journey refers to movements where the individual does not have to physically travel anywhere. It is a journey of the mind, which allows individuals to visit any place they desire or are led to; even those that don’t exist. Imaginative journey can lead to inspiration, belief and imagination. However the journey is only a means to an end. This end being: knowledge, experience or discoveries made by the individual in the process of the imaginative journey which broadens or heightens the responder’s perception or sense of the world. Imaginative journeys that take place in the film adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland explore the themes of imagination, magic and freedom. This allows the responder to be able to journey with the main characters and evaluate the perception of their experience and discoveries by applying it to ourselves and others. Alice in Wonderland is an immortal tale of fantasy and wonder that follows the tale of a young girl who falls asleep in a meadow and dreams of entering a magical world, filled with strange adventures and magical creatures. The protagonist of the film Alice uses magic as a form of distraction, resulting from her fear of singing in front of public audiences. Magic is symbolised through the constant music in the film. This is evident when Alice opens the door to the beautiful garden. The director uses a calming instrumental piece of music to show the difference between the reality in Alice’s life and the reality in the magical world behind the small door. The use of a close up shot enforces Alice’s facial expressions to show the audience her excitement and interest in entering the garden. What the audience discovers in Alice’s magical journey is that she’s trying to use magic and her imagination as a platform for self-expression. For example, the rabbit and all the magical characters she meets, from the rude caterpillar to the Cheshire cat, all help her through her imaginative journey. Her fear of speaking in front of people is a reoccurring motif and each character plays a part in helping her overcome this fear. The caterpillar tells her â€Å"everything has a purpose, even here†. Her ‘purpose’ was not only to escape her boring life with magic and imagination, but rather meet that life head on and conquer her fears. Another issue involved is that of freedom. The audience must understand that Alice comes from a social context where children are only meant to be seen, not heard. What the audience gathers from her journey is that her effort to escape and find herself is just a means for her to find her form of freedom. This is shown by the way she has the freedom to either drink or not to drink the potion â€Å"if I drink this, ill be small enough to climb under the door† referring to the beautiful garden that she thinks â€Å"looks safe and no one will look for me there†. The high camera angle of the garden enables the audience to understand why Alice wishes to go there. Though the Cheshire cat reminds her, â€Å"Sometimes things that look safe, turn out to be nasty†. The audience discovers that Alice is able to go through the process of an imaginative journey so she can be free. This helps the audience understand that in their own world it doesn’t matter what age, race or sex you are, the imaginative journey is part of humanity and it is the key towards a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Therefore through the themes of imagination, magic and freedom the audience is able to experience Alice’s imaginative journey and gain a better understanding of themselves and others.

Great Society: Big Ideas

School Desegregation Montgomery Bus Boycott Tallahassee Bus Boycott Freedom Rides March on Washington Children's Crusade Freedom Summer Selma March and Bloody Sunday own words) Boycott – refusal to deal with something, such as a business, as a protest to force some kind of change Civil disobedience – intentional breaking of a law in a nonviolent or passive manner Civil Rights Movement – social movement of the asses ND asses to establish equality and civil rights for African Americans Integration – acceptance and equal access for all people into a group or place Segregation – enforced separation of groups Social activism – use of direct action to bring about social change 7. 03: Minority Rights: The Big Ideas How were the Civil Rights Movement and other social movements of the asses similar? How were women viewed by most of society in the asses? How did this change in the ASSES?What was the Equal Rights Amendment? What happened to it? Who were the United Farm Workers? How did they fight for their cause? What was the Native American Power movement? How did life change for Native Americans in 1953? What did Native Americans gain through social activism in the asses and early ASSES? Gray Panthers (Who were they and what did they fight for? ) National Organization for Women (NOW) (What were their goals? ) Betty Friedman Phyllis Scholarly Cesar Caves Events (Describe the event, its causes and effects) Civil Rights Act of 1964 (How did it affect different minority groups? ) 1961 – President's Commission on the Status of Women Title IX was passed

