Symbolism in Strange News From Another Star Essays - Concepts

Symbolism in Strange News From Another Star Essays - Concepts Symbolism in Strange News From Another Star Symbolism in Strange News From Another Star Strange News from another Star is found to be a story which contains numerous symbols which in many cases contain some important, abstract information. Symbolism is something which is very difficult to explain due to the fact that not everyone sees the so mentioned symbol. They dont quite see it as you, because no two minds are the same, which implies the fact that they dont react equally to something which must be internally interpreted as it is not present as mere information. On this essay I will try to back up with concise words, why I believe that something is representing something abstract, as well as with information from the author. One of the first symbols that we may find, is actually the star. A star is known as a gaseous sphere, which with nuclear fusion and fission may actually give out huge amounts of energy. Obviously a star is a inhospitable place, so I believe that the star actually represents a planet or a country. The flowers, which have a very important part in the plot of the book are a symbol as well. They, have always, as least as far as I know, had a special message. A message of love, tranquillity, joy and they represent the harmony of nature itself. In the first stage of the book, we may see how a problem, the earthquake, has made the people in the star loose a vast amount of flowers. They lost some of the tranquillity and joy that had invaded their lives. And when they look for a messenger to go find flowers, theyre talking about re-finding the tranquillity and lack of fear that they wanted. I believe that the burials, actually represent life. It may sound a bit peculiar, but in real life once you get accustomed to living a happy, joyful life, you then will not be able to live without it and so, you will need to do practically anything, as the people in the star did, to find the flowers. The symbol of the deity that the youth saw in the temple, I understand that by the way in which the story progresses the symbol is actually representing the fact that war, or trouble (the bird of prey) destroys all happiness or good hearted feelings. I think that the representation is what I mentioned above, because when the messenger goes to the foreign star he sees destruction and a total lack of joy. We may find another symbol which goes from pages 55-59. Its the conversation that the youth holds with the king whos nation is in war. Its apparently a symbol because even-though it has important, concrete information for the story, theres more to the phrases themselves. They can be abstracted and thats when I see that the conversation is actually trying to explain the way in which the humanity is being erratic by trying to find happiness. To achieve happiness, you must first get rid of sadness, poverty, trouble, etc (war is the symbol used to represent all of them). It may not be found just by ignoring the others. In the kings star they werent happy because all of the nouns mentioned above were present. A proof of that may be the fact that when trouble, the earthquake, arouse in the province of the youth then they lost the peace and tranquillity, represented by the flowers that they had had. And ultimately I will mention the symbol which the black bird represents, its what I believe is the image of the harshness, horror and terror of war. Which may reach such levels of futility that it may apparently only be seen as a dream, or even more correct, would be to say that its like a nightmare.

