Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Shi Huang Di

He built new palaces to keep them content. Each of the new palaces were an exact copy of the ones they had to leave behind. He also divided the conquered land into 36 commentaries (areas), and commanded 3 officials to run each commandeer. They received orders from the emperor, and might be sacked if they did not obey. He also ordered citizens to give up all weapons to prevent rebellion. He then melted down these weapons and crafted them into giant statues to â€Å"scare away twelve giants†, which were set up outside his palace.In addition to all these changes, he also ordered the walls around towns and cities to be knocked down. Before Shih Hung Did unified China, each f the states used different kinds of measurements, language etc. So, to make things simpler, he set common standards. Everybody now had to use Gin weights and measures. They also had to use round one-ounce gold coins and half-ounce copper coins with holes in the middle, which were standard Gin money. However, th ese changes paled in comparison to the changes made to the written language.The prime minister at the time, Lie Is, was given the role to standardize all the characters of the language, as Chinese is written with characters that represent pictures and ideas, instead of the alphabet. Once he job was completed, the language was modernized and simplified into 3000 characters. He also set rules for handwriting so everybody that needed to write, such as scholars and government officials could communicate easily with each other. During the period of warring states, there weren't many roads.Even those roads were hard to go across since heavier carts created uneven ground on the soft earth. Many carts were damaged and got stuck in the roads. Shih Hung Did created a law so that all wheels and carts must be the same distance apart. He also built 5 major roads, which he named â€Å"speedways†. These speedways connected the capital with the northern, eastern and southern parts of the emp ire. During his 1 1 years of reign, Shih Hung Did built 6800 km of road. Meanwhile, in the eastern empire, the Romans only built 5984 km of road.When Shih Hung Did became the emperor of China (in 221 BC), all the rules of Gin became the rules of the entire empire. According to Gin law, everybody was responsible for each other's good behavior. And so, Shih Hung Did organized everybody into groups Of 10, and if anybody committed a crime in that family, they had to report it to the authorities, or they would get punished along with the wrongdoer. Not only that, but their father, mother, families, wife/husband and their family would also receive the same punishment.Therefore, lots of people would be punished just because one person committed a crime. Many Mongolia's, named Signing, lived to the north of the empire. They often attacked parts of the empire, so Shih Hung Did ordered many slaves to build the Great Wall. Although this original structure has not been kept in condition until t oday, a renovated version now stands in Beijing. This version follows much of the same route as Shih Hung Id's. Shih Hung Id's Great Wall was made of tightly sacked earth, which was reinforced by bamboo matting. Behind the wall stood watch towers-?3 every kilometer.An artist's impression of Shih Hung Did. None of the paintings of him at the time have survived, so this painting is based on written descriptions. Hero or Villain? Gave himself the new title of Shih Hung Did-?supreme ruler of China. He only ruled for dictator. L, Georgian Lounge will discuss both sides of the Story. Villain On the other hand, many people believe that Shih Hung Did was cruel and merciless. For one, he forced many citizens to become slaves to work on his major projects such as the Great Wall. Thousands died from hunger, exposure or ill-treatment.If they tried to rebel against him, or not follow his orders, he would kill captives publicly without a second thought. Shih Hung Did also increased taxes to pay f or materials that were used in his many projects (for example, his grave, or the Great Wall). These taxes were 20 times of their previous taxes. If the taxes were not paid, the family would all have to endure slave labor. He also took half of all the food that farmers grew as tax. This resulted in extreme poverty and hunger. As a result, many citizens turned to cannibalism, and millions died. Shih Hung Did also set many draconian laws.If these strict laws were not followed, depending on the severity of the crime, wrongdoers were set harsh punishments such as hard labor, mutilation of a person's body, being boiled alive, cut into two at the waist, torn apart by 4 horses, strangled or beheaded. In 213 BC, at a banquet hosted by Shih Hung Did, a scholar openly criticized Shih Hung Did. Shih Hung Did immediately ordered that all scholars could not criticize anything in the present or praise anything in the past. He also ordered all the scholars to hand their books to government official s. These were burned in a huge bonfire.However, some scholars still continued their ways. These scholars were found by the emperor and were executed. 460 scholars were presumably buried alive. According to an extract from SIAM Quinn's â€Å"Records of the Historian†, Shih Hung Did discouraged jobs such as scholars, thinkers and philosophers, because many of these people were against the king, and they could easily influence others to go against the king. In conclusion, Shih Hung Did could be considered a hero because he was the first man to have ever united China. However, his road to success can be perceived as a cruel and violent one, which is why some people think he is a villain.