Existentialism: Sartre’s Views Essay

Existentialism is a movement that focuses on the significance of human features and its primary effects in our life and in our society. Since we always interact in the society, this movement had explained certain social phenomena that are left unexplained by other sociological and psychological theory. Since we deal with the conscious minds of the people around us, such a theory would explain why some people chose to do certain things that we think should not. This movement values the importance of real and existing rather than the concept and abstract. Jean Paul Sarte is one of the pioneer philosophers who introduced this kind of theory. He is one of the best existentialist philosopher and also a writer who wrote novels and autobiography of some prominent people. His experiences in his childhood and early youth had given him experiences for him to be able to reach the point of discovering the importance of existentialism. One of his claims is that if a person chooses to perform some action, then that person affirms that the action is good. He believed that we consciously choose the way we act and our counter reactions in everything that we experience in our daily lives. He believed that because we choose to do that action, therefore, we accept the consequences of it, believing that this is the good for us. Since being good is relative, therefore, it answers the questions and doubts about the legality of such concept. He claimed that in every action that we did, we choose what we think is the best for us and the best for all. We do not choose the evil or something that will result in a massive negative effect in our society because of our capability to think rationally. He argued that we do not have the capability of choosing an absolute evil. Because we are aware of the possible consequences of every actions that we do, we consciously weigh the possible outcomes of every actions that we are doing for us to be able to have the best reaction towards a certain situation. Then, if we assume that every thing that we are doing is good, and we believe it is good, therefore, no one is doing the â€Å"wrong† thing. As Sartre is trying to point out, â€Å"goodness† is relative across different ideas and beliefs and concepts of it. And he extended an explanation to address these kinds of arguments that tackles the reason why there are people who we think that what they are doing is right while some will say that obviously, it is not. This will lead us to his next assumption that it is psychologically distressing to affirm the value of an action which cannot be universalized. This will answer the question of the effects of our basis in doing things that we think are good and for the better of all the concerned party. He added that it should be universalized, or in other words, should be applicable to different people in a society having different point of views in their life. If such action that we affirm that is something good and for the betterment of our community, therefore, this action will lead to social dysfunction and some functional problems of our society. So therefore, he is trying to point out that our action should be applicable to different people for it to have a higher value in the society. Or else, if such action have different connotations to different people, it will only produce distress to the minds of the people thinking that what they are doing is something worthwhile not only for them but also for the society they belong. In universalizing certain actions, we should take into consideration his claims about the existence of different beliefs wherein many of the people are trying to relate themselves in the way that their society identifies them. This would give us the idea of having different meanings attached to certain actions that most of the people take for granted that it is the best thing that they should do. But for us to attain this level of explanation in certain actions that they are doing, we should assess the possible outcome of it or the realistic result and consequences that was due to the unbalanced acceptance of different people to different actions and roles that we are portraying. If we will take his two claims about the level of goodness of an action and its universality, therefore, it proves his third claim that to choose an action that can not be universalized is an error, and there is a reason not to choose such an action. Since we are assuming that what we are doing is the good for us and for the society we have, we must take into consideration in choosing the action that we are supposed to do the acceptance of different people and different subculture of the society. We are aware that we have different meanings attached to certain actions that we are doing and at the same time, these meanings vary depend upon the cultural explanation that they are offering. This cultural diversity that we have in effect will consolidate a certain sets of norms that were accepted by every body or the majority of the community and brand those actions that lie behind the accepted cultural norms as immoral. One of the major effects of this claim is that whenever that we are doing something for our self that we claim that this action is the good for us and somehow will benefit the people around you, but the society thinks that your action is well outside the boundary of accepted cultural beliefs, then you will be classified as an immoral being that failed to conform to the rigid rules of the society. This is one of the thresholds of the claims of Sartre. Because of his belief that what we do is something that we think is the best for us and the value of the action should conform to the norms of different parts of the society for it to be universalized, therefore, if we failed in doing the action that will be accepted by majority of the people then this is an error in our part because we failed to recognize the importance and the consequences of the actions that we did. This in fact is a manifestation of our wanting of doing the best things that we think is fitted in the situation that we are in. If ever that we failed to recognize and to choose the action that will be universalized and instead, we did the things that will cause distress to some people, he also claimed that there is always a valid reason in choosing that kind of behavior. We did a behavior that was consciously chosen by us to portray the good side of the action that we did. But we can not remove the fact that because of the social factors that affect the symbols and meanings of certain things that we did, in result, it will lead to doing things according to our own biases and cultural knowledge that is most probably, our own definition of goodness. And aside from that, we can not remove the fact that we choose things according to what is beneficial to us and according to our preferences, thus, some actions that we did seem to be outside the limitations set by the other people. Facticity and Transcendence: Bad Faith One of the concepts that he believed is having a two dimension of human beings. Since the For-Itself focuses on the experiences that we had and is consciously aware to what is happening in the environment, it is divided into two parts that have different functions and significance to the contribution to our reaction formation in certain circumstances that we are involved in. The first is the facticity. This gives importance to the past scenarios of every situation and the present or the actual scenario itself. It has a conscious definition of the things that was happened in the past as well as the physical characteristics of the environment he is in. On the other hand, the transcendence is the ability to explore the future and to decide on making choices that will affect the possible outcome of our actions. This includes the negating of the actual scenario for us to be able to have the capacity to think the worst possible scenario and therefore, giving us a broader perspective in the situations that we are all in. Also, in contrast with the facticity which primarily based the decision on the actual facts, the transcendence takes into consideration the things that are not actually happening or the situations that are non-existent. He tackled about the three persons who failed to establish the connection between the facticity of their For-Itself and its transcendence. In effect, they experience different kind of consequences that is somehow dysfunctional in the way that it should happen. This is what he called bad faith. The first one is the woman on a date. She had defined her factical and transcendence state but he failed to set the connection between them. She moved back and forth in its structure and therefore defined different actions that had no relation with each other. In effect, her consciousness as being a beautiful object had hindered her to express and to give a credit to the actual feeling that her date had for her. She thought that her body is just a mere object of attraction but eventually, shifted to different focus like her future plans in life. This unstable situation of her being resulted to confusion of the meaning of the reactions and the situation itself. The second one is the waiter. In contrast to the woman on a date, the waiter totally failed to establish his transcendence and focused on the actual scenario. He defined himself as a bounded creature and has limited opportunities and capabilities. But in reality, his failure of establishing this part of his being had affected the way he understood the flow of life of the society. Because he already assumed that his current situation is fixed, he had suppressed his freedom to explore many things in life that in reality, he has the capability to do so. The last one he mentioned is the homosexual. This is the contrast of the waiter, where he failed t recognized his facticity. In result, he sensationalized his transcendence being and thought the whole actual scenario as non-existence or being a false happening. He does not accept the facts that he had several relationship and encounters with the same sex. This facts had modified his own perception on what he is doing and in effect, had produced a feeling of guilt. This feeling of guilt had resulted to the manifestation of his tolerance to his actual doings and gave reasons to him to continue his behavior. But in reality, his clam that he is not gay while his conscious mind knew that he is a gay, therefore is a sign of having a bad faith because of his false knowledge. Bad faith is somehow the manifestation of our failure to set up the fluid connection of the two, as discussed on the different situation of three different people, failure to do so will result to functional dysfunction and will be a great social phenomena. Existentialism: Heidegger’s Perspective On the other hand, another philosopher from Germany, Martin Heidegger, had introduced some theories about existentialism. He has a close affinity to the church and therefore based most of his works in metaphysical aspects. One of his major concepts is how the worldly characters defined itself within the world. His structure of societal activities is composed of many assignments and references that if splited, will define the ready-to-hand objects in contrast with presence-at-hand objects. Presence-to-hand involved mainly observing the natural phenomenon and basing everything to known facts. But, against the common notion of its equality, it has different moods that affect the presence of an object and mainly deal with the metaphysical aspects that tend to bring all the level down. For example, we had a chair. When the chair is broken, it exists as presence-to-hand and needs the immediate action like repair or replace. The importance of the object is seen not because of its mere existence but its practical use for our benefit. By the time that this chair is fixed, it will suddenly turn into ready-to-hand object. Ready-to-hand concept primarily deals with the things without considering its theoretical importance. Ready-to-hand literally is the things that are present as of the moment and is available for practical purposes. This happens when we have conscious ideas on what is going on in our environment and society. Therefore, this ready-to-hand experience gives us a top view of the physical things that we are seeing today. We value greatly not its metaphysical value but its practicality for us. Connecting the two concepts of being, based on Heidegger, ready-to-hand is a more primordial way of life. It does not mean that being primordial is primitive or ancient way. What he meant is this is the basic foundation of our perception of different entities that we had an interaction. These entities are primarily affected by the question of which is the ready-to-hand and presence-at-hand entity. Therefore, in finding dealing with our everyday experience of the two, the ready-to-hand serves as the first implication of the things that we see in our common days. We do things not because of its theoretical backgrounds but because we have to use such thing without thinking deeper. In addition, the ready-to-hand lead us to a broader understanding of our being, because we understood it not just by theoretical assumption but through our experiences, therefore giving the notion that we can fully understand the essence of being through what is everyday or common experience for everyone and what is close to their habits and behaviors. (Guignon & Pereboom, 2001) Existentialism gives primary importance to the existence of human essence and beings. Therefore, a critical analysis of our own beings is needed for us to be able to give explanation to the reasons of our own behaviors, attitude and way of life.

