Monday, September 30, 2019

Fantasy and Poetry in Children’s Literature

The two selections of literature are Cinderella for the fantasy story and a poem by Eloise Greenfield called â€Å"Tradition†. Both selections are from different cultural traditions, but portray positive messages to children and adults in today’s society. Every little girl dreams of finding her prince charming. There are more than 1500 different versions of â€Å"Cinderella† from cultures all over the world. The story of Cinderella has been in existence since 1865 and published by George Routledge. This fairy tale is one of the oldest and most familiar to young children that inspire them to believe anything is possible. The literary elements in Cinderella include the setting, characters, plot, conflict, climax, and ending. The setting was in a faraway kingdom a long time ago. The characters included a young girl name Cinderella, her stepmother, two stepsisters, the prince, and fairy godmother. The Plot of this fairy tale is a young girl who is being treated unfairly, but dreams of finding her true love. She is being mistreated by her stepmom and sisters and works as a maid in the home. Cinderella begs to go to a ball and is told she could go after all chores are completed. Once she completes the chores and finds a dress, she is maliciously attacked by her stepsisters and destroys her dress. Cinderella was shattered and thought she would never recover from this. The conflict in this story is the continual dislike from the stepmother and stepsisters against Cinderella. The climax is so exciting in this story. After Cinderella meets her fairy godmother, she dresses her in a beautiful gown and sends her to the ball, Cinderella forgets about the time and at 12:00 midnight her fantasy is over. She runs out of the ball and leaves her glass slipper. The prince is searching all over the kingdom searching for the girl who could fit the glass slipper. The ending to this fairy tale is every girl’s dream. The prince searched high and low searching for his princess. He sent his grand Duke to try the glass slipper on every girl in the kingdom and the shoe only fits one person. After Cinderella revealed she had the other glass slipper. This created one of the most romantic fairy tales ever. Cinderella and the Prince falls in love, marry, and live happily ever after. â€Å"Tradition† is a poem written by Eloise Greenfield, an Africa American poet in 1988. Eloise was born in 1929 in North Carolina; this was in the early days of the Great Depression. Eloise was influenced by memories of her childhood, observations, and stories she had read about. The literary elements in the poem include the setting, characters, plot, conflict, climax, and ending. The setting in this poem was a long time ago in a southern state. The character in this poem is any person who has worked hard throughout his or her lives with no worry of failure or fear. The plot in the poem is to live, learn, and give back to others. The conflict in this poem is dealing with self. She can achieve anything in life if she works hard and want it bad enough. The climax is rising to the occasion. If she is able to overcome adversity and focus on her goals, regardless of the many things you have been through. Success is the end of this poem.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Critical Lens Paper Essay

Joanna Kathleen Rowling once said, â€Å"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.† Rowling’s words suggest it is our decisions that show who we really are more than our capabilities. It’s not about what we can do or how fast we can get it done, but it’s ultimately about the decisions we make to do something or not. Rowling’s words are in fact valid. The choices you make in a difficult situation can fundamentally show the people around you what you’re made of and what you’re about. Evidence of Rowling’s words exist in Ashley Antoinette’s novel Moth to a Flame through the use of characterization and Sidi’s novel Fatou: An African Girl In Harlem also through the use of characterization. Both Antoinette and Sidi’s work show that the decisions we make ultimately show who we truly are. Sidi uses the characterization of the Fatou in his novel Fatou: An African Girl In Harlem to sh ow that the choices we make basically show who we really are. Fatou is the protagonist in the novel. She was brought from African to America at twelve years old to marry a forty year old man named Lama. Fatou was sold to this man so her family could live wealthy in Africa. She always thought America was the land of greatness and freedom until she got there. Her forty year old husband did nothing but abuse her. Fatou wanted nothing more than to get away from Lama and make a better living for herself. She decided to go to school and get her get her diploma. Moreover, she decided to no longer be someone else’s property. The characterization of Fatou in the novel clearly shows that your decisions show who we truly are. Instead of being someone’s slave, Fatou chose to run away and make a better life for herself. Furthermore, she showed everyone around her that she’s not property and she’s no longer going to be oppressed by her forty year old husband. All things considered, by using Fatou Sidi shows or choices are what sho w what we truly are, not our capabilities. Ashley Antoinette uses the characterization of Raven in her novel Moth to a Flame to show the decisions we make fundamentally show who we are as a person. Raven is the protagonist in the novel. She is the daughter of Benny Atkins. At seventeen, Raven began dating a known stick-up kid named Mizan. Unknown to her, Mizan had different intentions. He wanted to take Raven’s father off his throne. Raven’s Father, Benny Atkins, was the king of the whole drug scene in Flint, MI and Mizan envied him. Her Father sensed there wasn’t something right about Mizan and forbid Raven to see him again. Unfortunately, this only pushed Raven closer to Mizan. From then on, Raven’s life began to spiral downward. Her father died, her mother was sent to jail, and she was left to take care of her six year old sister. Raven and her little sister moved in with Mizan. Shortly after, Mizan started abusing Raven. After losing her child because of the constant beating, Raven finally foun d the courage to leave Mizan. She reached out to Ethic, a man that worked with her father, and he helped her and her little sister get on their feet. Raven and Ethic ended up falling in love and starting their own family. Raven also applied for college classes and eventually got her degree. Antoinette’s portrayal of Raven shows that your choices are what make you who you are. Raven chose to leave Mizan and make a better life for her little sister, instead of being someone’s punching bag. Furthermore, Raven chose her life. She showed many individuals around her that she can stand on her own two feet and even with her struggles, she was going to make it. Thus, by using Raven Antoinette showed that your capabilities are nothing compared to the decisions you make. Joanna Kathleen Rowling’s quote, â€Å" It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities† , illustrates that our abilities are nothing compared to the decisions we make, our decisions are what show those around us who we ultimately are. Rowling’s words were validated by Ashley Antoinette in her novel Moth to a Flame using the characterization of Raven. She showed her readers that abilities mean nothing because the protagonist wasn’t capable of overcoming her boyfriend. Instead, the protagonist chose to leave him and she saved her life doing so. The lens is also proven true by Sidi in his novel Fatou: An African Girl in Harlem in which he uses the characterization of the protagonist Fatou to show that some things you’re not capable of controlling but you can make a choice to remove yourself from the situation. Writers like Antoinette and Sidi show readers that our choices are what show the individuals around us what we’re made of not our capabilities.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The performance management plan paper