Where (and How) to Get a Cashier’s Check 8 Simple Steps

Where (and How) to Get a Cashier’s Check 8 Simple Steps SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Making a large purchase, such as buying a car or putting a down payment on a house? If so, you may be asked to use a cashier’s check to make your payment. A cashier’s check is a guaranteed way to pay for something and is often requested during large transactions to ensure that you actually have the money you need for your purchase. But what actually is a cashier’s check? Why do you need it? And, if you need one, where can you get one? In this article, I’ll explain exactly where to get a cashier's check and how to get a cashier’s check. I’ll give you options for where to get a cashier’s check and walk you through other options you can use to pay for your purchases if you don’t wish to use a cashier’s check. What Is a Cashier’s Check? A cashier’s check is considered a safe form of payment because it’s guaranteed by the bank. When you use a cashier’s check to pay for a purchase, the bank guarantees that that funds on the check are available to the seller. That way, the seller knows that your check will clear when he or she tries to deposit it and that there’s no chance of your check bouncing. Cashier’s checks are usually required for major purchases, such as when you’re putting a down payment on a house or purchasing a car. Because there's a large sum of money involved, the seller wants to guarantee that they’ll receive the full amount. A cashier’s check helps ensure that they will. You may also be required to use a cashier’s check for slightly smaller transactions, such as a security deposit on your apartment, or even occasionally your monthly rent payment, if required by your landlord. There’s a big difference between a cashier’s check and a personal check, and it can take awhile to get a cashier’s check, so make sure you check your lease or ask your landlord if you need a cashier’s check well before your monthly payment is due. Where to Get a Cashier’s Check You can’t write a cashier’s check on your own, so what are your options for where to get a cashier's check? You’ll need to go into a bank or a credit union. To purchase a cashier’s check, you’ll need two pieces of information. First, you’ll need the exact amount of money you want to guarantee with the check. Second, you’ll need the exact name of the person or institution that’s receiving the check. Make sure you have the name correct - they won’t be able to deposit the cashier’s check if you have a different name on it. If you’re a customer of the bank or credit union, you can get a cashier’s check using the funds that are available in your account. When the bank writes the cashier’s check, they’ll automatically debit the funds for the cashier’s check from your account, which assures the seller that you have the full amount. If you want to purchase a cashier’s check from a bank or credit union where you aren't a customer, you’ll need to bring the full amount in cash. You’ll pay the bank the sum of money in cash and, in return, they’ll provide you with the cashier’s check. For the most part you’ll need to go to the bank in person in order to purchase a cashier’s check, but a few banks, like Wells Fargo, allow you to order cashier’s checks online. However, you’ll need to wait for the check to be processed online and mailed, which can take up to 10 business days. A cashier’s check must be deposited within 90 to 120 days after it’s issued, so make sure the recipient knows that they should deposit the check as soon as they get it. Cashier’s Check Fees In addition to wondering how to get a cashier’s check, customers are often concerned with finding the cheapest place to get a cashier’s check. Purchasing a cashier’s check from a bank will usually cost you a small fee, even if you have an account at the bank. Let’s take a look at the cashier’s check fees at the top 10 US banks. Bank Cashier’s Check Fee For Basic Checking Account Holders Chase $8 Bank of America $10 Wells Fargo $10 Citibank $10 U.S. Bank $7 PNC Bank $10 Capital One $10 TD Bank $8 BBT $10 Suntrust $8 Note that these fees are the fees that it costs customers who have a basic checking account at the bank in question to purchase a cashier’s check. If you’re going to a bank where you don’t have a basic checking account, you might pay more money to purchase a cashier’s check. However, if you have a high-tiered checking account (such as one with a higher monthly deposit requirement or daily minimum balance), you might have a lower fee to purchase a cashier’s check from your bank, or you may not have to pay a fee at all. Often, credit union will offer lower fees for cashier’s checks. If you’re concerned about cost, shop around to see the cheapest place to get a cashier’s check in your area. How to Get a Cashier’s Check In order to purchase a cashier’s check, you first need to go to your local bank or credit union branch. Follow these steps to make the process as painless as possible. Make sure that you’ve got the funds to cover the check before you go to the branch. Remember, your account will be immediately debited for those funds, or you’ll need to have enough cash on hand to cover the full amount. Make sure you’ve got the correct full name of the person or institution you’re paying. Make sure you’ve got your government-issued photo ID with you, such as a driver’s license or passport. If you’ve got an account at the institution you’re purchasing the cashier’s check from, make sure you have the required materials to access your account. You’ll most likely need to have your debit card and pin number, as well as a photo ID. If you don’t have a debit card, make sure you know your account number or social security number so the teller can look up your account. Wait in line at the branch location until it’s your turn to speak with a teller. Tell the teller that you’re interested in purchasing a cashier’s check. Provide the teller with your account number, or with the cash required to purchase the cashier’s check. Provide the teller with the name of the person or institution you’re paying. The teller will make sure that you’ve got enough money to cover the sum of the check. Then, the teller will draft the check and sign it, ensuring that it’s guaranteed by the bank. Cashier’s Checks Vs. Personal Checks Cashier’s checks are very different from personal checks, which is why they’re generally required for large purchases. Purchasing a cashier’s check means that your account will automatically be debited for the amount to cover the check. This debiting guarantees you’ve got enough money to cover the cost of the cashier’s check. When you write a personal check, your account isn’t debited until the check is deposited, so the check may bounce if you’ve spent money and no longer have the funds to cover the personal check’s amount. Because cashier’s checks are guaranteed, they often clear more quickly than personal checks. This means that the seller can have access to the funds for your purchase more quickly than waiting for a personal check to clear. The physical features of both checks are different. A cashier’s check is signed by a bank representative, which is part of guaranteeing the funds for the check are available. Likewise, cashier’s checks have distinguishing security features, such as watermarks, and are often written on special bond paper. Cashier’s Checks Vs. Money Orders A money order is very similar to a cashier’s check. When you purchase a money order, you’re also guaranteeing that you’ve got the funds to pay for your purchase. However, there are some key differences between the two forms of payment. A cashier’s check is issued by a bank or credit union. A money order isn’t. You can often purchase money orders at grocery stores, the post office, gas stations, or other places around town. Because you can purchase a money order from many different places, it may be more convenient to use a money order to guarantee your payment on a purchase. Money orders, however, have a maximum limit of money that you can send at one time. That means that you’ll need to use a cashier’s check for larger purchases that require you to transfer greater sums of money. Cashier’s Checks vs. ACH/Wire Transfers ACH/wire transfers are very similar to cashier’s checks, with several key differences. For both cashier’s checks and ACH/wire transfers, your account will be immediately debited when you initiate the transaction. This debiting guarantees that you’ve got the funds needed to cover the purchase. There are fees associated with ACH/wire transfers, just the same as there are fees associated with cashier’s checks. The fees associated with ACH/wire transfers are often higher than the cashier’s check fees and can depend on how quickly you want the money to be sent. When you make an ACH/wire transfer, you’re electronically transferring funds from your account to someone else’s. This means that you’ll automatically send funds to the seller, without them having to deposit a check. You can request a same day ACH/wire transfer for an added fee, which means that the money will instantly appear in the seller’s account. There are often limits for the amount of money you can send a person via wire or ACH transfer, depending on the type of transfer you’re doing, your bank’s policies, and how quickly you want to send the money. Review: Where and How to Get a Cashier's Check Cashier’s checks are considered a safe way to pay for large purchases because they’re guaranteed by a bank to have the funds to cover the sum of the check. You can get a cashier’s check from your local bank or credit union branch, which often requires paying a small fee.