Office of Strategy Management

Office of Strategy Management In the article â€Å"Office of Strategy Management†, Kaplan and Ditto reveal that there is a disconnection amongst companies between strategy formulation and strategy execution. On average, 95% of a company's employees are unaware of, or do not understand, its strategy. They say that there is a gap in many large organizations between strategy formulation and execution, between ambitious goals and actual performance. The authors submit that if employees are unaware of the strategy, they cannot help the organization implement it effectively. Kaplan and Norton say it doesn’t have to be like that. They have studied companies that achieved performance breakthroughs by adopting the Balanced Scorecard and its associated tools to help them better communicate strategy to their employees, and to guide and monitor the execution of that strategy. While some companies have achieved better, longer-lasting improvements than others, the organizations that have managed to sustain their strategic focus have typically established a new corporate-level unit to oversee all activities related to an office of strategy management (OSM). The OSM coordinates an array of tasks. The function of the OSM is to create and manage the scorecard, align the organization, review the strategy, develop strategy, communicate strategy, manage strategic initiatives, and integrate strategic priorities with other support functions. They assert that the OSM does not do all the work, but it facilitates the processes so that strategy is executed in a more integrated way across the organization. They say that an OSM is applicable with every organization whether it is used or not. I agree with the authors the OSM sets the framework to ensure good communication throughout the company. An OSM can improve a strategy execution, and the communication of that strategy, and to ignore any of the process that an OSM seeks to achieve for an organization could lead to its failure. If the company is working fine it might be necessary, but some form of an OSM might be in place. However an OSM is a must for companies where the communication and the execution of a strategy are poor.

Discussion Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion Topic - Essay Example If you havent already memorized them, they are: Objective, Offensive, and Mass, Economy of Force, Maneuver, Unity of Command, Security, Surprise and Simplicity. To what extent, if any, do Chinese views follow or depart from the modern principles, and why?   Your opinions are welcome, but back them up with evidence. Sun-Tzu was talking about strategy as contained in his book The Art of War. The writing that says â€Å"the army is established by deceit, moves for advantage, and changes through segmenting and reuniting† must not be taken literally. Sun-Tzu was talking metaphorically. By deceit, he meant the confidentiality and secrecy character of a military organization. A military organization’s objective is to win war wars not to be honest. Divulging one’s military capability blunts its capacity for offensive. One must not be â€Å"truthful† or â€Å"candid† about the status of its military otherwise the enemy would plan against it and could easily defeat it. By â€Å"moves for advantage, and changes through segmenting and reuniting† just meant that a military organization adapts to a situation or its maneuverability by regrouping and when he mentioned â€Å"its speed is like the wind, its slowness like the forest; its invasion and plundering like a f ire; unmoving it is like the mountains. It is as difficult to know as the darkness; in movement it is like thunder", Sun-Tzu merely described the offensive capability of a military organization through a unified command. These Chinese views about military tactics and strategies may sound ancient but is still actually present in today’s military tactics. Sun-Tzu just talked the language of his day but he actually talked about â€Å"classified nature of the military†, regrouping, organization, timing of attack and speedy response of military action. Much of military strategy and tactics today   are derived from the principles of Sun-Tzu

Human Relations Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Relations Case Study - Essay Example Introduction: Organizations are very important in the day to day life. One of the most basic and fundamental aspects of organizations is that it involves human resources. The word â€Å"organization† comes from the word â€Å"organize†. This word suggests a sense of order and management of human resources to bring about or achieve an intended result. Literature review Management is an umbrella word. It means controlling and harmonizing resources so that the organization can achieve its goals and targets. The word management clearly points to leadership of the organization. This is where the human resource begins. Leadership determines the quality of the organization almost directly. This is because it is charged with the responsibility of coming up with decisions that shall lift the quality of the organization. Poor leadership leads to unnecessary mistakes which end up in costing the organization a lot of resources. The quality of leadership is reflected through the org anizational leadership structure. Under the leadership structure various managers are assigned with different responsibilities which are viewed as pillars to the organization. This is to make sure that the growth of an organization is all round and evenly distributed. ... This includes coming up with the required standard of qualifications of the prospective workers. This also includes developing skills through training and creation of incentives. The aim of these activities is to come up with a strong workforce that shall work with high level of professionalism. The reward system of the organization is one of the most sensitive areas to the workers. This is because it can nurture talent or even demoralize the workers. This department does not exclude dealing with the cases of indiscipline among workers. In some large organizations, the human resource department is divided into many other smaller departments. These departments deal with specific matters within the organization. While still having a look at the human resource department of an organization, there are times when highly trained workers become involved in cases of indiscipline. These manifest in multiple ways. Some workers are fond of over drinking. This causes many of them to come to work when they are drunk. To illustrate this, our case involves a management trainee called Gary. Although he has full potential, he is not able to be fully helpful to the organization because of his drinking habit. Those who know Gary when he was studying at the university, say he was used to drinking a little too much. He was always late for classes and sometimes never showed up for classes at all. When called upon to be accountable, he had convincing excuses that left the lecturers and other concerned people with satisfaction. Somehow, that was able to cushion him from trouble as long as he was a student. However, when he joined the professional field as a management trainee, he initially thought the same excuses would work in the new work place. However, his bosses became