Grief in “Hamlet” Essay

Grief is a universal emotion felt by everyone at some point or another during the course of their lives. Its effects can be very diverse and adverse, causing different people to act in very different ways. It is very unpredictable because it is unique for each person, thus it is difficult to ease or even ascertain. It is accompanied by many other painful and confusing emotions and if not dealt with properly, it may prove to be cataclysmic. The theme of grief is quite prevalent throughout William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet†, as virtually every character in the play experiences it. In fact, all of the main characters experience this emotion before the play is through. Grief has many causes and as a result, many outcomes, but the one thing that remains the same is that it has a profound effect on each person it touches. Grief is sometimes caused by feelings of guilt or remorse, and in cases such as this, it affects the sufferer by making the burden of guilt even more substantial. Oftentimes, feelings of guilty grief are intensified by placing too much blame on oneself. For example, Ophelia, who is being used by her own father and her king, tries to do what she thinks is best to help her love, Hamlet. She is told that this is the right thing to do, but suffers as a result of doing it. Polonius and Claudius use her to spy on Hamlet, but when the plan miscarries, she is the one who feels â€Å"†¦most deject and wretched†¦Ã¢â‚¬  saying: â€Å"[I] that sucked the honey of his musicked vows† (Hamlet, III, I, 169-170). Ophelia already feels bad for having to lie to Hamlet, but this negative feeling is amplified by the fact that she completely blames herself for what happens. Although Polonius seems heartless in using his daughter in this situation, his grievous feelings may prove otherwise. He instructs his daughter not to see Hamlet, but if she must not to respond to his love. This is because he thinks it would be bad for his career, as the king does not like Hamlet. Nevertheless, Hamlet comes to her after seeing the ghost and truly frightens her. Being the obedient daughter that she is, she runs to her father, and he cannot help but feel in part responsible for not having protected her. He tells her that he was somewhat worried for her to begin with and that â€Å"[He is] sorry that with better heed and judgment / [He] had not coted [Hamlet]. [He] feared did but trifle / And meant to wrack [her].† Alas he was wrong, Hamlet does more than  trifle, and now Ophelia is full of dread. Polonius reprimands himself for this, saying: â€Å"†¦beshrew my jealousy!† (Hamlet, II, II, 124-126) He may not have been able to foresee Hamlet’s actions toward his daughter, but he blames himself anyway, intensifying his feelings of grief over what has happened to his daughter. Even the seemingly heartless all have hearts; no matter how evil one may seem one’s conscious always manages to plague one’s guilty soul and cause grief. Claudius, a man who murdered his own brother and stole his crown and wife, is a perfect illustration of this. Claudius finally has everything he wanted but he cannot fully enjoy it because of the guiltiness he feels. â€Å"The harlot’s cheek beautied with plast’ring art / is not more ugly to the thing that helps it / Than is [his] deed to [his] most painted word,† says Claudius in an attempt to explain how this lie he has built up now weighs upon his shoulders, â€Å"O heavy burden!† (Hamlet, III, I, 59-62) Claudius finds covering up lies and pushing them aside does not make them go away, it only makes the angst they cause worse. Hamlet learns this lesson too, not because he is hiding a terrible secret, but because he will not confront his father’s killer or do what he must to exact his revenge. He thinks about it too much and in doing so pushes his courage aside. However, his feeling of culpability continues to cause him more and more grief as the situation progresses. After seeing Fortinbras leading his army to Poland with such charisma and vigour, he wonders:  how [stands he] then, [he] that [has] a father killed, a mother stained, / And let all sleep, whil e to [his] shame [he sees] / The imminent death of twenty thousand men /†¦ for a plot / Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause.† (Hamlet, IV, IV, 59-66) He becomes so angry and ashamed of his lack of action; he even goes so far as to call himself a coward. This only serves to amplify the misery he feels over the murder of his father and speedy marriage of his mother. All of these people have a reason to grieve and a reason to feel accountable, but completely blaming themselves or dwelling on this remorse does nothing but deepen their grief. The death of a loved one also causes extreme grief, but in these cases, many  people look to blame another for this misfortune. In turn, one may feel that the only way to relieve the negative feelings is to seek revenge and kill the person whom one blames for them. Hamlet clearly shows a deep love for his father, and he is utterly heart-broken over his death, especially after seeing his uncle take his place. Therefore, when his father’s ghost informs him that it is a murderer, not a snake, who is responsible for his death, Hamlet immediately responds: â€Å"Haste me to know [who], that I, with wings a swift / As meditation or thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge.† (Hamlet, I, V, 35-37) He does not even know whom he has to kill yet, but he is already sure that he must avenge his father, no matter the cost. Hamlet is so lost without his father, he needs somewhere to place the blame for his death. Thus, when this opportunity arises he endeavours to seize it in an attempt to avenge his father, and alleviate his own heartache as well. Fortinbras, too, seeks revenge for his father’s death. However, unlike Hamlet, he does not have a ghost to incite him, only thirty years of hatred and anger toward the ruler of Denmark. He spends his whole life trying to win back the land his father lost to the Danes, take vengeance for Old Fortinbras, and regain dignity for him and his people. When, finally, he storms the castle to assume the throne and the â€Å"†¦ rights of memory [he has] in this kingdom, / Which now to claim [his] vantage doth invite [him],† (Hamlet, V, II, 432-433) he can finally rest. His feelings of grief can be almost completely forgotten as the Great Chain of Being is restored. The knowledge that he has retaken all that his father lost in war provides him with satisfaction and appeases his soul. However, sometimes revenge is not about the soul, in fact, certain people must completely disregard it to seek their revenge. For example, Laertes, after hearing about the strange death of his father bursts into the castle to demand his revenge of Claudius. â€Å"To hell, allegiance! [He] vows, to the blackest devil! /†¦ [He dares] damnation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  saying to the king: â€Å"Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged / Most throughly for my father.† (Hamlet, IV, V, 149-154) Evidently, Laertes cares nothing about the consequences of his actions. His grief is so strong that he will have his revenge no matter what will happen to him as a result. In his mind, his anger and scorn over the loss of Polonius can only be assuaged when the person responsible for his death is also dead. Like Hamlet and Fortinbras, he does not care who he kills, as  long as someone pays for this heinous crime. This shows just how much personal grief plays a role in their desire for revenge. All three men want to kill someone, but none are sure who it is that they must kill when they make the decision to become assassins. As long as the desired result is achieved, and as long as they feel better for having killed the person they choose, e verything will be all right, or at least they hope so. True justice is not an easy thing to find, so they will settle for their own grief relief. The emotions and thoughts that accompany grief can be extremely overwhelming. These innermost feelings of sorrow, anger, and confusion can push one to the brink of insanity and sometimes even further. After seeing the ghost of his father, and hearing that Claudius murdered him, Hamlet decides to display an antic disposition as a trap for his uncle. There are both arguments for his true madness and against it, but either way the case is proved, Hamlet acts exceedingly abnormally. His sorrow drives him to act as though he is mad. According to Ophelia: †¦as [she] was sewing in [her] closet / Lord Hamlet†¦ / With a look so piteous in purport / As if he had been loosed out of hell / To speak of horrors – he comes before [her] /†¦And thrice his head thus waving up and down, / He raised a sigh so piteous and profound / As it did seem to shatter all his bulk / And end his being. (Hamlet, II, I, 87-108) Whether Hamlet planned an antic disposition or not, he must be very shocked and bewildered by the news given to him by the ghost, and this outburst with Ophelia is clear proof of this. His woe almost triggers him to go totally mad, causing everyone around him to believe he has lost his sanity. Laertes too suffers from a brief lapse in sense after seeing what has become of his beloved sister. Ophelia does not remember who Laertes is when he returns from France, but speaks to him as though he is someone else. Laertes is astonished, he cannot believe this; he lost a father while in France, and now that he is returned, he loses his sister to madness. â€Å"O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt / Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye,† (Hamlet, IV, V, 177-178) he cries aloud, displaying to all present his crazed frame of mind. He is already infuriated by the circumstances  surrounding his father’s death, and now this. It takes great effort from Claudius to finally calm him down and stop his thoughts of self-destruction. Because his emotions are so overwhelming, he seems to lose the will to live, if only for a short while. Ophelia, the primary cause of Laertes’ near madness, also seems to lose her will to live. She loses her wits due to many reasons, mainly her father’s death at the hands of her true love. Consequently, she is completely unable to restore order to her fragile mind. She babbles and sings mindlessly, and hands out flowers that are not really there to the king, queen, and her brother. She is driven completely berserk with grief, so crazy that she drowns shortly afterward. As Gertrude recounts: †¦she chanted snatches of old lauds, / As one incapable of her own distress / †¦Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, / Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay / To muddy death,†(Hamlet, IV, VII, 202-208) telling her audience just how lunatic this pitiable girl is at the time of her death. Ophelia is totally destroyed by the plethora of bad news she receives, so much that her rational mind is completely paralyzed and her mental faculties are truly lost. These three people feel grief so deeply that their minds are put at great risk. Pathos is created for all three, because of their innocence in these situations and their inability to control what has happened to them. They are victims, for the most part, of the malicious act going on around them, and the grief they feel because of this nearly drives each of them past their mental limits. Because grief is so overwhelming, it may cause people to do things they would not usually do. Many people act quite irrationally under grief’s powerful influence. It can be so consuming that oftentimes there is no room left for logic in one’s mind, so one acts without thinking. Hamlet does this in killing Polonius, who is hidden behind the arras. He stabs through the curtain before he even finds out who is concealed within it. When Gertrude questions Hamlet: â€Å"O me, what hast thou done?† he can only reply: â€Å"Nay, I know not, is it the king?† (Hamlet, III, IV, 31-32) because he is not really thinking when he commits this fatal crime. Hamlet is a strong-minded person and is able to control his emotions for the most part. However, the added grief of his current quarrel with his mother seems to cause a lapse in  judgment which in turn makes Hamlet do something that is very grave indeed, commit murder. Laertes, too, decides that murder is not out of t he question when he allows his pain to consume him. In fact, Laertes is so caught up in his fury and wrath that he would â€Å"†¦cut his [father’s killer’s] throat i’ th’ church† (Hamlet, IV, VII, 144) something that he obviously would not do if he was thinking clearly. During the Elizabethan Era, revenge is a commonly respected notion, but to seek revenge in a church is certainly not regarded with the same esteem. Laertes would undoubtedly go to hell if he were to go through with this rash statement, something he would decide against if he were not so frenzied by grief. Horatio also becomes taken over by his anguish, watching the whole story unfold and witness its gruesome and bloody finish. Seeing his best friend wounded and dying before his eyes makes Horatio â€Å"†¦ more an Antique Roman than a Dane† and he is about to take his own life proclaiming, â€Å"here’s yet some liquid left† (Hamlet, V, II, 374-375). Nevertheless, Hamlet, who is finally free of his grief and now thinking clearly, takes the cup and saves his companion. When one’s mind is full of grief it is very hard to think about anything else, like the good things in life or any reasons there may be to continue on living as usual. It is also difficult to foresee the consequences of one’s actions, or, moreover, to care about them because grief clouds the mind so. Many things that one would typically not even be able to conceive doing become viable possibilities, when grief is equated into the situation. Grief has the staggering ability to cause almost anyone to perform acts that one will surely regret later, making it a very dangerous emotion. Grief affects each person differently because each person possesses their own causes for grief and their own mechanisms with which to deal with it. When one is grieving because of guilt over past mistakes or a personal loss, one most often blames themselves wholly. This makes the guilt worse, and in turn misery only grows stronger and stronger. It is a vicious cycle of remorse and repentance that is difficult to stop once it is begun. Grief is also caused by losing someone that is very dearly loved. To the griever, revenge often seems like the only way to find release from this mourning. Most find that it is not justice they seek, but refuge, from the heavy feelings of sorrow and anger, which they believe they can find in the death of the  person responsible for this grief. These feelings of regret and resentment, caused by angst, often prove to be quite overpowering and sometimes too much to bear. Some unfortunate individuals lose their wits due to extreme emotional pain. Some go further and lose their will to subsist, even further still, their lives. Grief also has the ability to fully envelop a person’s mind and take away their ability to think about anything except for what they are feeling at the moment. It may cause the person to act in a way they are not accustomed to or to do something they would never dream of doing in any other circumstance. It can be very dangerous, in that it can cause one to do things that are absolutely irrational and devastating to oneself or others. As is demonstrated in the play, the effects of grief vary greatly, but to all whom they affect they are profoundly detrimental and destructive. Grief can cause the loss of one’s mirth in life, the incitation to do something rash and ill advised, even the key to one’s undoing. In all cases grief is difficult to avoid, and therefore must be dealt with, and it is how one deals with grief that determines how one’s life will be affected by it. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, (New York: Washington Square Press, 1992)

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Compare two of Palins meetings with people who are particularly memorable Essay