Managing the Supply Chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing the Supply Chain - Essay Example Each of these factors related to Toyota have been discussed in the following sections. Background of Toyota Motor Corporation Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1927 by Kiichiro Toyoda and it is presently a multinational automaker employing 317,716 employees worldwide. The majority of the company’s sales are generated from the overseas regions. There are currently 15 companies under the Toyota Group including non-automotive companies Towa Real Estate and Toyota Housing Corporation (Appendix 1). The company has a large fleet of cars, MPVs, SUVs and hybrid models. Toyota’s global vision is to exceed the expectations and rewarded with a smile through its commitment to quality, respect for planet and constant innovation (Toyota Motor Corporation-a, 2012). Toyota has its operations worldwide including Canada, U.S.A., Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Middle East. Its regional headquarters are in U.S.A., Belgium, Thailand and Singapore whereas its major R&D centers are in U.S.A., Japan, France, Belgium, Thailand, Australia and China (Toyota Motor Corporation-b, 2012). ... The salaried supervisors are group leaders who support the functions of whole group. Figure 1 shows an organizational structure of Toyota in relation to support and responsibilities. The production employees are a part of groups of 20-30 people as per the needs of the work area. The group leaders i.e. supervisors are responsible for the groups and report to assistant managers each of whom is responsible for 4-6 supervisors and all production related activities. The manager above him/her is also responsible for the production activities but not the daily activities like the assistant managers. Depending on the number of employees in a department a number of managers report to the assistant general manager and so on. The production system in Toyota is based on JIT system based on elimination of activities which consume resources and which do not create values for customers, and keeping the inventories at minimum levels. Overall it is a method of cutting the time taken to convert orders from customers into deliveries. But as per Toyota all this can only be achieved by philosophy of continuous improvement and respect for its customers, suppliers, dealers and employees. The employees are given vague instructions and broad targets instead of rules to inculcate the habit of setting targets for self (Iyer, 2009, p.158-160). Figure 1: Toyota's Organizational Structure of one of its facilities in U.S.A. Source: (Liker & Meier, 2005, p.223) Product Development Process & SCM The new product development process at Toyota follows the following steps: 1. The product planning department conducts research and analysis, draws up product plan including line-ups and schedules for

Application of Nursing Theory comment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Application of Nursing Theory comment - Essay Example Notably, it is essential to acknowledge that caring is the backbone of nursing. Though the post does not give a detailed proposition of the theory, it gives a rational application of the theory to nursing setting. This post demonstrates how the theory offers a structure that nurse leaders can use to reinstate the profession’s vision of care that permits care to flow from the nurse leader to other nurses and eventually to the patients (Burtson & Stichler, 2010). The post also demonstrates how nurse leaders can use the theory to be compassionate and care towards the nurses and how this can yield positive effects on the quality of care offered to patients and the patient satisfaction scores. Notably, the post demonstrates how acting human can assist the fellow nurse workers to develop sensitivity to self and others by feeling their feelings. It can be interpreted that these compassionate encounters with the nurses promotes motivation and inspiration among the nurses and in turn results to high-quality care delivery and outstanding patient satisfaction score s. However, it would be significant to identify whether an improvement in the quality of care directly results to improved patient satisfaction