MGT302 - Org. Behavior and Teamwork CA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGT302 - Org. Behavior and Teamwork CA - Essay Example Personal projects, failed projects, successful projects are all celebrated and well received within the company (Jarvis). The culture adopted within the company clearly uses all the possible initiatives and opportunities to be innovative and also to develop something new each day. Google is clearly more focused on the invention of newer products and is also focused on improving and innovating each day and hence the company clearly follows a culture which is innovative, challenging and also a new adventure each day (Anthony). Google’s Culture and Specific Factors: With the intensive competition that is presently found in the markets, Google approach is clearly among the best and most effective. Here the company’s approach has clearly been based on the external elements like the competition, competitive advantage, changing needs of the customers, changing approach and outlook of the customers (Nussbaum). However apart from the above, one of the key factors that is the cau se of the company’s culture is clearly the need for innovativeness. Google has been recognized to be a new age company and has been found to be open to change as well as open to new and fresh ideas (Mayer). These factors together have formed and developed the new age company and have also led to the immense success of Google (The Google Legacy). Google’s Culture and Performance: Google’s culture is clearly the main reason for the successful performance of the company. The culture that has been developed within the company has been present from the start and this has been followed from the start (Girard). The company’s flexible approach and genuine focus on employees has led the employees to be more motivated and also focused on the job. The company has focused not only on the monetary needs of the employees but also on the personal needs at times like the maternity leaves, paternity leaves and several other similar cases. This flexible approach as well as the respect and equal treatment that the company provides to all of the employees are the cause for this high performance (Hamen). Here although the company does not specify the professional behavior, the mutual respect and the commitment of the employers is clearly the cause for the employees to behave and also commit themselves to the company to a greater extent. It would be incorrect and untrue to say that the company follows the particular culture due to the success (Mayer). The company has clearly developed and every individual has worked hard to bring the company to the current position. It is the strong culture and bond among the employees and employers and also the flexible work structure that has clearly been the cause for the company’s success (Anthony). Protecting the Culture: As clearly been noted in the case, the company unlike other companies does not punish employees in case of losses. The company is open to making mistakes and taking risks, as long as people contribute to the growth and attempts of the company. As explained in the case, â€Å"...(Larry Page) would rather run a company where people are moving quickly and doing too much, as opposed to being too cautious and doing too little. This attitude toward acting fast and accepting the cost of resulting mistakes as a natural consequence of moving fast...†

Gender Representation of Children's Television cartoon Essay

Gender Representation of Children's Television cartoon - Essay Example from choices of clothes to toys etc. This prejudice also alters the behavior of parents for instance, for girls it can be seen that they are treated delicately while boys are usually treated discourteously. Due to the behaviors of families towards labeling children as boys and girls, within the 18 months of their birth, infants begin to learn the dissimilarities between two genders by themselves. In this way, between 18 to 20 months, the gender identity begins to be constructed. The idea of gender differences becomes clear in the minds of children by the age of two. â€Å"Although they have not fabricated a view of their own gender, they can differentiate females and males and learn to divide the world between women and men. They define behaviors of woman and man (stereotypes about sexuality)†. For instance, in a study which was conducted with the children below age of 2, children acknowledged that boys like to play with cars while girls like to play with dolls and boys like t o push whereas girls like to cry. They define activities of adults as belonging to male and female. They also define colors according to gender. At this age, children are able to determine their own gender correctly and they understand that gender is a permanent characteristic. In later years, children’s communication with friends and in their schools also leads them to construct biased attitudes towards the two genders. One of the most vital contributing factors in internalizing gender stereotypes in children is Media. Katz and Boswell (1986) identified that among children, media and peers are more effective than parents in developing gender identification. For children, many television programs are integrated with gender discrimination intensively.... For children, many television programs are integrated with gender discrimination intensively. In TV programs, it can be clearly seen that one of the two genders is posed as dominant while others are insignificant characters. A large number of programs reveal male as more dominant and powerful character as compared to female character. Many of the shows that are being shown on TV are ordinary lives of ordinary people reflected on the screen. According to Mutlu, (1999) â€Å"Shortly, television is the extension of people's common, ordinary feelings and interests on screen† (Mutlu, 1999). As Williams states, â€Å"most of the television programs are extensions of daily talk† (Williams, 1992). Therefore, it is possible that all the contents of TV programs are actually society’s beliefs, ideas and traditions that are broadcasted on TV. It is really important for parents to know what their children are watching. Television exposes children to those things from which pa rents are striving to protect the m especially drug abuse, violence etc. Along with the actual television programs, children also get influenced by what they see in advertisements during commercial breaks. There are many negative aspects of watching too much TV. Watching TV too much can cause bedtime resistance and anxiety around sleep. It is also followed by shortened duration of sleep. Another study suggested that there is a strong relationship between watching too much TV and aggressive behavior of children. Children who spend significant amount of time in watching TV during early adulthood and adolescence are more likely to act aggressively against others. Watching too much TV also causes the problem of overweight and inactiveness among children. In TV programs, gender discrimination is also actually a

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women in the Essay

The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Women in the Philippines - Essay Example Under the first SAP implemented for the Philippines in 1981, the objective was to reshape a largely protectionist regime under the Marcos dictatorship into an export-led economy through trade and financial liberalization and tight credit policy. However, subsequent events proved the SAP strategy wrong, as evidenced by the depreciation of the Philippine peso by 10 percent in 1983, double-digit inflation and unemployment, declining wages and the unimproved quality of exports due mainly to low production costs and cheap labor. During these years, political opposition to the martial law government of Marcos was escalating, which became a nationwide disturbance when top opposition leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated in 1984 by suspected Marcos hit men. This led to massive capital flight that forced Marcos to call a snap election in 1985, in which the widow of Aquino emerged victorious. As the GDP began to grow by a moderate 5.6 percent under the second IMF-WB program undertaken for the Aquino government (Lim & Montes, 2001), the economy suffered one setback after another as Marcos loyalists held disruptive rallies and renegade soldiers separately staged a series of military coups from 1987 to 1989. This paper examines how SAP failed the Philippines, specifically how and why its required policy reforms marginalized women in the Philippines in terms of meeting their rights to education, health and livelihood. 2. How SAP Worked Against Philippine Women The SAP requirement for an export-led strategy of economic growth created shifts in the use of land and other resources, reorganized production processes, and changed production relations as well as existing social institutions (Sparr, 1994). This was generally how SAP worked to the disadvantage of Philippine women. On land use, for example, one of the main thrusts of SAP is to remove subsidies from agricultural production intended for local consumption and to re-channel the funds instead to the production of cash crops for the export market (Sparr, 1994). Rural women in the Philippines augment the meager income of their farmer-husbands by engaging in the backyard production of crops that can be sold in the local market. Moreover, women share farm work with their men especially in seeding and harvesting. When the incentives for growing crops with a ready market were taken away, the women lost an important source of income to the detriment of her family (Elson, 1995). The problem was that government promoted export production although world prices were extremely low (Lim & Montes, 2001). In the Philippines, land was transferred from the traditional crops of rice and corn to the production of sugar cane, bananas and pineapples with a concomitant increase in the size of holdings and greater mechanization but also a rise in the number of landless households (Elson, 1995). The main result was to further marginalize women in crop production as they are largely excluded from sugar cultivation. Rural women in the Philippines farm for home production and the local markets and rarely is it done for the export