Pole to Pole is a piece of travel writing. It has also been made into a television show. The author of this piece of travel writing is Michael Palin, and it is about his journey from the North pole to the South pole. Michael Edward Palin, CBE (born 5 May 1943) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentariesIn Pole to Pole, Michael Palin encounters several different people during his journey; these meetings were particularly memorable to him. Particularly the meetings, with Lyuba-Day 41 on board Junost- and Doctor Baela- witch doctor, day 108 in Zambia-. Palin meets Lyuba as he is travelling between countries on a boat, whereas he meets Dr Baela when he has just entered Mpulungu, but has been in the continent, Africa, for quite a long time. The use of language in these sections is effective because Palin portrays his attitude towards women. He does this by using a superlative to highlight his meeting with Lyuba. Palin also reinforces that he does not take Lyuba very seriously when he uses alliteration, â€Å"lovely Lyuba†, when he calls Lyuba â€Å"proprietress of the bar† he then implies a certain attitude towards women. This is because of the use of the word proprietress, meaning lady of the bar. This is also a contrast to Palin’s usual persona as Palin doesn’t normally criticize or seek to be sexist/ politically incorrect. When Palin visits Dr Baela he exaggerates the encounter by being dramatic. He also demonstrates that Dr Baela is weird and sort of unrealistic, when using emotive language such as â€Å"evil†, â€Å"shadow†, and â€Å"spirits†. This is because some people do not believe in such things as spirits and after life. When Dr Baela says what he thinks is wrong with Palin, Palin uses the word â€Å"concludes† in a sarcastic manner, this then suggests that Palin sees the meeting as a joke and does not take it seriously, as well as how strange he feels the meeting is. Therefore Palin does not take either of the encounters seriously. When Palin met Lyuba and Doctor Baela, both of these meetings were surprising and quite unexpected. These meetings were unexpected because Palin does not expect these people to act like they do, as well as being surprising. â€Å"Strangest encounter†, by using this Palin shows that his meeting with Lyuba was not just strange, but more than strange, this highlights the fact that he was not expecting this encounter with Lyuba, which is a contrast to life no the ship.This is comparable to Palin’s meeting with Doctor Baela, this is because Palin was surprised and didn’t expect Doctor Baela to act the way he did. â€Å"Only adds to the confusion.† By saying this Palin shows that he is confused, but he didn’t expect to be confused. â€Å"More seriously than I expected.† This quote also adds to the fact that Palin didn’t expect the day to go this way. I think Palin’s intention was to make both of these parts quite comical and laughable when he is with Dr Baela the incident begins comical but changes, I also feel that he was putting a strange and peculiar approach to the encounters. As reading this I would feel my response would be, that it was very different and an unforgettable experience. Therefore these encounters were both surprising and unexpected, this is because Palin did not expect the witch doctor to act the way he did which links in with the fact that he didn’t expect Lyuba to act the way she did. When meeting Lyuba, Palin uses a lot of sarcasm and humour in his language which is really effective, which differentiates this from the language Palin uses to make Doctor Baela sound completely silly, but also intimidating and that what he does is pointless. â€Å"If there’s nothing more normal in the world than sharing a water-logged packing case with a Russian Barmaid.† When Palin says this he says this in a very sarcastic way, saying â€Å"if there’s nothing more normal† he is being sarcastic that it actually is normal as well as being humorous and playful. This has an effect on the reader because it adds humour to the situation. â€Å"Which will ‘drive out’ any evil influence† By using the quotation marks either side of ‘drive out’ Palin shows the intention of making Baela sound pointless and useless. Using sarcasm and humour in the language makes Baela sound very unprofessional, and makes the reader feel that Baela is making a fool out of himself but everyone around him believes him although he talks a lot of nonsense, where as the language that he uses when he meets Lyuba then presents her to be quite intimidating, which adds to the affect of the flirting. I think when Palin is with Baela; his intention was to change a serious situation into a disappointing and peculiar one, as opposed to when he is with Lyuba and changing an awkward situation into a humorous one. I feel he does this because the reader may loose interest Palin uses a lot of description during these encounters with Lyuba and Doctor Baela. When Palin first sees Doctor Baela, he describes him extremely well, corresponding to his meeting with Lyuba when he uses very descriptive language. â€Å"He has pouting lips and big lazy eyes. He wears a head-dress of genet fur, a pink tunic with his name on the back and a pair of welding goggles.† By using this Palin describes what Doctor Baela looks like, in a very understandable and clear way. â€Å"Nonchalant British lounging† Using this in his diary entry for when he met Lyuba, Palin adds to the formality and description. Being this descriptive, as the reader I feel that this makes the situation clearer and more understandable similarly to when Palin is describing Doctor Baela. I feel that Palin’s intention was to show the reader really what was happening and to add to the fact that these situations were quite awkward. Overall I feel that these two meetings would be particularly memorable to Palin, I feel this because when someone goes through a long period of time not knowing where they are, not seeing friends or family, being some place different everyday, I would expect this to be quite emotional and that every different person he meets he would then remember because it is all a big opportunity and experience which he would like to gain the most out of. I chose Lyuba and Doctor Baela because they both are not the usual conversations or meetings you would have with a complete stranger, I also feel that these encounters will be quite unforgettable because Lyuba acted really flirty, quickly where as Doctor Baela acted quite rehearsed and quiet when it came to chatting. Therefore I feel that these meetings were particularly memorable to Palin’s journey.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Heat Exchangers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Heat Exchangers - Research Paper Example   At the center of the heat exchanger lies two plates that are pinned together by pressing them and welding them together. There is a module whose function is to carry fluids in and out of the whole system. This combination is very efficient in offering high operating temperatures, and high pressure a factor that is vital in the heat exchange process.   The heat exchanger is able to function well without any gaskets. This means that it is able to work under these extreme conditions without any risk of leaking the fluid during the heat exchange process. Normally different types of heat exchangers are combined to come up with a more effective, cost friendly and efficient unit of the heat exchanger and the plate and shell heat exchanger is just but one example. This means that the fluids enter at the opposite ends of the unit enabling them to flow into the center of the exchanger. As the fluids come close to each other, there is an exchange of heat between the fluids.   As the flu id passes through the exchanger it either lose or absorb heat due to latent heat.  According to the nature of the heat exchange process, plates and shell heat exchangers are classified as indirect contact heat exchangers. The exchange of heat takes place by direct mixing of hot and cold fluids allowing transfer of heat and mass to take place simultaneously in a direct contact heat exchanger and such a unit is applicable only where the two fluids are either harmless when in contact or are desirable.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Business project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business project - Essay Example The objective of my research is to investigate, and highlight recruitment and retention problems for canvassing staff that the company is currently experiencing. A  literature review  is a critical and in depth evaluation of previous research in a particular area. It allows anyone reading the paper to establish why you are pursuing this particular research program. The role of a literature review is to discover answers to a research problem. Machi & Mc Evoy (2008) explain an advance literature review as the foundation for identifying a problem that demands original research, and is the basis for the study of a research problem. Both authors even explain further that a literature review critically proposes further research which guides the problem into identifying research objective that then leads to findings and conclusion from the whole research. Therefore the literature review covers areas such as Job satisfaction and turnover Intention, organisational culture and behaviour towards work life balance. Researchers have developed a variety of conceptual frameworks to model the turnover process. As noted by Lambert et al. (2001), scholars speculate that employee turnover can be predicted using comprehensive measures of job satisfaction; otherwise stated, high job satisfaction is associated with low employee turnover. Moreover, research shows that the relationship between job satisfaction and actual employee turnover is moderated by intentions. Schwepker (2001) noted that positive and statistically significant relationships have been reported in dozens of studies exploring leaving intentions and actual leaving behavior. In other words, intention to leave a job is an immediate precursor to actually leaving. For this reason, positive relationship between professionalism in the workplace and job satisfaction. In his research, Schwepker (2001) also noted that statistically significant,

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Anthony giddens and fundemental principles, anthony giddens and Essay

Anthony giddens and fundemental principles, anthony giddens and relation between international relations and theories,how these - Essay Example 1-8). International relation depicts the causes of war and condition of peace within the boundaries of different countries under different political frame. It also pinpoints towards the sociological aspects of every country. Through the study of the international relation, one can able to understand the reasons of the uncertainties in the social and political ground based on few principles (Dunne, Kurki & Smith, 2013, pp. 1-12). The given essay depicts the fundamental principles of Anthony Griddens and that of International Relation. The analysis also shows the relation in-between the two principles and what are their limitations. Anthony Griddens and Fundamental Principles: Anthony Giddens works reflected a relinquishment of positivism in the theories that framed timeless commandments of human organization. Griddens theory of Structuration is one of the socialistic theories which showed analysis of the different organizational structure research. The theory deals with certain fundam ental principles. The theory finds its immense contributions towards the functionalism and structuralism in respect of the social tradition. Giddens in his analysis had taken â€Å"structure† as rules and resources used by people for interaction. As per the principles, â€Å"rules are generalized procedures and the methodologies that reflective agents possess in their implicit knowledge of stocks and that they apply a formula in the social system† (Turner, 2003, pp. 972). In this context the Giddens has mentioned the structuring of structure as the unremitting development of production. He criticized the new rules of the sociological method. As per his principle, social theories had a constant association and were affected by the social practices. Social practices had been an essential reconciling moment in between two conventionally established dualisms in the social theory. Social practices found a close proximity with the practical consciousness. In this regard the theory of structuration was outlined which substituted the central belief of duality of structure or the essential reclusiveness of social life. As per the theory, â€Å"Every social actor knows a great deal about the conditions of reproduction of the society of which he or she is a member† (Giddens, 1979, pp. 5). The suggestion made was that the social agents were knowledgeable of the environment in which they reside and they adopt themselves in the similar atmosphere and reproduce which is a conception in the duality of structure. In the principle Giddens also tried to portray an inherent relation in between the agency and power. In this aspect he referred to dialectic of control in collectivities. He stressed upon the fact that those in the minor position in the social structure were the most frequent adaptor of the changing social systems by converting the resources they had possessed so far. The principles of the theory were based upon non-functionalist manisfesto. This elaborated the persistent feature of social life. The principle of ‘relative arbitrariness’ influence the internal symphony of the language. As per Giddens, ‘The arbitrary nature of linguistic sign, and their constitution through difference, are the chief notions by means of which Saussure attempted to explicate langue as system† (Giddens, 1979, pp. 1-13). Author per Tuner (2003), said in this pretext, ‘In defining social theory as an â€Å"external†