Grade Speech Essay Example for Free

Grade Speech Essay From the minute the teacher mentioned the word SPEECHES i started to frown. I have never been a big fan speeches from the start, even though i have been doing them for a few years now i still have trouble with them. Whether its coming up with a topic, revising and editing, or presenting in front of the class i don’t like it one bit. But when you think of it who really does like doing speeches at are age. I have never met someone who has started jumping up and down cheering when they hear the teacher start talking about doing speeches. Or someone who started thinking yaaa i get stand up in front of all my friends and my classmates and talk about one subject for 5 to 6 minutes. But in the end we all have to do it one time or another. Knowing that I start thinking of different topics to do my speech on, and then i think why not do a speech on the very thing i have trouble with. Why not do a speech on doing a speech. So here’s my speech on speeches. The first step on creating your speech is too come up with a good topic. You wanna think of something that isn’t too boring. The last thing you want is to be standing there talking with half of the room falling asleep. You want a topic that is something your audience will find interesting or maybe something they can relate to. If your like me, coming up with the right topic to do your speech on can be challenging sometimes. So here are some things to keep in mind while finding a good topic for you. First thing is that the topic you choose has to be one that either you know a lot on or one that will be easy to research. If you cant get information on it then you wont have anything to talk about. Second thing to keep in mind is that you need to make sure the topic is appropriate for whatever audience you will be presenting to. Third thing is that another way to help think of a topic is to brainstorm. You can brainstorm many different ideas then choose the one you want to do most . The next part to do of the writhing section of your speech is the draft. this is one of the parts that takes the most work. The most important thing to keep in mind while writing your draft is that its a draft! A rough copy. You can go back and fix things later when you don’t like what u have written. There should be three parts to your speech. #1 the introduction. #2 the body. #3 the conclusion. The introduction is where it all starts. That’s where you have your opening sentence. You want your opening sentence to be something interesting that will grab the audiences attention and make them want to keep on listening to the speech. A good introduction is the way to start off a good speech the body of your speech is the middle. Its the biggest part of the whole thing. Then there’s your conclusion. Its the ending part of speech, the part where you Finnish up and conclude. Now its time to revise and edit.

Standards :: essays research papers

There are numerous standards that have been established worldwide relating to the Information Technology field. To minimize the following summation, I will only describe three of these standards. The first one will be the American National Standards Institute or ANSI for short. Next, I will discuss the International Standards Organization which is commonly referred to as ISO, in more detail. Finally, the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers will be the topic of choice. All of these established standards play a role in the way we communicate electronically. The American Engineering Standards Committee, founded in 1918 was the proud predecessor to ANSI. A decade later, it was reorganized and given the American Standards Association name. It took almost forty years for the name to change again to the United States of America Standards Institute. Finally, in 1969, ANSI became to what it is today: a private, non-profit standards organization. The American National Standards Institute, produces industrial standards in the United States. This organization is a member of the International Standards Organization, otherwise known as ISO, as well as it being a member of the International Electrotechnical Commission, or IEC. ANSI’s standards encompass several areas of telecommunication. In computing, for instance, ANSI was the first to standardize the ASCII character set in X3.4, control codes in X3.41 and control sequences in X3.64. As an example, the control sequences in X3.64 are used to move the cursor around the screen of a "dumb" terminal. ANSI also standardized the ASA photographic exposure system which has become the basis for the ISO film speed system. The ASA photographic exposure system is widely used all over the world. Let’s not forget ANSI as it is used in Microsoft Windows. It refers to certain code pages that are sometimes mistaken for the ISO-8859 series, due to their similarities. L astly, what is commonly referred to as â€Å"ANSI art† is really ASCII art that is animated through ANSI terminal control codes that were widely used on bulletin boards during the 1980’s and the 1990’s. The International Standards Organization, formed in 1947, is a network of 153 countries. Each of these country’s national standards institute has one member in the ISO. The â€Å"Central Secretariat† of the ISO is in Geneva, Switzerland, and it overlooks and controls the system. ISO, despite its national foundation, is not a governmental organization. It does not have representatives of national governments. What it does have, is a firm position between the public and private sectors.