Decision-making and Information Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Decision-making and Information Politics - Essay Example Responsibility refers to the concept of being accountable for every action an officer undertakes, while authority refers to the ability of an officer to influence the behavior of individuals. Empowerment in relation to governance means the authority an officer has towards acting on the decision made. Communication is the exchange of ideas or information pertaining to the policy or decision that has been made. For IT governance to achieve success, the authorities concerned must show the values of transparency, appropriate representation and support (Birrell, 2012). Transparency refers to availing information on the process itself, and this includes on how the decisions are made, and who are the individuals who make the decisions. Appropriate representation denotes the representation of people who might be affected by the decisions made, while support refers to the ability of an organization to mobilize the support of its IT governance structure. The organization should seek the support of every one interested with its affairs, and this includes its employees, and members of the public. The IT governance has a structure component, which provides an answer to what is governed, and who governs it. My university of study has a centralized IT governance model divided into four sections (Brisebois, Boyd and Shadid, 2010) , The first level of the governance structure is the strategic level, and it comprises of the senior most executives of the business entity. The main focus of governance at this level is to align the education strategies of the university, with its information technology strategy. At this stage, the committee creates the vision of the vision of the university, and how information technology will help it achieve its vision (Weill and Ross, 2004). The second level of the IT governance structure is the executive level. This stage

Rthur Anderson Scandal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rthur Anderson Scandal - Essay Example This helped the firm to grow and ended up being one of the companies serving the greatest number of clients in the U.S. Those who worked with Andersen were aware of his motto: "Think straight, talk straight.† Andersen also played a big role in upping the standards in the U.S. accounting industry. Additionally, he was involved in innovation of new accounting standards that are still being used today. Andersen was active in social activities that also got involved in charitable organization as well in promotion of education. The firm spent large amounts of money into training new recruits (Martin and Arthur 127). This was crucial in stressing the company’s morals and its consistency around in offering and performing services. The company was admired by many people for the high morals exhibited. He became even more popular when he refused to engage in a fraud case when one of his prominent clients presented flawed accounting records. He chose to lose the client rather than committing fraud, as was the wish of the client. This had a positive impact since it increased his reputation and that of the company. Greed Begins During the 1980s, the company started experiencing internal friction. Then, there were two divisions making up the firm. These were the consulting division and the audit division. The latter was much more established although consulting was then growing much faster than any other portion of the company (Ferrell et al. 327). This unequal growth of the departments led to the conflict arising since the consulting division felt that they needed a bigger share of the firm’s profits. As a result, there were disputes between both divisions, with each side citing the other as being greedy and unfair. Both the audit and the consulting divisions were essentially separate companies. The consulting firm was under the ownership of Andersen. It paid a percentage of their earnings to the parent company (Ferrell et al. 329). Later, Andersen estab lished another consulting division within his company. This new division competed with the other consulting department and this enabled them to retain all the earnings. Later the two sides split, forming separate companies. Fraud begins Andersen was involved in many cases, all of which he was accused of committing accounting fraud. Some of these companies included Sunbeam, Baptist Founding of Arizona, Quest Communication, Waste Management and Global Crossing. Surprisingly, Andersen was able to settle all these claims without admitting any existence of fraud. In case the claims got more serious and had nothing but to admit to fraud, the company put the blame on a few â€Å"corrupt partners.† However, the increased fraud cases were not favorable to the company as they were tarnishing the name of Andersen. Analysis It is clear that the continued unpunished behavior of the company’s activities led to a snowball effect that resulted in increased corruption at a high level. The accounting fraud issues had started small in the past. The activities went on unchecked until the management pushed the limits of the fraudulent deeds (Ferrell et al. 317). For a long time Andersen was generally viewed by many people as the symbol for integrity and honesty. Thus, most of these people thought that these fraudulent activities were not occurring at the high level of the firm. The Enron Scandal Enron Corporation was a global energy, commodities

Jewish Marriage Essay Example for Free

Jewish Marriage Essay Marriage is a significant part of Judaism bringing together a woman and man under God’s reign. It is the mitzvah (122) â€Å"To marry a wife by means of ketubah and keddushin† (Deut 22:13), all Jewish adherents see marriage as a necessity in order to obey God and to experience the fullness of life. In Genesis God says: â€Å"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. † It is a link between individuals and the wider community as it recognises two individuals coming together, celebrated by the wider community. Also the marriage ceremony itself contains symbolic significance to Judaism, conveying Jewish beliefs through symbols, actions and words. The mitzvah of marriage is especially important as it involves what Jews believe to be the purpose of human life: unity to procreate. This belief is modelled by the creation story in Genesis where Adam is made a partner (Eve) through one of his ribs â€Å"For this reason man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife† (Genesis). The idea of a â€Å"bashert† or ideal partner makes marriage especially important as it creates a bond between two souls, just like Adam and Eve, fulfilling God’s will. Once unity between woman and man is achieved, a married couple are able to carry out the next mitzvah (125): â€Å"To have children with one’s wife† to fulfil God’s wish to â€Å"be fruitful and multiply† (Gen 1:28). Due to this law Jewish people see marriage as the only way of being able to have children, so in marriage, a Jew is able to adhere to two mitzvoth. To be Jewish one has to be born of a Jewish marriage; therefore, Jewish marriages are significant ensuring Judaism remains through generations due to procreation and the adherence of individuals marrying.

Windows 2008 Network Services Essay Example for Free

Windows 2008 Network Services Essay DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. DNS stands for Domain Name Server. What these two concepts do is get a unique identifier known as a (MAC address) from any computer. When the DHCP gets the MAC address from a computer it provides an IP address for that computer allowing it to access the Internet. When the computer accesses the Internet the DNS memorizes IP addresses of websites that a computer users wishes to. The reason DNS does this is because all of the websites have domain names. Domain names are translated to IP addresses. One example is Facebook. www.facebook.com is 31.13.70.81. Instead of users trying to memorize this IP Address, it just makes it easier to access Facebook or even all the IP addresses that users visit. DNS makes internet surfing easier just using alphabetic letters for easy access. For two computers it’s not worth setting up a DHCP because when the two computers want to access the Internet, they will be provided the first available IP address. If you have five computers it would be a great idea to setup a DHCP because with setting up a DHCP you could set permissions which monitors what the other computers could access the Internet for, how long they could be logged in using the Internet and their activities. Now, if there were twenty-five computers it would be perfect to have a DHCP because each computer will have its own IP Address and the IP address would never expire. Also, with a DHCP you could get permission in what any users is able to do in their specific accounts between the network computer and you are able to monitor the daily activities of each user.