Friday, July 26, 2019

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

Alternative - Essay Example The free electrons move into a circuit all through a module of 60 cells, and they flow back through a solid contact layer into the cell at the bottom. The flow creates a closed circuit of electricity (Boxwell, 2010). A solar panel has various advantages. It provides a free and clean energy that is environment-friendly and available at any place with sunlight. Unlike generators for electricity, solar panels produce no noise and emissions that pollute the environment. Solar panels are less expensive with lower operating and maintenance costs than renewable energy systems (Rassie, 2002).  On the other hand, solar panels bear some disadvantages. Solar panels are normally very delicate and can be easily damaged compared to other energy systems. They also require more equipment such as the inverter to convert direct electricity to alternating current to aid electricity usage on the power network. The energy from solar panels is more inclined to intermittent issues due to unpredictable weather. During the cloudy and rainy weather, solar energy using home may run short of energy. Therefore, these issues make this energy unreliable. Fan energy: Long before the 20th century, wind turbines were used to harness the force of the wind to grind grain and pump water. With the advancement of technology, giant fans are made today to produce electricity. On top of every wind turbine, there is a box called a nacelle with three blades attached to it. These propeller-like blades connect to the rotor. Also, there is anemometer on the nacelle to measure wind direction and speed. During the windy periods, the wind rotates the nacelle to face into the direction of the wind. The kinetic energy from the wind (wind energy) turns the blades to create mechanical energy around the rotor. This rotor is connected to a shaft which rises from the generator housing - where a magnetic rotor rotates inside the loops made of copper wire. The

Current legal topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current legal topic - Essay Example The lead prosecutor on the case was Joel I. Klein. This essay aims at explaining the United States versus Microsoft corporation lawsuit tussle. When governmental and privately owned corporations are lawfully at loggerheads as much as justice must prevail, the government interests must be sublingually served. In this case, for instance, it was 20 American states versus Microsoft Corporation (The United States Department of Justice). Firstly, the legality of business practices by Microsoft Corporation in the American technological marketing structures was questionable. In the American corporation policy, it is often provided for a capitalistic competition rather than monopolistic competition. This country is a capitalist hence various businesses are allowed in the money market. Becoming a monopoly, therefore, made Microsoft Corporation as self-interested business entity as opposed to the government, which serves the interest of the people. The Plaintiffs alleged that Microsoft Corporation abused the monopolistic competition legal framework by using Intel-based personal computers (The United States Department of Justice). Acco rdingly, Microsoft operating system and web-browser sales were acquiring a larger sales portion than other market competitors were. To reduce this monopoly, the American government had to act swiftly to serve its capitalistic nature interest. Overly, the issue central to this case was whether Microsoft would be left at the epitome of the flagship internet explorer web browser software in its Microsoft windows system or pave way for other corporations. Seemingly, Microsoft did not emerge the winner in this legal battle as the government rightfully accused the company. Additionally, the government was serving the interest of many in the America corporate world. In conclusion, the law according to this case should allow for a free and fair market competition among the computer marketing structure. For

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Identify and explain the historical significance of Benjamin Rush, Research Paper - 1

Identify and explain the historical significance of Benjamin Rush, particularly as he relates to the transformation of the medical profession in early America - Research Paper Example At this time he was under Rodman he attended many lectures which later helped him in his future life. He later began venturing into politics though not his own career. In all his education life he was been provided for by his mother since his father died when he was six years of age. He grew up as a strong man who later did great things which even to date is serving the whole world. He was really a man to be proud of. He wrote some books and he was well remembered for he wrote the first chemistry book in America. 2Benjamin Rush returned to Philadelphia from Europe in 1769 and he began practicing medicine when he got home. It was at this time that Philadelphia had begun entering a revolutionary period which ultimately played a key role in the American Revolution. This city was wealthy and it had many resources and also a high population. At twenty three years he was elected as a professor of Chemistry in Philadelphia College. This was just one year after he had come from Europe. He is the one who made the name of this school change to what is currently referred as ‘medical school of the University of Philadelphia.’ This man contributed greatly to mental medicine and physical medicine. He was interested in animals and this made him to do some contributions that are even important in the current society. Bloodletting was the main medical practice that Rush was associated with during his career. This method had been used since long by physicians but this time Rush was doing it with more improvements. He used it widely during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 which was making lives of many to be in danger in Philadelphia. This disease broke out in Water Street in the same town. According to Rush he believed that diseases and particularly yellow fever were caused by excessive accumulation of poison in the body of a human being which was toxic to the body and affected the small blood vessels. In his treatment therefore he aimed at removing the poison and let the

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Optimism and Health Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Optimism and Health Paper - Essay Example This article studies the impact of optimism on physical and emotional well being. In this regard, the article provides a detailed literature review and analysis, which takes into account quite a number of relevant studies and articles. The introductory part informs the writer about three different theoretical arguments on optimism. The first among these is that by Carver and colleagues who define optimistic people as individuals having a disposition towards optimism who indulge in more frequent protective attitudes, therefore they are not so vulnerable to stress and possess better coping strategies also. The second view point presented in this portion of the article is that of none other than Seligman, who argues that external, specific and stable positive attribution styles among the optimists contribute in optimists turning out to have better coping skills than pessimists. A third view point presented in this regard (Weinstein, 2005) states that optimism is actually a distortion of reality and calls it unrealistic optimism, which can occur either as a defense mechanism to protect one’s self esteem or due to cognitive factors like lack of insufficient knowledge or a poor critical insight. The main body follows the theoretical introduction. This is divided into four parts each under separate headings. The first part reports that researchers have found out that depression and suicidal ideation are inversely related to optimism (Velden  et al; 2007); and that psychotherapy which promotes optimism can enhance the mental health of people at risk, specially the post traumatic individuals (Giltay  et al; 2004). The second part is about optimism and physical health. Five studies are highlighted which support the conviction that optimism has a positive effect on physical health and helps in recovering from and preventing diseases like: AIDS, heart diseases and cancer. Some contradictory findings are also presented in this article. These findings suggest that though optimism may have a short term positive effect on health, it causes long term negative changes in the immune system due to unrealistic attribution style (Schofield  et al, 2004 & Tomakowsky  et al, 2001). The article also includes research that highlights the coping skills which optimists tend to use. Summarizing the fin dings of these studies; such coping styles include: acceptance of situation, positive assessment of situation and use of humor to lighten up the situation. Next section of the article deals with the impact of optimism on quality of life. Many studies have been reviewed by the authors in this regard. The findings of these studies suggest that optimists usually enjoy a better quality of life as compared to pessimists and score high on the physical as well as mental health related quality of life measures. The article further pursues the role of risk perception in optimism related physical and mental health. Most studies in this context revealed that optimi sts tend to perceive themselves as not being at risk or facing very little risk of diseases (McKenna  et al, 1993). The article ends with a concise conclusion that optimism plays an important role in the physical and mental well being of individuals. The authors have also recommended the use of psychotherapy that aims at optimism in order to reduce the risk of physical and mental health issues. 3. VALIDITY OF THE STUDY The article seems quite valid to me. It has covered

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Appraisal Form Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Appraisal Form - Assignment Example The sales and marketing, IT and financial departments are the most crucial to the company’s objectives. However, the survey revealed that employees in those departments feel that they are underpaid, overworked, deserve better wages and working hours than they receive now. The organisation has therefore decided to conduct an appraisal to determine the best way forward. The problem is known, now it is time to come up with the solutions. An appraisal would be the best approach to creating a remedy. The appraisal will take place from January 2015 to February 2015. The employees will be informed beforehand prior to the commencement of their holidays, and they will be expected to avail themselves on the start date. Informing the employees beforehand is important in preparing them for the task ahead by informing them on their expected roles in the process and the possible outcomes. Ideally, the appraisal should have been conducted in the month of December 2014, but there is little allowance for preparation by the company and the employees. The appraisal will take place every week between January and February, and will include all the relevant processes and exercises that are intended to make the whole exercise a success. Various processes and sub-processes will guide the exercise from the beginning to the end, and will be conducted based on set guidelines and objectives. Employees from the relevant departments will be expected to be available in all sessions unless they have valid reasons to abstain (Stapczynski, 2014:26). All the employees who abstain because of unavoidable circumstances will join the sessions at later dates and will continue taking part in the process until they complete all the sessions. The appraisal should be conducted by the human resource (HR) department of the organisation, with assistance from other departments