A Brawl in Mickey’s Backyard Essay

A Brawl in Mickey’s Backyard was a very complex and controversial case! SunCal wanted to build affordable housing in the resort district however, Disney was opposed to this plan. Disney wants that resort district built up with tourism in mind. Disney would rather see hotels and restaurants to further accommodate their customers. Stakeholders play a vital role in a business! It’s important to consider the opinions and thoughts of both market and nonmarket stakeholders. When we look at this case, there are a lot of stakeholders for Disney that are involved in this. Let’s begin by looking at some of the market stakeholders. These market stakeholders include Disney’s employees, who would benefit from cheaper housing in an area close to their place of employment. Often the employees don’t make very much money and are having to commute longer distances. This affordable housing would’ve greatly helped them. Customers are also another market stakeholder for Disney. The idea is for the customers to feel â€Å"they’re in another world†. Disney is keeping them in mind and trying to make more attractions in the area that make them more appealed to the area. Of the nonmarket stakeholders the most relevant in this case was the community itself and the City Council. In order for that community to thrive in the way it does, it’s important to keep businesses thriving as well. The City Council is involved because it had to be voted on because it was in a resort district. Although I can see both sides have great points, I feel very strongly that the workers for Disney should be able to find affordable living quarters in the near vicinity. I hope that Disney realizes that they should value their employees because the tourist couldn’t be accommodated without them. I think that SunCal should be able to build the affordable housing area in a near vicinity, just not on the resort itself. I also think that Disney should go out of it’s way to help SunCal because this housing will benefit their employees. A Brawl in Mickeys Backyard Essay Q1 The issue in the case of â€Å"A Brawl in Mickey’s Backyard† is that the employees at Disney feel that they are not treated well by the famous theme park owners going so far as to say that â€Å"they want to make money [referring to Disney], but they don’t care about the employees†. The uproar and the sentiment was expressed more vigorously in the opening scene of the case, when dozens of protestors gathered in August of 2007 to stage a kit to express their open displeasure at Disney’s lack of support for their employees. The protest was instigated when a local developer called SunCal arranged to buy 26 acre site in the resort district across the street from the theme park. SunCal plans were to build 1,500 condominiums with 15% of the units set aside for below the market rate rental apartments. Since housing in Anaheim, California [the home to the Disney theme park] was expensive, many of Disney’s 20,000 employees couldn’t afford to live there. The average price of a house in the vicinity was more than $600,000 and a rental of a one bedroom apartment was $1400 a month. Keeping in mind custodians at the park earned an average of $1916 a month so that would leave them with only about $500 of their salary barely enough to sustain them for the rest of the month! Also, keep in mind that restaurant attendants earn around $1166 a month, so a rental is out of the question, which brings us to the fact that only about 18% of the resort employees are able to afford living in the area. The 16400 employees are left to commute long distances by car or bus to get to work. Furthermore, when SunCal wanted to proceed with its plans it had to get permission from the City Council, because its plans for the development were in the resort area. It wasn’t clear if SunCal was going to succeed so it roused a lot of advocates from the employees at Disney as well as affordable housing advocates as well as by other individuals and groups who supported the prospect of reducing long commutes, thus reducing air pollution. However, Disney was in the way. It greatly opposed the plan for several reasons. One of which was that the resort district across the street was just that: a resort district. In the early 1900’s , the city of Anaheim designated 2 square miles across the street from the theme park as a special resort district. The resort area, which was 5% of the city’s area only, produced more than half of its tax revenue by 2007. Therefore the area and any development new or old within it were restricted to serve only tourist needs. This meant tourism related development such as hotels and restaurants, Disney argued, and not affordable housing. Disney argued that it wasn’t against the issue of providing the employees with affordable housing, but it is against it being in the area that is allocated for tourism. Having SunCal go ahead with its plan will affect the area and its theme park subsequently because it will take land away from being allocated to tourists needs [will be explained more fully in Q3]. â€Å"It’s not an either/or† Disney argued â€Å"Anaheim has to address the issue of affordable housing but it also had to protect the resort area! † The two sides quickly formed their own advocates. SunCal advocates formed the Coalition to Defend and Protect Anaheim declaring that â€Å"these new homes would enable many families to live near their places of work and thereby reduce commuter congestion on freeways†. Disney’s advocates on the other hand formed Save our Anaheim Resort District to protect the resort area from non-tourism projects. The City Council was split on the issue, to say the least. The five person council has to decide if it will give permissions for SunCal to proceed to build its development plan in a site located strictly for tourism projects, only because this will solve the affordable housing dilemma, or stick with Disney’s claim that the site was made from the start for tourism projects and disregarding the fact now will only hurt the area and the businesses in it as well the theme park of course. Q2 The relevant market stakeholders are Disney’s stockholders, creditors, suppliers, customers, employees and distributors as well as other resort based owners located within the resort district. The nonmarket stakeholders are the community, government, media, and non-governmental organizations. Q3 The stockholders of Disney will be affected adversely by SunCal plans because it might slow down the flow of tourists to the area and thus affect the theme park’s profits and the stockholders profits, dividends subsequently. They are opposed to SunCal’s proposal solely because the area should be targeted to bring about as much tourists to the area and thus enlarge the theme park’s tourist segment and bring out more potential profit and capital appreciation for the stockholders. The same can be said about the resort based business owners, because they may depend on Disney which is the main attraction for the continuation of their businesses. Fewer developments for tourists, less tourists, lesser incentives for them to come to the area and as such will affect Disney adversely which in return will affect the businesses that depend on it for tourist attractions. Moreover, this will in turn affect the creditors, suppliers, and distributers of Disney. The amount of credit needed to run the theme park will be reduced heavily since there will be fewer tourists to attend to. Fewer supplies will be needed if tourism will lessen in the area and as such there will not be as many supplies being distributed. Therefore, the creditors, suppliers, and distributors are all against SunCal’s proposal because it might affect the success of their business if Disney’s attraction is compromised. This can even affect the employees [at Disney and at the various businesses in the resort area] because they will be impacted in various ways including reduced hours or layoffs and reduced salaries, if tourism in the vicinity decreases. The community, government, media and non- governmental organizations can be all entities that are split on the issue. The community for example, is split between providing a solution for the affordable housing issue [therefore in favor of the proposal], or preserving the area that brings prosperity to a lot of businesses [against the proposal]. The same can be said about the government, to be specific, the chamber of commerce is against SunCal’s proposal because it might lesson the profits that the city reaps [the resort area produces more than half of its tax revenue] and the other side of the government wishes to appease its community and wants Disney to take responsibility for its employees. The non-governmental organizations such as the activists we’ve seen in the first scene of the case and the unions that represent Disney’s affected employees from the long communes’ are in favor of SunCal’s plan. However there might be other unions and activists against the plans, even though they are not mentioned specifically in the case text. Q4 The relevant market stakeholders are Disney’s stockholders, creditors, suppliers, customers, employees and distributors as well as other resort based owners located within the resort district. They all have legal power, in which they can bring suit against a company for damages, based on harm caused by the firm. The stockholders in Disney have Voting Power, of which they can exercise their voting rights based on share ownership. They also have the power to inspect the company’s books and records. The creditors, suppliers and distributors, customers and employees have Economic Power. The creditors may call in loans if payments are not made. Suppliers and distributors may supply or distribute to competitors, or even refuse to meet orders if conditions in the contract are breached. Customers can imitate the suppliers and distributors in which they can switch loyalties and purchase their goods from competitors, or even go to extremes such as boycotting the goods and products if deemed unsatisfactory. The employees can from unions to bargain for their wants, they can even refuse to work or take action and perform strikes. They may even go public and influence the media to adopt their issues.