Service Quality Dimensions That Affect Customer Satisfaction Commerce Essay

Service Quality Dimensions That Affect Customer Satisfaction Commerce Essay The objective of this chapter is to formulate the research question and develop the conceptual framework for the study. A detailed overview of how the research was conducted, the operationalisation of the variables, hypothesis formulation and the research methodology used which covers data collection methods used, sample selection and method used for data analysis are discussed. 3.2 Research Question Based on the review of literature and the research problem, the following question has been formulated in order to determine the relationship that exists between the various dimensions of customer expectation and the service quality by the insurance companies for motor insurance policy holders. It is important to understand this relationship as it would enable the companies in the insurance sector to improve their service quality and to match and to exceed customer expectations and create a knowledge base in order to stay ahead in the market. The following research questions were derived from the research problem and the review of the literature. What are the Service Quality Dimensions that affect customer satisfaction in the Motor Insurance industry in Sri Lanka? What is the extent to which customers are satisfied with the services received from the Motor Insurance Industry? What are the gaps between customer Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction of Motor Insurance policy holders? 3.3 Conceptual Framework Service Quality Dimensions Dependant Variable Independent Variables [Source: Developed by the Researcher] 3.3.1 Rationalization of the conceptual framework Conceptual framework was replicated based on Zeithaml, Parasuraman Berry (1991), to test this study in the Motor Insurance Industry in Sri Lanka. On the detailed literature review, the research identified five factors that impact value delivery to customer of Motor Insurance services. These five service quality dimensions of SERVQUAL Model by Parasuraman and Berry et el (1985), have been derived as independent variables. These variables fall under Service providers Perspective in the conceptual framework. The dependent variable was identified as Customer satisfaction. The gaps in quality of service will be identified by using these five dimensions. This is the gap between the Customers expectation and experience of the Motor Insurance service delivery, which will subsequently have an impact on customer satisfaction. Rust Oliver (1994) and the Nordic Model (Gronoos, 1992) too emphasizes the importance of meaning of the gap between expectations and the experience in service industry. Hence all these have been included in the conceptual framework. 3.3.2 Definitions for Variables Tangibles Modern Equipment and Technology, Visually appealing physical facilities neat appearing employees and agents, visually appealing materials associated with services. Appearance of physical facilities, equipment personnel and communication material (Parasurman et.al,1998 and 1990). Reliability Keeping promises when promises to do something by a certain time , offering products and services of utmost quality, issuing contracts with clear, transparent and non ambiguous terms, settling customers claims with no unnecessary delays, ,showing sincere interest when solving customers problems, offering services right the first time without unnecessarily discomforting customers, providing services within the specified contract time limits, issuing error free bills, statements, receipts, contracts, claims and other documents. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately (Parasurman et.al,1998 and 1990). Responsiveness telling customers exactly when the services will be performed, doing their best to give prompt service to customers, always willing to help customers, never being too busy to respond to customers requests . Willing to help customer and provide prompt service (Parasurman et.al,1998 and 1990). Assurance Customers feeling safe in their transactions, behavior instilling confidence in customers, being consistently courteous with customers, having employees and agents with the necessary knowledge to give professional services to customers. Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence (Competence, courtesy, creditability and security of the service), (Parasurman et.al,1998 and 1990). Empathy Giving customers individual services, operating hours convenient to all customers, giving customers personal attention, having the customers best interest at heart, understanding the specific needs of customers. Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers (Access to organizations representatives, communication and understanding the customer), (Parasurman et.al,1998 and 1990). As presented in the above conceptual model, the independent variable of dimensions of service quality will be studied. Price is also a relevant variable. However, the focus of this study is on service quality attributes and therefore is not within the scope of this study. Theoretical research has presented several different service quality definitions. However, Parasuraman et al. (1985) definition of service quality, which has been used in many industry studies before, was adopted. Service quality is defined as the degree of discrepancy between customers normative expectations for the service and their perceptions of the service performance. The SERVQUAL model developed by Parasuraman et al.(1998), is therefore used for this study. Hypotheses Formulation Hypothesis is a testable speculative statement delineating the relations between all the elements of a theory (Page Meyer, 2000). The development of hypothesis was categorized into two sections based on insurance companies customers. Accordingly five hypotheses were developed. The source for all hypothesis development was based on the conceptual framework. Furthermore, the hypotheses based on insurance companies were primarily related to the importance of each expectation. The hypotheses developed for customers were based on the service quality of obtaining Motor insurance policies. When developing hypothesis, Literature review under section 2.18, according to the study carried out in Greece and Kenya by Rand, (2006), it was proved that there is a relationship between service quality dimensions and expected and experienced service quality by the customers in the insurance industry. 3.5 Hypothesis Rationalization Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Reliability dimension in motor insurance According to Parasuraman et al (1985) Reliability dimension measures the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. As per the research carried out by Rand (2006) , it says that the Reliability has a huge impact on the service quality in service industry. Especially in a industry like Motor insurance it has a huge effect. Consumers satisfaction choice of service provider and service quality evaluation are influenced by the expectations of the consumer, (Trinh et al.2000). As mentioned above in the research carried out in Kenyan Insurance industry by Rand (2006), it is noted that most of the researchers (Rand, 2006; Trinh, 2000) have identified that Reliable service always has a positive impact on the service quality provided by the company. Therefore it is worthy to investigate the relationship among Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Reliability dimension in motor insurance. It could be hypothesized that, H 1 0 There is no relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Reliability dimension in motor insurance H 1 There is a relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Reliability dimension in motor insurance Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Responsiveness dimension in motor insurance The Dimension Responsiveness explains about willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Responsiveness factor significantly has a positive effect on Customer satisfaction. Quality service provision, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty has recently been emerging as important parameters for both researchers and practitioners in turkey. This has been proved through a research carried by Yale University in Turkey (2009) on Service Quality in healthcare. This research was also based on the service quality. To provide superior service quality responsiveness is a very important factor since service providers should always willing to help customers. Especially in an industry such as insurance it is a very decisive factor since the customer is expecting a prompt action for their problems. So responsiveness factor effectively contributes to reduce the gaps between the Expected Experienced Service quality by the motor insurance policy holders. Therefore it is worthy to identify the relationship between the Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Responsiveness dimension in motor insurance. So it could be hypothesized that, H 2 0 There is no relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Responsiveness dimension in motor insurance H 2 There is a relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Responsiveness dimension in motor insurance Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Assurance dimension in motor insurance Assurance dimension is all about, the knowledge, competence, and courtesy of service employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. Ducker (1991) defines service quality as What the customer gets out and is willing to pay for rather than what the supplier (of the service) puts in? Hence, service quality is often conceptualized as the comparison of service expectations with actual performance perception (Bloemer, Ruyter et al. 1999; Kara, Lonial et al. 2007). Service science literature often relies on SERVUQAL as an instrument to measure quality of service provided. SERVQUAL scale was developed based on a marketing perspective with the support of the Marketing Science Institute (Parasuraman, Zeithaml et al. 1986). It is very important to keep the assurance on the agreement made the company to their customers. Specially in the insurance industry, it is crucial factor to offer the assurance of the services provided. Therefore it is worthy to identify the relationship betwee n the Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Assurance dimension in motor insurance. So it could be hypothesized that, H 3 0 There is no relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Assurance dimension in motor insurance H 3 There is a relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Assurance dimension in motor insurance Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Empathy dimension in motor insurance Empathy dimension is about caring individualized attention provided to customers. According to the expectancy disconfirmation model, customers satisfaction is a function between his/her service performance perception and expectation (Pizam and Ellis, 1999), and illustrated as Satisfaction=f (Perception-Expectation). It is very important to offer individual attention to the customers specially in the service industry. Trustworthiness is one of the critical factors in any industry for the customers. Empathy factor defines that. Keeping the customer complaints and criticisms is very important in the motor insurance industry as the competition is very high. If the organization looses one policyholder that may affect the organization immensely. Therefore it is worthy to identify the relationship between the Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Empathy dimension in motor insurance. So it could be hypothesized that, H 4 0 There is no relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Empathy dimension in motor insurance H 4 There is a relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Empathy dimension in motor insurance Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Tangibility dimension in motor insurance Tangibility is all about appearance of physical facilities, equipment, ambience, personnel and communication materials. The rewards to firms that establish a loyal customer base have been well documented (Armstrong and Symonds, 1991: Heskett et al. 1994: Reichheld amd Sesser, 1990). In general, increased loyalty leads to lower cost of servicing the firms customers, reduced marketing expenditure, increased business from the existing customer base and greater profits. The internal appearance and the facilities is also affecting the service quality. It in turn helps the company to retain their customer and reduce the unnecessary costs such as saving costs. Therefore it is worthy to identify the relationship between the Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Tangibility dimension in motor insurance. So it could be hypothesized that, H 5 0 There is no relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Tangibility dimension in motor insurance H 5 There is a relationship between Expected Experienced Service Quality in relation to Tangibility dimension in motor insurance 3.6 Operationalization Based on the SERVQUAL scale and using five service quality dimensions. Concepts Variable Indicator Measure Reliability Price/Premium Reasonable Premium rates In order to evaluate customer expectation and experience , a 5 point scale was used. To measure customer perception the rating scale , for 1 Not important and 5 Very Important . And to measure customer experience the rating scale, for 1 Not Experienced at all , to 5 Experienced at a high level Product Range Range of products offered, to suit individual requirements Physical Access Availability and convenience of facilities and branch network Electronic access Availability of Telephone and online facilities Service delivery Level of service as expected/promised Responsiveness Waiting time Average time taken to process a claim after an accident In order to obtain data on average time spent with the Insurance providing company to get an service rating scale from 1 to 5 was used . for 1 Not Experienced at all , to 5 Experienced at a high level . In order to evaluate customer expectation and experience , a 5 point likert scale was used. Level of responsiveness of the Insurance staff Time taken to respond to an issue Assurance Stability The guarantee of safety when making a claim In order to evaluate customer expectation and experience, a 5 point likert scale was used. Safety of the investment Making the actual cost Convenience to the holder Confidentiality Maintenance of confidentiality Product Knowledge The knowledge of the product/features by the staff members Empathy Benefits Special benefits and features for the customer In order to evaluate customer expectation and experience, a 5 point likert scale was used. Attention Personal attention to customers and recognizing regular customers Caring Helping customers in a pleasant and caring manner Approachability Easy to approach staff members Tangibles Environment Pleasant ambiance inside the company In order to evaluate customer expectation and experience, a 5 point likert scale was used. Facilities Facilities provided to the policy holders Parking Availability of adequate parking at the Insurance company Number of repair centers in Sri Lanka Directional signs and information Availability of adequate instructions and directions of counters and procedures and easy directions when filling forma and other documents Appearance of Staff members Staff members are dresses appropriately Layout Convenient layout of the company interior Customer Satisfaction Level Satisfaction Level of satisfaction of the insurance company in relation to each service quality dimension A 5 point likert scale was used to measure the likelihood of these indicators ranging from Very Likely to Highly Unlikely. In Order to measure the time length of the relationship the respondent has with the Insurance provider , 5 time slots were presented where by the respondent could select his/her most relevant time slot. Study was carried out to ascertain the validity and Reliability of the Questionnaire. This was done as the instrument to use collected data was not tested previously. 3.7 Research Methodology The Research methodology is the way research is conducted. Research methodology refers to the theory of how research should be undertaken (Saunders, et al 2005). The first step of the study is to assess the service quality gaps in relation to the customer expectations and experience among five leading Insurance Companies which deals with Motor insurance in Sri Lanka and with each of the five SERVQUAL dimensions. This study helps to determine the average service quality gap score (between customers expectations and experience) for each service quality dimensions and how it affects the overall customer satisfaction. The second step each Insurance companys gap scores for each service quality dimensions. This is to examine the differences within each insurance company when providing services to the customers and to compare the differences of the overall satisfaction of customers in each insurance company. Stage three measured the level of satisfaction of the customers and the fourth stage examines the relationship between the expected and experienced service quality gaps by the customers for each dimensions. The final Stage integrates the data obtained from the five insurance companies and conclusions were prepared in accordance to the findings. Based on research problem, preliminary data was the main source of data used in this research. Consistent with the deductive research method, data collection through questionnaires has been a long proven method to collect valid and reliable data (Page Meyer, 2000). The deductive method refers to the use of a theory to generate prepositions or hypothesis that can be tested. Thus, the research method has been chosen for this study is based on deductive method. 