Monday, July 22, 2019

Progressive Era Essay Example for Free

Progressive Era Essay The progressive era was a thirty-year period in which the United States was completely reformed. Actions were taken to improve working conditions for laborers and women. President Roosevelt and Wilson were both reformers for the rights and voice of the people. Theodore Roosevelt used his presidency to put regulations of businesses and make sure the government is still higher than corporations. Individual Reformers and the government in the progressive era went through a great deal to bring about change in the united states, with teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting and political reform, improvement of laborers and goods, and the restrictions of child labor and women rights. Teddy Roosevelt became known as the great trustbuster. He didn’t get this name for no reason. Roosevelt could identify which trusts were good and which were bad. He could determine which trusts helped the people and which ones hurt them. Roosevelt would hunt down the bad trusts and take them down. He would destroy the bad trusts and restrain the good trusts from becoming bad trusts. Roosevelt believed that the government should police the corporations of America. (A). He took the Sherman Anti-trust act and enforced it so that companies could price their products and make sure not one company could not take control of the market. He did this by creating the Clayton anti-trust act to keep regulations on anti-competiveness. (E) Roosevelt also believed in changing the ways that politicians were elected. Senators in particular were being corrupted because officials were appointing them. He believed that the US senate was just a club basically for high privileged people. This lead to the passage of the seventeenth amendment which said that direct election of senators was to be the new way of choosing who would be in the US Senate. (D) This amendment got the people involved even more with politics and gave them more of a say in government. Politically the government was reformed with the US senate, and the trust busting and making sure that the government was a police force to big corporations. Laborers in the progressive era had it rough. They were not treated with respect, or the consideration that they deserve. The goods that were produced were not of quality and contained harmful hazardous materials. Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who wrote The Jungle, a book about the horribleness of the meatpacking industry. The meatpacking industry was a brutal and unsanitary way of life. The people who worked in the industry were subjected to disease such as tuberculosis and terrible working conditions. The workers were ignorant of the relationship of disease and cleanliness. They didn’t understand that a working condition should be clean and not filled with disease. A lot of the workers had tuberculosis while they worked, and it would get in the meat that they work with, which provided for unsafe meat for people to eat. (B) In other businesses it was just the same. Labors were never treated fairly. Up until recently laborers were not even allowed to go on strike. The government was not helping people; they were staying out of business affairs. Up until the age of reform, and the progressive era. The government was then trying to help out laborers and give them rights. Child laborers and women’s rights were also two big things that came up during the progressive era. Children were expected to work alongside grown men. They were subjected to the same harsh conditions as the adults. Children were not able to be educated because they had to work in the factories. A lot of children only went to school for a short time. The educators acted as if the industrial work was good for children. So children had to go through terrible disease ridden conditions of work. C) The children were not helped by the case of Hammer vs. Dagenhart which ruled that child labor is not a government problem; it is to be judged by the state legislatures. Even some parents felt like it was their kids duty to work, and that the children should work. (G) Eventually however the children were set free from the bondage of labor. But women were still subjected to discrimination. Women at this time didn’t have very many rights. Women want to be treated equally and to have a say in government. Women suffrage was big at this time. They felt like they could not do anything with the life that they had. So they pushed for reform, which was not happening at this time. It was unusual since the progressive era was a big reforming time. (H) The progressive era was a time of great change for the US. It came in the political with the trust busting and the senate voting, it came in the improvement of laborers, and it came in the way child laborers were treated and the women movement. The progressive era was big and it made people really understand what the US was all about.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Difficulties Single Fathers Face

The Difficulties Single Fathers Face Once a famous German caricaturist and poet Wilhelm Busch (1832 1908) said that becoming a father isnt difficult, but its very difficult to become a father. This phrase can be interpreted in different ways, but at the moment it is as topical as never before, since essential social changes and shifts state the question of parenthood for men in absolutely new light. The matter is, more and more men these days find themselves single fathers, and have to face new reality, while the society is not actually ready to accept them appropriately. This problem is attracting more and more attention of public and specialists, but still there is not enough research of the matter and fathers still essentially take pains to prove their rights: single dads remain a poorly represented group in official statistics, government programmes and communities, as Sandra Gruescu (2010, p. 19) states. The topicality of the subject and its narrow presentation in scholar studies has motivated us to focus attentio n on this problem in order to find out whether single fathers really face many problems in child fostering and their personal life and what ways out there are for them to make things better. In this way the object of out research is lone parenthood and single fatherhood of London is the main subject. To move from the first to the latter we are going to use deductive method. Apart from that, as for methodology to be applied, we shall use surveying and case study in order to get information at first hand, content-analyses in order to understand what has already been found out and what the probable holes of studies are. To provide that, we shall study local, national and partly international press, official reports and local overviews. Then we shall be able to sum up theoretical and empirical data and make conclusions on what are the modern conditions for men growing children on their own. In this way, tasks we are going to undertake are the following: to study general materials on single parenthood; single out the issue of lone fathers, especially those living in London; synthesize fragments gathered and give critical summary; involve the comments of interviewees; and finally to tally up the situation. SINGLE PARENTHOOD IN TERMS AND FIGURES In this paragraph we are to find out what is single parenthood, where it takes its roots and where results in. On the whole, as for the terms, a lone parent is one who takes care of a child (or children) all on his or her own, without participation of another parent within home. Divorce or death of the spouse are among the main reasons of growing a child alone; adoption, abuse or abandonment, and artificial insemination. A parent who takes a conscious decision to grow up a child on his own from the very beginning is also called a choice parent. All in all, as calculated in 2009, there are 1.9 million sole parents in the UK. In total they bring up about three million children. By Labour Market Review (2006), cited by Charlotte Philby (2010), each forth family is a family of one parent (among them about 8-11 % are male). Among those, 13% are under 25 years of age. Those parents who stay with the child most of the time are called primary carers, and those who just visit children are called secondary carers. By statistics, more than 90 percent of primary carers in the United Kingdom are women, and it goes without saying that all the assistance from the government, tax credits and benefits are given to them. Still, as the General National Survey has shown, more than a half of single-parented households live below the poverty line. On average, it takes about 600 pounds per year to raise a child, and about 10,500 pounds to grow a child from birth till full age. CALAMITIES TO OVERCOME Except financial, there is a great number of long-term social and psychological, physical and mental health influences on both ex-spouses and children after divorce. It may be destructive or loyal, and the strength of loss depends on the extent of intimacy between children and each of the parents, on parents characteristics like age, education level, occupation and income, on relations left between parents, on visitation rights prescribed for the secondary carer, and the circumstances children grow in on the whole (Coombs, 1991). Half-abandoned children are more like to experience behavioural problems, and Augustine Kposawa (2003) adds a schedule of main consequences: higher risks of clinical depression, greater need for formal psychiatric assistance, and higher rates of suicide among men. As any other vulnerable group, sole parents receive a kind of support from the government, from non-profit organizations and on-line resources as well. These days there are more and more forums, web-sites, social networks, blogs and professional advice services where sole parents can share their problems and look for decisions together. A good example is the Gingerbread National Charity for Single Parents. The development of such programs seems to be obvious for the first sight, but in reality the issue is not so well-defined. The matter is, there is much debate over single parenthood: on the one hand, government assistance is a normal social practice. But on the other hand, it turns out that the government itself is supporting the phenomenon which is against the society itself while sole parenthood doesnt correspond to the traditional moral values and family standards; and it seems, there can be no sound society with unsound families. Thus present British Prime Minister Mr. Cameron is rather to encourage marriages by  £150 tax breaks than take care of objectionable sole parents living under the breadline (Rowling, 2010). The police of the Tories has naturally risen a good deal of criticism: Do you not think that is discrimination against someone who pays their tax bill every month, and someone who is going to find that my friend down the road who has managed to find Mr Right gets aw ay with paying less tax than I do, just because I am raising my children by myself? (Tapsfield, 2009 p. 15). Single parents are pushed to feel second-class. But why are we now there? Through the 20th century the amount of households with single parent was rather low, but during last three decades figures began to grow rapidly. Basically, these changes have their historical, social and demographic reasons. Firstly, women began to feel more confident in their rights and freedoms, and more and more of them came to the conclusion that living on their own has more advantages than living in an unhappy wedlock. They began to receive more support from the official structures and the attitude of the society became not as reprehensible as it used to be. Fresh figures show that 57 per cent choose the single life as they say it is more rewarding, Steve Doughty (2010, p. 30) writes. Meanwhile the civilized world has been experiencing crucial shifts in gender social roles. More and more women prefer career to family and under the tension of business life more and more women are loosing their maternal instinct while paternal one on the contrary has been gaining force. FATHERS IN THE MIDDLE Now we are to sharpen our attention at a narrower group presented by sole fathers. It was investigated that more than 3 million men are classed as economically inactive, living on benefits or the black economy (Arendell, 1995 p. 112). It is also an example of social changes, but still many of men either successful or not very face obligation and will to be primary carers for their children: Active involvement in the day-to-day lives of children is no longer the exclusive domain of mothers. Fathers are being encouraged to build closer interpersonal relationships with their children. As a result, many fathers have found that being a parent is richly rewarding and they are not willing to assume the role of weekend father just because a marriage relationship has soured (Bartz and Witcher, 1978 p. 2). According to the statistics, family heads are divorced or separated fathers (8.4 per cent), never-married fathers (1.5 per cent), and widowers (0.9 per cent). In the United Kingdom there are 210,000 male sole parents (8-11 %) rising up 280,000 dependent children. In London specifically, by National Statistics (2006), there are 16,473 households headed by single males. In other words, each ninth single parent is father. Meanwhile there are 180,366 male secondary cares also identified as absent fathers. In the borough alone there are 5,710 households headed by single parents with 934 children living with their fathers (Ehrlich, 2008). SPECIFIC DIFFICULTIES FACED BY SINGLE FATHERS It goes without saying that lone fathers face generally the same problems as lone mothers, but there are some particular troubles too. First and foremost, it is already difficult to prove their right on the child, as courts traditionally favour mothers. And even if men win, their exes often dont leave them in peace, as they are more natural to be with a kid. The society has much less trust and approval for men. Nevertheless, men can be essential for developing language skills, developing awareness of rules and boundaries and being a positive male role model in the childs life (Risman, 1986 p. 96). Further on, it is considered that financial problems are less spread among men, but in fact they receive much less flexibility at their workplace and face negative attitude of supervisory. They are taken as awkward while it is not commonly for fathers to be so involved and faithful. Meanwhile is the most important thing for a child, his or her love cant be bought with money, therefore a lone father has to balance between financial obligations and emotional relations. If they go straight back to work, theyre treated like bad parents; if they dont, theyre called benefit scroungers, Jane Ahrends explains (Philby, 2010 p. 15). Moreover, it is not a secret for a father that a child needs a woman to see a female behavioural model and to provide care, but it is rather hard for a lone father to get married again: a woman is likely to avoid a man with children, as their mother is often there too; maybe, the girl doesnt like children at all or wants to have her own first and better to share all those first experiences with her husband; she doesnt want to be initially judged as a mother and she doesnt want to share her husbands attention with someone else (Miller, 2007). Yet, for sole fathers on the first place are the problems with their exes with whom, for the sake of their children, they should co-work effectively despite all misunderstanding. Then, what is even more striking, sole fathers should be ready to cope with emotional distress of children who can have low self-esteem, feel different from others and consequently have problems with socialization. Especially it is hard when a man fosters a girl. He should keep his healthy guides status and escape equality in order to keep balance. Its easy to become angry and depressed when loving and committed fathers have to prove they are just that, Peter Ehrlich (2008, p. 18) admits. THE MEANS TO WITHSTAND In fact, there are special support groups for those who bring their children alone no matter female or male. But certainly there are more women who into the bargain feel more natural and free to express their feelings and emotions. For most of men that method is not available. Versus the indifference of the officials, single fathers are now actively uniting their forces. And one of especially active representatives of this social group, William McGranaghan has recently organized a special service Dads House within the project Homes for Families and Fathers (Hoff) specially for their companions-in-arms where they can get in touch, spend time with their offspring and acquire some useful skills like cooking. By summer 2010 it has had already 1,400 active members. There are other support groups as well, e.g. the one of Pete Wrighton, where men learn to talk and to be honest. CONCLUSION So, the things are not as bad as they may seem on the face of it. However, we have found out that the topic strongly needs further consideration. The attention of employers and officials should be attracted to the issue, and social stereotypes should be discarded gradually. On the one hand, it is hard to disagree with the governmental policy intended to encourage healthy family structures which seem to be more reliable and stable. But the matter is, that is a deceptive impression to date, and, if accepted and assisted, lone fathers are able to bring up much healthier, much happier and much more perspective citizens of future, than two-parented, but unhappy and destructive families where a child receives no care but copies wrong behavioural models. These issues should be deeply learnt by family psychologists and scholars as well. All in all, single fathers problems in todays London are many, and they should be thoroughly examined by sociologists, demographers, psychologists and pedago gues. In that way they are possible to be solved and unloaded.