The Effecrs Of Employee Satisfaction Essay

This week’s reading covered regression and inferences about differences. Regression is a statistical measure that attempts to determine the strength of the relationship between one dependent variable and a series of other changing variables. This information helps determine what factors affect certain outcomes and which do not. This article was really interesting as it explored a very realistic question of whether positive employee attitudes and behaviors influence business outcomes or whether positive business outcomes influence positive employee attitudes and behaviors. At its core concept, regression takes a group of random variables, thought to be predicting an outcome, and tries to find a mathematical relationship between them. This relationship is typically linear and takes into account all the individual data points. The hypothesis in this study by Daniel Koys was that employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and employee turnover influence profitabil ity and customer satisfaction. Data was gathered from a restaurant chain using employee surveys, manager surveys, customer surveys, and organizational records. Regression analyses showed that employee attitudes and behaviors at a given ‘Time 1’ were related to organizational effectiveness at given ‘Time 2’ however additional regression analyses show no significant relationship between organizational effectiveness at Time 1 and the employee attitudes and behaviors at Time 2. Overall it was determined that employee behaviors have a more direct impact on organizational effectiveness than do employee attitudes, especially when the concept of organizational effectiveness includes profitability as well as customer attitudes towards the restuarant. Further research was conducted in a restaurant chain to determine the relationship between employee satisfaction on organizational citizenship. Employee satisfaction was measured using a survey of hourly employees. Organizational citizenship behavior was measured via a survey of the employees’ managers. Results from the study showed in Year 1, 774 hourly employees (average of 28 per unit)Â  and 64 managers (average of 2 per unit) responded to the surveys. In Year 2, 693 hourly employees (average of 25) and 79 managers (average of 3) responded. Customer satisfaction was measured by a survey conducted in 24 units. Surveys were distributed in the restaurants at predetermined times by the restaurant host/hostess and they collected 5,565 customer responses for Year 1 (an average of 232 per unit) and 4,338 responses for Year 2 (an average of 182 per unit). Based on results of the study it was determined that data supported the idea that human resource factors such as positive employee attitudes influence organizational effectiveness. The results showed that Year l’s outcomes account for 14% to 31% of the variance in Year 2’s organizational effectiveness. The results showed some support for the hypothesis that Year l’s unit-level employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover predict Year 2’s unit-level profitability but there was a stronger support for the hypothesis that Year l’s unit-level employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover predict Year 2’s unit-level customer satisfaction. In the reading it was noted that employee satisfaction had the only significant beta weight. Although this implies that employee satisfaction influences customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction may still affect employee satisfaction. There may be a reciprocal relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction but like all statistical results one can only conclude that data judging the relationship between employee satisfaction and organizational effectiveness is still an open question needing continued research.