3.7.1 Method of Data Collection In this study the primary data was collected through a self completion questionnaire from customers of the selected five Insurance companies. The study followed the Quantitative method to gather and analyze the data. The secondary data was collected from secondary source such Government publications (IBSL Annual Report 2010 Central Bank Annual Report 2010), Company Annual reports and from other publications. 3.7.2 Selection of Sample For the purpose of gathering data on customer expectation and customer experience, a total number of 250 questionnaires were distributed, from which a total of 224 valid Reponses were received and selected for data analysis. Individuals within a sample are chosen by chance rather than by the researcher or by being self-selected (Page and Meyer, 2000). A simple random sampling technique was used for this study, so that each unit of the population will have a known and equal chance of being selected. The sample was spread across Motor insurance policy holders of Five different Motor insurance providing companies in Sri Lanka. A brief description of selected five companies are given below, Aviva NDB Insurance PLCPLC Aviva NDB Insurance PLCtook wing as a leading player within Sri Lankas insurance landscape in the late 1980s. Over the years, the Companys good governance practices, ethics and innovation have helped it to soar to new heights. The dynamism and creativity of the Aviva NDB Family has been the engine of its evolution into a superior entity in the insurance and financial services sector. The Company has recorded a Consolidated Revenue of Rs. 7, 265 million with an impressive growth rate of 23.7% over the previous year. The Revenue reported for the current year includes Rs. 171.2 million being the gross-up of tax withheld at source on Government Securities. Excluding this, the growth for 2010 stands at 20.8%. Union Assurance PLC Union Assurance is a composite insurer transacting both Life and General business including personal insurance, in operation since 1987. A Public Quoted Company, UA entered the insurance arena at the time the private sector was permitted to set up in insurance, following the enactment of the Control of Insurance (Amendment) Act No. 42 of 1986. Committed to pursuing the highest standards of service and security, UA is backed by the corporate might of blue chip companies John Keells and Carson Cumberbatch. UAs reinsurers are world leaders, chosen for their dependability and total security. In short, they are the best in the business. The companys paid up capital as at 31 December 2009 is Rs 250 million and net asset base, Rs 1.6 billion, also indicates the companys  Ã‚   financial stability and strength, and places it firmly at the apex off private insurance service providers in Sri Lanka. Asian Alliance Insurance PLC Within a very short time period, Asian Alliance Insurance PLC has achieved what every company yearns for; it has touched the hearts of its customers with outstanding levels of professionalism and service. Asian Alliance commenced operations in December 1999 with 50 employees. Today the company has grown from strength to strength to become one of Sri Lankas leading players in the insurance industry. The company caters to an ever-growing client base that consists of corporate and individual clients. The secret behind the Asian Alliance Insurance success story lies in its ability to offer tailor-made insurance solutions to its customers. Sri Lanka Insurance Cooperation Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation which was established in 1962 as a State Owned Corporation was converted to a Limited Liability Company for a brief period of 6 years and was re-instilled in the state sector on the 4th June 2011, further strengthening the Corporation as the strongest and the largest Insurer in the Country. Sri Lanka Insurance is now backed by government protection and service excellence on par with the best in the private sector. At present Sri Lanka Insurance has over 120 Branches Island with an unparalleled assets base under management of over Rs.64.8 billion with a Life fund of over Rs.39 billion and over one million policies in force. The Motor Insurance Department has branched off into unrelated areas such as Theft only, Fire Only, Fire and Theft, 3rd Party Fire and Theft and Act only; once again, offering covers aimed at satisfying their clientele to a maximum. Ceylinco Insurance PLC From a solid and innovative start in 1939, Ceylinco Insurance Company Limited has faced numerous changes and challenges and has successfully weathered them all. Registered as Ceylinco Insurance Company Limited in 1987 and commenced business on the 14th of January 1988, in the spheres of Life and General Insurance, we have grown from strength to strength. Today, they have become the leading insurance company in Sri Lanka, with the largest network of branches and agents in the insurance industry. Their goals include becoming the leading provider of protection and financial security in Sri Lanka and in select international markets. 3.7.3 Structure of the Questionnaire Part one of the questionnaire focuses on demographic features of the respondents. Part two focuses on the dimensions. Questions from 1.14 entail in Reliability dimension and thereafter, based on Operationalisation, 10 questions focus on Responsiveness dimension 16 questions represents the Assurance dimension and 9 questions on Empathy dimension. Final dimension which is Tangibility has 10 questions. Each dimension has 2 columns to rate expected and experienced using a likert scale of 1.5, not important at all being No.1 and Very important being No.05. For the study, questionnaire was designed in accordance with the research objectives. The Questionnaire is based on the five SERVQUAL dimensions presented by Parasuraman et al (1985) and the Gap 5 which is also known as the Customer gap (the gap between customer expectation and experience) of the SERVQUAL mo del presented by Parasuraman et al (1985) , modified and tailored to specific service quality requirements of the Motor Insurance industry. Table 2: Structure of the Questionnaire Questionnaire Variables Measurement Items Section 1 Personal details Section 2 Measure Service quality perceptions of five insurance companies in general from individuals Section 3 Measure Service Quality dimensions separately to find out Expected Experienced service quality by each customer. 3.1 Reliability 3.2 Responsiveness 3.3- Assurance 3.4 Empathy 3.5 -Tangibility 3.7.4 Method of Data Analysis The Data was collected through a Questionnaire. The study was carried out using Descriptive statistics as well as Inferential Statistics. Under Inferential statistics an ANOVA analysis and paired sample two test were carried out. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics  are used to describe the main features of a collection of  data  quantitatively. Inferential Statistics Inferential statistics are used to draw inferences about a  population  from a  sample. T-Test This test is used to compare the means of two samples (or treatments), even if they have different numbers of replicates. ANOVA test The Analysis Of Variance, popularly known as the ANOVA test, can be used in cases where there are more than two groups. The following methods have been used to analyze the data obtained from the study. Gap technique The gap technique will be used to analyze and identify the service quality gaps between expectation and experience of customers. Comparative Analysis A comparative analysis will be conducted in relation to the gap technique between the five Insurance companies using graphs and tables. Relationship Analysis Under Inferential Statistic analysis paired sample two test will be conducted to analyze the relationship between Expected service Quality and Experienced Service Quality by the customers. 3.7.5 Pilot Study Pilot study was carried out to ascertain the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The instrument used to gather data in a research should be valid and reliable (Page Meyer, 2000). 3.8 Summary The purpose of this chapter was to explain and formulate the research questions and to provide a conceptual framework. The research question was formulated and thereafter the conceptual framework was designed using Service Quality as the independent variable and Customer Satisfaction being the dependent variable. Thereafter, the operationalization for the study was designed in accordance with the features/qualities of motor insurance industry. Given this, the methodology for the researcher was presented which included methods of data collection, selection of the sample, the questionnaire design and the methods of data analysis. Finally the limitations of the study were mentioned.