Human Resource Management And Change Management

Human Resource Management And Change Management Personnel Management, considered for much of the post Second World War period to be a necessary, albeit uninspiring and rule bound administrative activity has in recent decades evolved into Human Resource Management, (HRM), a key function of modern day business organisations. Enriched first by the work of seminal contributors like Maslow, Herzeberger, McGregor, and Kohn, and later by that of behavioural experts like Guest and Storey, the growth of HR Management has also been spurred by enormous environmental changes in areas of business ad economy. With the growth of the market economy, along with technological advances, instantaneous communication, economic liberalisation and globalisation having intensified local and global business competition manifold, there is widespread agreement on the criticality of HR in realising competitive advantage, market growth and financial success. The development of a knowledge based economy, as also the current economic crisis, is driving home the importance of HR quality in business survival and success. Modern day HRM comprises of various functions like deciding upon staffing requirements, choosing between contracted or hired workforce to fill these needs, selecting and recruiting the most suitable candidates, training and developing employees to enhance their knowledge and skills, ensuring high performance, and motivating employees through a combination of practices, remuneration and rewards. Each of these areas comprises of numerous associated functions; staffing, for example incorporates workforce planning, job and role specification, selection and recruitment, and formulation of compensation. This study attempts to investigate and analyse the need, utility and role of specific important aspects of HR, namely staffing (selection and recruitment), performance appraisal and management, and Compensation (remuneration and reward) in improving organisational performance and effectiveness; it is carried out with reference to the HR policies and practices of the Ritz-Carlton Group of Hotels, with approximately 38,000 employees, possibly the most successful and well regarded luxury hotel chain in the world. The major strategic issue to be addressed is the changes in competition, that the luxury hotel market has virtually collapsed and the lower end accommodation is outperforming the upper end of the hotel sector. Where do we go from here? Overview of Ritz Carlton The Ritz Carlton Group, now a subsidiary of Marriott International, runs nearly 73 luxury hotels across the globe, with 30 more projects under development which includes fractional ownership, private residences and serviced apartments, diversifying into a different prospective that the traditional hotel. Having started in Boston in 1927 with the first Ritz, the group currently operates in 23 countries in North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Under the former leadership of one of the partners Mr. Horst Schulze who was President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) from 1983 to 2002, it was the only organisation in the service industry to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards twice, the Ritz Carlton group is widely known for its focus on optimising its employee strengths, abilities, and skills, to increase market share, improve operational and financial results and achieve competitive advantage. A major factor in the attribution of this, was the launch of the The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Centre which has thousands of senior executives, line managers and all levels of leaders through their doors from every diverse industries (such as Finance, Food Services, Human Resources, Retail, Transportation, Automotive and Healthcare) which came to learn the Ritz-Carlton principles of service. The services of this centre are ideal if a company is looking to create a sustainable change, which is key to the future as stated by xxxxx (2008), having a major competitive advantage to outperform its competitors and to increase its customers and employee loyalty. Believing in the criticality of skilled, trained, satisfied and motivated employees in achievement of customer satisfaction, the company has thoughtfully planned and skilfully implemented HR policies and practices that are essentially dynamic in nature and respond to environmental circumstances and needs. With the luxury hotel industry being intensely competitive and every major city in the world having a number of upper end hotels providing the same sort of rooms and other physical facilities, the management of the Ritz Carlton differentiates its offering chiefly through provisioning of superior service to its customers. Known the world over as the ladies and gentlemen (who serve ladies and gentlemen) of the Ritz, the employees of the chain aim to provide customers with the ultimate Wow experience and retain 100 % of their existing clientele. The groups philosophy has a real emphasis on customer and employee satisfaction which other organisations try to aspire too. In the words of Simon Cooper, the former President and COO of the company from 2002 to 2010; It is their commitment to always exceeding the expectations of our customers which insures that no matter how large our company may grow around the world, we will never forget service is what we built our reputation on as a hotel company, and our commitment is to grow the service quality along with the portfolio of hotels which should reach 103 by 2011. The organisation has been forced to take some drastic action of late due to the revenues at the five star group been diminished over the last number of years, reflecting the changes in the luxury hotel industry and on August 12, 2010, the Ritz-Carlton announced that their new President and COO to be Mr. Herve Humler in which the leadership change was effective from September 1, 2010. Mr. Humler is one of the original founders of the Ritz-Carlton Group in 1983 and has now responsibility for leading brand operations and global growth strategy. Human Resource Policies and Practices 4.1 Staffing Selection and recruitment practices at the Ritz Continental have been formulated with thought and care and aim to further the service quality and standards of the organisation. With the organisation being a quality and market leader in its area of activity, the hotel group is always assured of good response both to local advertisements and requests for staff for its central staff pool. The group seeks people with real Intensity, Energy and Purpose for all roles within the organisation. The organisation is strict on recruiting appropriate people. Whilst candidates with the right qualifications are preferred, great emphasis is paid to selecting people who are considered capable of fitting in with the strong service culture of the group. The culture is of strategic importance and classed as special, in every location in the world, with excellent quality and service, customer and employee satisfaction is at the top of its priority. Again whilst the group selects people with diverse talents and knowledge and teaches them the technical requirements of individual jobs, it essentially looks for people who are (a) high in work ethics, (b) detail oriented, and (c) relationship driven; the successful candidates are expected to genuinely care and respect guests and each other. Candidates must look people directly in the eye, be warm, friendly and capable of showing empathy. (Living Values) You have to make sure that youre selecting for attitudes and values, not for skills and experience. You cant train for attitudes and values, you can train for skills, says Chi. If candidates have the right customer focus, values and a positive attitude, anyone can be trained to do anything in the hotel, Chi says The selection process is driven by customised and structured interviews, which have different approaches for different types of staff. A manager would be tested for focus and sense of competition, while a recruiter needs to be caring, relationship oriented, business savvy, and able to see the talents of other people. The division head and the General Manager of the individual hotels get involved in all selection processes so as to make a group decision and also to show the potential candidate the importance of the that individual is to the organisation. The company has elaborate training and retraining systems. It has 20 basic standards that are constantly reinforced through training. Whilst every employee is provided with 120 hours, i.e. three weeks of training every year, new entrants are given a 2 day introduction before they come in contact with any potential guest or existing employee to understand the culture and philosophy and also 40 days of training in their first year to enhance this. The company has prepared extensive training material on all aspects of service delivery, including a list of more than a thousand customer problems, as also guidelines for solving them. Such problem solving is an integral portion of the training programme. Apart from such systematic training many individual hotels of the group have their in-house training programmes. At the Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong, the hotel has adopted a number of forward-looking practices. For example, all of the roughly 300 staff are expected to learn one new thing per day and time is specifically scheduled at the start of each shift to allow them to do so. This might be about the work of another department, the overall tourist industry, or new properties within the group. Generally all employees are permanent staff, this is to ensure that the culture and philosophy are kept at the highest standard, in contrast to this, some very minor positions are temporary wish are not directly related to the core business. (e.g. building maintenance can be sometimes outsourced etc.) As suggested by Mello (2006, page 336) specifically in the service sectors where higher turnover costs are common with the comparison of manufacturing, the organisation implementing a strategic staffing initiatives which are the key to retaining productive employees and in turn minimizing turnover/operating costs. To this the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group is at the forefront of its sector ensuring that employee satisfaction remains high with 90 to 95% compliance. This employees satisfaction is one of the key areas that are worked on, day in day out and involves trust, communication, involvement and engagement as stated by Mark DeCocinis, Regional Vice President, Asia-Pacific of the Ritz-Carl ton Hotel Company. At management level within the Hotel Group, many senior positions are filled internally within the organization, approximately 70 to 80 % of the leadership positions states DeCocinis. These individuals have proven skills, able to motivate and has capabilities to fit into the organisations culture. This is classed as a reward system for their previous performance and loyalty and promotes a positive promotional and development opportunities within the group, it also helps to serve international assignment roles. 4.2 Performance Management The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group has an elaborate performance appraisal programme that aims to regularly evaluate employee performance and provide employees with feedback about their performance. Performance Feedback is used as opposed to Performance Appraisal, in which the system is kept in line with the organisations strategic objectives and culture. Below is as outlined by Mello (2006 page 428) are the key differences between performance feedback versus performance appraisal. As can be seen from the exhibit below the feedback is more a two way exchange where employer and employee communication informally their performance and discuss jointly planning future work activities. Performance Feedback Performance Appraisal Time Period Past, present and future Past Focus Link employee work activities to specific business objectives strategy Create records, document performance problems Nature of communication Two-way One sided, downward, directive, rebuttal sometimes allowed Employee role Active Participant Passive Formality Informal, Verbal High formality, written forms Timing Spontaneous, ad hoc needed As prescribed (usually annual) Basis of relationship Collegiality Power Role of Supervisor Coach, motivator, partner Authority figure Outcomes Participation, enhanced, targeted performance, improved relationship Compensation decision; task directives Mello (2006 page 428) Exhibit 10.1 Performance Feedback versus Performance Appraisal The performance management system of the company works on a few specific principles, namely informing employees about their responsibilities, enabling them to master the requirements of their job, generating ideas on improving the quality of their output, informing them on how well they are doing in many ways and forms, and training them constantly through their managers and peers on different jobs and tasks. Each employee gets a report everyday on his actions on the job. Apart from these reports, detailed personnel appraisals are carried out every six months. With managers providing employees with feedback, suggestions and corrective training on a daily basis, most employees improve so much by evaluation time that such occasions tend to become times for celebration rather than apprehension. Such assessment occasions are used to form action plans, establish future goals, and guide employees on their future responsibilities. (Lets celebrate) All of the Ritz-Carlton employee performance goals are aligned with the company goal, and from that to the hotel goal and in turn to the divisional goal, therefore involving everyone in part of the complete organisation. Each and every employee is encouraged to come up with a plan to reach their goal for the next year based on guest satisfaction, financial performance and employee satisfaction. The bonus or incentive at the end of the year is based on improvements if you increase the performance numbers you will be rewarded. Communication according to the Ritz-Carlton is the key to maintaining consistence performance management. Each employee having interaction with the General Manager every day and speaking freely about what we enjoy and how we can improve is important says DeCocinis. All general managers has a policy of having a breakfast meeting with 10 to 15 employees from different departments once a month, in that speak openly and informally at this gathering for the purpose of what each employee is working on and what can be improved is a very positive management policy and everyone learns from the meeting. Another important performance management system in place is that employees are encouraged to document either their own or another employees mistakes. It is very important when someone makes a mistake that the correct action is taken to resolve it as soon as possible, otherwise it could reoccur. The group recognises people for taking ownership of a problem and being part of the solution to resolve it Yeung (2006). 