Five Tips for Writing a Travel Series

Five Tips for Writing a Travel Series Travel writing is considered one of the more glamorous writing gigs. After all, what could be better than getting paid to travel? While the reality is a bit more mundane (generally low pay, tight deadlines, viciously competitive markets) it’s still a load of fun. With the advent of travel blogs, more and more writers are expanding their experiences from single features to longer series. This allows you to focus on various aspects of a destination in different posts and tell a longer story arc. Here are five tips to writing an online travel series. These also work well for print features. 1. You don’t have to start at the beginning: While your journey has a beginning, middle, and end, you aren’t writing a novel. You don’t have to open your series with your arrival. This is usually your worst part of the trip anyway, so why inflict it on your reader? Instead, draw them in with a scene that brings the destination to life, such as when Rolf Potts started his series about going on a Star Trek cruise with the moment everyone discovered he wasn’t a fan of the show. Very rarely are the beginnings of a journey exciting, although my ten-hour drive across the desert to Somaliland made for a good opener. That time, and that time only, the start had excitement, color, vivid experiences, and a bit of danger. The rest of my trips have opened with me jetlagged and grumpy at some foreign airport. 2. Don’t forget that what’s normal to you is new to your reader: As we get accustomed to a new place, we begin to forget the little details that make for a great story. The best photo I never took in Iraq was of my driver eating hummus at a roadside restaurant as a sheep watched him from just outside the window. When I saw this I smiled and thought, â€Å"Appetizer and main course!† What I should have done was take a picture. That juxtaposition wasn’t unusual for me anymore, but I bet my readers would have gotten a good laugh out of it. Well, maybe not the vegetarians. 3. You don’t have to be a good photographer: I’m a mediocre photographer, and yet I’ve sold hundreds of photographs to print and online publications. How? I go to interesting places and take lots of pictures. It’s that simple. 4. Mix short and long pieces: Short, punchy pieces accompanied 5. The story is rarely about you: There are two types of traveler- those who describe the places they’ve been, and those who talk about how they went to a bunch of places. The first person is informative and interesting; the other is a boring braggart. While it’s your journey, you aren’t the most interesting thing about it. The people you meet and the things you see are. Leave yourself out of the picture unless it’s really, truly part of the story. There is very little about me in my series on  living in Harar, Ethiopia. When I visited the little-known Argobba tribe, or interviewed a traditional healer, I let them speak for themselves. In my post about meeting a nine-year-old refugee from Syria, however, my reactions were an important part of the story. A monk examines a medieval illustrated manuscript at his monastery on Lake Tana, Ethiopia. (copyright Sean McLachlan) Marsh Arab children in southern Iraq. (copyright Sean McLachlan)