4.3 Compensation Whilst the organisation has very strict recruitment policies, (20 people are, on an average, selected from 2000 applicants), it provides good remuneration and facilities. The company believes in maximising staff retention through a combination of good working atmosphere, excellent training, good career prospects, opportunity to travel, and good remuneration. Whilst the company does benchmark and attempts to keep its remuneration competitive, it is nevertheless overtaken occasionally in this area by other hospitality organisations. Mark DeCocinis states if you expect your people to be the best, you must pay at the top of the market We do still benchmark on remuneration, says Ms Lau, but regard staff retention as something which depends more on other factors. These include training, creating long-term career opportunities, and helping employees to find the right work-life balance. Ritz-Carlton employees who can multi-task (i.e. stand in for others etc.) are recognised and rewarded accordingly. The group reward and motivate their employees who exceed their expectations through The Ritz-Carlton Incentive Awards. The organisation dispenses Gold Standard Coupons to those employees who exceed the hotel standards for quality and service, these coupons are then exchanged for weekend accommodations at the hotel group or at the hotels gift shop for merchandise. Additional to this is every quarter, a Five Star Employee Award is granted which entitles the winner to a five-night stay for two people at any Ritz-Carlton hotel in the world, and to supplement this, round trip flight tickets and US$500 spending money is given. Strategic Organisational Performance The Ritz-Carlton is considered to be one of the most successful organisations in the luxury hotel business. Globally known for the quality of its service and exceptional surroundings, the organisation has in recent years not preformed financially which diminishing revenues in the organisation. The intensifying competition in the hospitality sector notwithstanding, the organisation has grown sharply during the last decade; spurred by its entry into new markets, (especially in China), a change in orientation towards more casual elegance may be appropriate or not?. The introduction of spas that are operated by the best operators in the world, and the opening of restaurants run by celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Wolfgang Puck all strategically aligned to give the hotels unique character may be better suited in a more buoyant economic environment rather than today climate. With that in mind the real strategic issue, the change in competition within the hotel sector, i.e. the lower end accommodation outperforming the luxury end, with regards to staffing, will have an impact on a) downsizing of staff, b) other competitors depleting the staff pool of both permanent and temporary potential employees, c) potential loss of Ritz-Carlton valuable employees to competition, d) loss of Branding (culture, relationships etc.). In performance management the impact of the organisation not performing as measured on its outputs would directly affected employee performance as they are both aligned within the organisation HR strategy. With regards to compensation pay freezes, no bonuses or incentivises at the end of the year would be implemented, staff retention will be affected, less career prospects and less opportunities to travel within the organisation. The The Ritz-Carlton Incentive Awards and the Five Star Employee Award would be disbanded. All of the above would have a major impact on the current HR policies within the Ritz-Carlton organisation which the retention of th e high performers being critical to the organisation also. What is to be done about this now? Human Resource Management Analysis The first thing to be completed is an Organisation-Level Diagnostic Model which will determine are the policies aligned with the organisational goals. This is a critical input which will help present problems and symptoms. The process of Diagnostic as stated by Cumming and Worley (2008 page 87) is that Diagnosis is a collaborative process between organizational members and the consultant to collect pertinent information, analyze it, and draw conclusions for action planning and intervention. This understanding and results of how the organisation is currently functioning provide valuable information to design change. INPUTS DESIGN COMPONENTS OUTPUTS Cumming and Worley (2008) Figure 5.2 (page 93) INPUTS DESIGN COMPONENTS Dramatic changing environment Strategy keep quality and service at 5 star Late bookings discounted rooms? Competitors Power Technology-SAP payroll systems, hand scanners etc. Customers / Buyers Performance Management outsource sales for rooms? Treat of New Entries -alignment with Entertainment Company (MCD) Ease of Choice Structure Self Managing Teams, possible outsource sales Health Safety Measurement Sys.-customer satisfaction, occupancy rates, Golf Courses / Academy managing information systems, mystery customer Culture- No.1 for service quality, No.1 for employee Customer satisfaction, what do I achieve today? From the above analysis and specifically with reference to the Human Resource Systems, the details for selecting, developing, appraising and rewarding organisation members, the organisation effectiveness is sufficient as there is good alignment between both with only minor changes to be investigated. The second analysis that is to be implemented is to complete an Organisational Development and Change Plan based on the Force Field Analysis for normative planned change. Management is all about change and by using Lewins Change Model theory and using an incremental magnitude of change, the model below can be implemented. FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS Steps: Identify a specific Change Identify forces for and against change Prioritise the forces Develop strategies to overcome opposing and reinforce supporting forces Implementing Recommendations With the above information to hand and being more critical, the following recommendations can be implemented to Senior Management within the organisation. With reference to staffing a number of options are open to management for action. The selection and recruitment process is supportive of the HRM system with only a few weaknesses to be addressed. A bank of pre-approved potential employees should be developed for each and every hotel within the organisation, both permanent and temporary employees to cover sick days, holidays etc. as this would reduce the recruitment timeline. A recommendation to the HR Manager or General Manager for each hotel should be to do a backward strategy on the history of timelines of past recruitment drives as suggested by Mello (2006 page 339), work backwards from the time employees are required to start employment, which in turn will determine when recruiting begins. This bank of potential employees will eliminate any delays in time, replacing or commencing new employees with the organisation. As to keep the turnover of staff to a minimum (i.e. below 15% would be acceptable within the service industry for t urnover, xxxxx(2008), the selection of candidates at recruitment stage should focus on a long-term relationship or career with the organisation. The selection process to focus on a potential person theme, what do they really enjoy? What is their purpose in life? What motivate them? The task is to look for personnel who genuinely enjoy contact with people and respect and care about others. This will benefit the organisation and the employee in the long run. All senior management positions should be filled in-house once the relevant experience and leadership training from The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Centre is obtained. It is important to protect the culture of the organisation from the top down as well from the bottom up. An Empowerment strategy should be implemented as soon as possible. This will involve flattening the organisation and creating Self Managing Groups or Teams. Reducing middle management (layoffs) or redeploying them elsewhere where required within the organisation will reduce overall costs and give real motivation to the current employees for self management. The one important point about his recommendation is to get consensus across the complete organisation for this process. The Performance Management system is very much aligned with the organisational goals with the philosophy that employee satisfaction leads to guest satisfaction which in turn leads to good financial results. The real emphasis with is on outputs not inputs as detailed in Mello (2006 page xxxx) and needs to extremely well measured so that performance can be analysed in depth. A recommendation is for each employee to come up with a plan / set of targets to reach a goal for the next year, measured by guest satisfaction, employee satisfaction and financial performance. These goals or targets will be regularly monitored by the General Manager and HR Manager each month with informal lunch meetings with up to 10 people from different department attending. Here the employee can be openly praised in front of his colleagues based on improvements benchmarked on the individual goals. By using Victor Vrooms Expectancy Model, this will give real intrinsic motivation to the employees, in return the e mployee will feel valued, recognised and perceive be involved with important aspects of the hotel. Ritz-Carlton Group using the Expectancy Mode outlined below will have valued satisfied employees and the performance measures will be completely aligned with the organisations needs as detailed by Mello (2006 page xxxx). Assists managers to determine the outcomes that each employee values Managers should define performance levels in measurable terms Managers can determine if desired levels of performance are attainable Managers can link desired performance to outcomes desired by employees Clarifies that perceptions, not reality determine motivation Clarifies that motivation will be highest when employees perceive many benefits, but not necessarily many rewards Compensation being rewarded by respect, trust, loyalty and a greater sense of empowerment is the correct direction for the organisation. The ultimate strategy is to create an appropriate mix of financial and non-financial compensations systems. Direct compensation in salaries should be aligned with the best in class within the industry (fairness sliding scale salaries established by job classification) increase incentives such as bonuses, commissions, training and development to The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Centre to attractive and retain the best performers. With regards to indirect compensation, apart from the legally required a full review should be undertaken for the indirect options such as retirement pension plans, life insurance, flexible working schemes etc. to ensure they are relative to the market place. The recommendation for the Self Managing Teams will complement the recommendation to utilise team based versus individual pay based on performance which will encourage flex ibility and co-operation within the teams. Contribution of HR Policies to Organisational Performance The spectacular success of the hotel is attributed by many industry experts to its superior service quality and customer focus. Such a focus has helped the Ritz to constantly differentiate its products and services from the competition, enabled it to grow fast without compromising its commitment to its customers and allowed it to ride out bad years without losing business or compromising its operational and financial results. Being a member of the service industry, the organisation is people driven and significantly dependent upon the quality and effectiveness of its workforce for the realisation of its strategic and business objectives. The company has formulated its HRM policies in line with its strategic objectives and the complete HR system is geared to delivering of high quality standards. It has unilaterally adopted employee oriented and customer focussed HR policies and procedures that are essentially Best Practice in nature and designed to produce high levels of employee productivity. The Ritz treats its employees with the utmost dignity both within and outside the organisation and is publicly proud of their knowledge, skills, abilities and contribution to the organisation. The company pays great attention to training, an activity that continues throughout the working life of all employees, increases their knowledge and skills and optimises their performance. Team spirit, corporate pride and human dignity are common to all employees; a General Manager is expected to pick up a burnt cigarette from the carpet, even as the junior most employees have the powers to spend considerable sums of money without having to take permission from their superiors, if it is to further guest satisfaction. Ritz employees are known to go to great lengths to ensure guest satisfaction, leading their guests to come again and again and increasing the hotels customer retention to dizzy levels. Such motivation is proof of the role of Human Resource Management in the remarkable success achieved by the organisation. Conclusions HR management practices have clearly come a long way since the days when the duties of personnel departments were restricted to recruiting people, maintaining leave records, and preparing salary sheets. HRM is now felt to be a critical management function that is instrumental in achieving the strategic objectives of business organisations. Whilst organisations are still divided on the adoption of Best Fit or Best Practice strategies, or on switching over from Command and Control systems to ones that are most participative, there is little doubt over the importance of careful selection, good training, effective communication, performance appraisal and attractive compensation in increasing organisational performance and competitive advantage. Greater numbers of organisations, especially those in the knowledge sector are also seeing the advantages of employee involvement and empowerment in improving organisational innovation and employee commitment and motivation; which in turn results in enhancement of competitive advantage and business success. The Ritz Carlton is an important example of the brilliant operational and financial results that can be achieved by organisations in the service sector through well planned and efficiently implemented employee oriented HR practices on a consistent basis. The organisations commitment to its employees in good and bad times and its adoption of employee empowering HR policies and practices has enabled it to achieve startling levels of customer service and leadership in quality, market share, and reputation.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Essay --

1.0 INTRODUCTION Over the year’s warehouse technology has evolved from using manually operated equipment to automated equipment to store and pick inventory. In every warehouse facility the goal is to improve efficiency in both the storing and picking of goods. With today’s innovative technology this goal could be accomplished with ease. Every warehouse has its own special needs according to the type of goods that’s received and stored. [11] With today’s technology warehouses are using a variety of state of the art equipment that allows for the efficient storage and retrieval of goods. [5,8] This paper will discuss different types of equipment that has enabled the warehouse in becoming more efficient by identifying the most significant processes in a warehouse. 2.0 WAREHOUSE PROCESS 2.1 RECEIVING PROCESS The receiving process is the first step in a warehouse process. This may seem boring if the concept is still perceived as a clerk standing with a clip board and manually counting each piece of material as it comes in the door. Today’s technology used in the process of receiving, storing and shipping goods through bar code scanning of each pallet of goods as it enters the warehouse. [1,8] Another method used in the receiving process is a system known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). [1,6] With this method the there is no need for a receiving clerk’s presents when goods arrive. This process allows the entire pallet contents scanned as it passes through the door via the RFID chip secured to the pallet. 2.2 ORGANIZING The second step is organizing the goods for storage. Make sure all items get sorted according to their specific needs for such activities as repackaging or relocating to pallets, in containers. [2,9] Receiving... ...ew warehouse technology companies might consider the following suggestions. [8] Companies should start by evaluating their processes and procedures to make certain they can accomplish the following. [7,8,11] †¢ Don’t forget about the incoming products ï‚ § Concentrate on put-away and increasing refill accuracy †¢ Improve picking accuracy and reduce labor costs by implementing ï‚ § Pick-by-light or pick-by-voice †¢ Large pick quantity processes should strongly consider ï‚ § Package sorting contributes to reduced labor costs ï‚ § On-time and complete shipments. †¢ Companies with the task of implementing new automated systems should consider the following: [7,9] ï‚ § Consider hiring experts to manage the complexities of integrating multiple forms of technology ï‚ § Take control of their warehouse systems via the use of a single warehouse system ï‚ § Use proven best in class practices

Friday, July 19, 2019

Consumerism and Marketing Essay -- Marketing Retail

Simply Food use their brand image to capitalize on holiday celebrations such as Christmas and New Years. Authoritative performance plays a key role in their increased sales during these periods; people across the United Kingdom await a traditional Christmas meal in their homes (Data Monitor, 2010). These consumers are lured by the Simply Food elegant image and therefore psychologically they link the Simply Food meal to the festivity of the season. Tesco have discounted many products and extended their finest range in the run up to the 2010 Christmas period. As a consumer this gives a reason to sacrifice the ideal worthy product for a less superior one. From a personal perspective, it makes me more in inclined to consider shopping for my meal at Tesco’s for Christmas. However, there are conditions in my case, the meals must be cheaper, and should be comparable to Simply Food for quality. As an individual who frequently shops at Tesco, I would further be rewarded for my loyalty, in the form of attaining more ‘club card points’ on my loyalty card. I have been a Tesco loyalty ‘club card’ holder for nearly a year now building up my points with every purchase at the retailer. My research required that I visit Simply Food to see what benefits I would receive by shopping with them. To my disappointment a staff members informed me that Simply Food did not have a similar scheme to Tesco unless a credit card was taken out through them. I was left feeling utterly mad and disappointed. Tesco have managed to apply and implement a co-creation of value through their use of a loyalty program. The supermarket chain has directed their aim at business-to-customer initiatives which is an example of relationship marketing – in essence, profit and the ... ...ent. Works Cited Aslam M., 2006. Are you selling the right colour? A cross-cultural review of colour as a marketing cue. Journal of Marketing Communications. Vol. 12, pp15-30. Billings, S., 2008. Design Week Magazine. Vol. 23, Issue 20. Borgerson, J and Schroeder, J., 2005. Identity in marketing communications: an ethics of visual representation. Marketing communications: new approaches, technologies, and styles. Data Monitor, 2008. Marks & Spencer Simply Food case study, pp1-11. Data Monitor, 2010. Market Watch: Food. Company Watch: Tesco, pp 88-93. Hilton, M. 2003. Consumerism in Twentieth-Century Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ‘Marketable entity’ – Lecture Slide Presentation 11.10.2010 P17. Venkatesh, A. 1992. Postmodernism, consumer culture and the society of the spectacle. Advances in Consumer Research. Vol. 19, pp199-202.