The Many Feminist Themes in Black Swan

The Many Feminist Themes in 'Black Swan' To call Darren Aronofskys Black Swan a chick flick might be a misnomer, but  the film  confronts nearly every significant issue facing girls and women today in a way that few mainstream films dare. The storys simplicity (an up-and-coming ballet dancer earns the coveted main role of White Swan/Black Swan in a production of Swan Lake) belies whats really going on: an internal/external struggle that touches on the duality of womens lives and asks what were willing to sacrifice to achieve success. Plot Summary Nina Sayres (Natalie Portman) is a 20-something ballerina in a famous New York City company. She displays tremendous skill but almost none of the fiery passion that could elevate her from the corps de ballet to a featured dancer role. As the audience soon learns, she is controlled to a disturbing degree. Despite the glamor of her profession, she does little more than shuttle back and forth between home and work. Home is an apartment shared with her mother Erica (Barbara Hershey). The warren-like environment, with its dark halls and various closed doors, suggests repression, hidden secrets, and sealed-off emotions. Her bedroom is little-girl pink and chock full of stuffed animals. This speaks to her arrested development better than any narrative could, and her wardrobe of white, cream, pink, and other pale shades emphasizes her passive, unassuming personality. An opportunity to break out of the pack and become a principal dancer arises when the company decides to perform Swan Lake. The leading role of the White Swan/Black Swan is a part Nina - like every other ballet dancer before her - has dreamed of performing all her life. Although its clear she has the skill and grace to play the innocent, virginal, and pure White Swan, its doubtful she can embody the dark deception and commanding sexuality of the Black Swan - or so the companys demanding artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) believes until a heretofore unforeseen act on the part of Nina abruptly changes his mind. When newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) barges into the dance studio and interrupts Ninas audition for Thomas at a crucial point, a triangle is established between the three that involves lust, passion, competition, manipulation, seduction, and possibly murder. Adding to the drama, Thomas turns the introduction of Nina as the new principal dancer into an opportunity to kick Beth (Winona Ryder), the companys aging star, out the door by announcing her retirement. Characters and Relationships Its a perfect setup for director Aronofsky to weave various themes into the film, including the nature of female friendship and competition, the mother/daughter relationship, sexual harassment, lesbian relationships, the transition from girlhood to womanhood, the pursuit of perfection, aging and women, and female self-hatred. Each relationship Nina is engaged in - with her mother, with Lily, with Thomas, and with Beth - mines these themes at several levels and twists the perspectives so completely its not clear whats real and whats imagined. In Erica, we see a mother who appears supportive but later reveals her animosity toward her daughter. Erica alternately cheers on Nina and attempts to sabotage her. She lives vicariously through Nina while resenting her achievements. She pushes Nina forward, even as she continually infantilizes her now-adult child. In Lily, we see a friendship thats both liberating and destructive and an attraction that may be purely platonic or steeped in sexual overtones. Is Nina attracted to Lily because she admires the other dancers wild child lifestyle and passion over perfection? Or is she afraid that Lily will supplant Nina in the company as Nina has supplanted Beth? Does Nina want to be Lily? Or does Lily represent what Nina would be like if she embraced both light and dark aspects of herself? In Thomas, we see various facets: the positive mentor who believes Nina can outshine even Beth in the role, the ruthless artistic director bent on breaking Nina and molding her into what he wants, the sexual predator who harasses and seduces women to dominate and emotionally control them, and the manipulative boss who sees what his subordinates are up to - yet turns a blind eye. In Beth, we see Ninas fascination with the companys fading female star played out against the backdrop of societys disdain for aging females. Eager to emulate Beth and feel what its like to be in her shoes, Nina steals her lipstick, an act which foreshadows Nina stealing her role and her power. Ninas guilt over assuming the mantle of female power in the company and her constant feelings of inadequacy build until they erupt in an unnerving hospital scene that is rife with self-loathing and self-hatred. But is  it Beths actions or Ninas deep-seated feelings we witness on screen? Good Girl/Bad Girl Themes in Black Swan Underlying these themes is the idea of perfection at any cost and the good girl/bad girl tug-of-war. Its a seesaw of wills that knocks Nina off-balance mentally, if not physically. The audience sees Nina physically mutilate herself, a cinematic echo of the real-world issue of cutting. This is a self-destructive behavior many females turn to in order to release feelings of pain, fear, and emptiness. The simple donning of a black camisole - the apotheosis of the transition from innocent to worldly - initiates Nina into a world where drinking, drugging, and hooking up with either sex is no big deal. And when Nina literally has to fight herself to play the Black Swan with conviction and passion, we see how great a sacrifice one woman is willing to make to achieve perfection. Black Swan or White Swan? The films trailer makes no bones about the fact that Nina goes mad as she immerses herself in the role of a lifetime. Its a dark Gothic tale of suppression, betrayal, desire, guilt, and achievement. But at some level, it also addresses how women fear their own power and abilities, believing that if they fully exercise both, they risk obliterating and destroying those around them - including themselves. Can women still be good and kind and be successful, or must women always morph into those despised and hated Black Swans when they fiercely go after what they want? And can women live - or live with themselves - after that pinnacle is achieved?

International Corporate Finance and Financial Markets Essay - 1

International Corporate Finance and Financial Markets - Essay Example To begin with, international corporate finance deals with a number of activities pertaining to the multinational corporations. Some of the activities of the international corporate finance include the management of cash, capital, debtors, inventory and short term financing. The corporate finance as far as global finance is concerned since it enables companies to evaluate funding requirements, as well as plan its corporate capital. Having a clear understanding of the capital structure of a firm is crucial for the managers since it provides a clear insight into the various sources of finance that may be needed in order for the company to operate effectively blobally. For instance, having enough cash for operation is vital particularly for companies with declining sales numbers. In such a situation, international financial markets become significance as it allows organizations to obtain a pool of liquidity. This is a strategic technique required of company top managers in order to ensur e the success of a company in the long run. Financial markets are also important for organizations since it enables firms obtain financial by issuing of stock or share capital and corporate bonds (Sercu, 2011). Global financial markets are also important for companies and individuals since it provides investment opportunities, which enables exchange participants to fulfill their long and short-term financial objectives. Companies tend to involve in equity transaction as a means of generating extra revenue. The additional revenue generated is vital as it can help the company reduce red ink, particularly if the principal activities of the firm indicate slothful performance (Claessens and Laeven, 2006). Regulation of the global finance is another crucial role played by the international corporate finance and financial markets. There are usually government agencies in the global marketplace that are concerned with the regulation of the activities of investors to