Southfield is now in the process of hiring and gaining his 25 employees so now is the time for a performance management plan. Landslide Limousine Service should use this to cover four key components in the company. The plan should give chauffeurs constructive feedback, the driver's ability levels, the process which the drivers ability is measured, and a plan implemented to improve trouble areas for this type of performance. The company will use the plan to keep the business above everyone else in this industry.Southfield doesn't Just want â€Å"perfect† customer service he wants this excellence to be repeated on a day-to-day basis to make sure business or clients return. In this industry the chauffeurs are the most important part of the business so their contributions have to be the best for the company to thrive. Landslide is Just starting out and they need to hire the best employees to make sure that they gain interest by the public eye, this means customer and employees. Th ey can't win on the money front Just starting out but they can hold the employees and customers to a high standard.Bradley and his management team will have to provide training to some of the new drivers and when it comes to the experience ones, they will Just have to learn the Landslide's way of doing things. When it comes to all staff members they will be Judged by the service they give. Surveys will be issued to each customer to let management know where each employee stands. The staff that takes calls, and the driver's survey will differentiate exponentially but they will be grade by them the same. Any one employee performance that drops under a average of 5 for the month will be dealt with accordingly.The scale will go from one (being bad) and 10 (being great) service. The totals will be added and averages at the end of every month to make sure that each employee performs their Job in a satisfactory fashion. Other checks will go into this grade at the end of the month like dres s code, facial appearance, vehicle's condition. Clothing must be ironed, shoes clean (shined optional for drivers), faces must be cleanly shaved no big piercing (small earrings, nose rings, etc are k), finally the vehicle conditions must be in shape o pass the checklist provided.Anyone not following these guiltiness are on a three strike basis meaning warning, write-up, and fired. The performance plan will stay in line with the vision of the company providing the best customer service in the industry. The company will be in the negative to start out but should be on the comeback by year two. The turnover rate will be high at first but with these high standards set in place the customer will be happy which will generate more money into the company thus paying more to the drivers.Once this catches on the chauffeurs will recognize their worth and want to stay with a company that keeps them up to a high standard because the respect the craft and the results that it brings. If the plan i s followed correctly Landslide Limousine Service will have well trained high standard drivers. This type of setting will only help the business gain traction and help when providing guidance for new employees in the future. The staff needs clear direction when it comes to what is expected of them on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annually basis.As employee one does a better Job when they realize why the need to do a better Job and what the benefits are. For this the managers should come up with a checklist for staff to keep them on track on a everyday basis. Every day, before and after each Job is done, will have to check a few things to make sure that they are stay up to the Landslide standards. Uniforms will have to be ironed on a daily basis along with clean shoes. The chauffeurs will have the option to shine shoes because they are being seen by the customers so they deed to look the best of the best.When they come in in the morning they need to check the vehicle, inside and out. Drivers need to make sure that they check from tires to windows and make sure that they give the client the email address so they can leave the survey. The survey will as specific question on how the driver performed and how the vehicle up keep was to determine grades for the service provided. With the company Just getting off the ground they will have to do a lot to make their mark in the industry.With a good basis of standards and policies put in lace the company will do Just fine in the beginning stages and only get better from there. Putting in place a good performance management plan will help with this because it gives the company a good starting point for what expected each and every one of the employees entering in the company and lets them know, with clear direction, what they can do to fulfill their task on a day-to-day basis. Reference ASCII, W. F. (2013). Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (9th De. ) Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Larkin.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Delay Retirement as Housing, Stock Swoon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Delay Retirement as Housing, Stock Swoon - Essay Example The housing bubble of 2008 caused many Americans to lose thousands of dollars in equity value. The housing market used to be so good that many Americans bought a second property for investment purposes. Those people that choose the route of investing in the house market for profits have taken a huge hit since the majority of properties in the United States have lost a lot of value. According to the article the housing market in the U.S lost over 10% in value in 2008. Along with a depleting housing market retirees have also seen their other investment instruments go down in value in a significant manner. One of the financial retirement instruments that people invest on the most is 401k plans. These plans often invest a lot of money in the stock market. The value of stocks or equity went down approximately 15.5% in 2008. The loss of value hurt the potential retirees the most because older people do not have the leisure of time like young people do. A young person can wait until the market picks up once again. Retirees depend on that equity money to help pay for their living expenses. The combined effect of the devaluation in the stock market and the depreciation of homes has force many senior citizens to continue working instead of retiring early. As of 2008 approximately 78 million baby boomers reached the age of 60. Many of these individual planned on retiring early, but a lot of them have found it extremely hard to make a commitment to retireme nt due to the fact that the value of their retirement savings has gone down. The senior citizens that are supposed to retire are holding on to jobs that younger people need. This has created market inefficiency in the labor markets. There are so many jobs to go around in the United States. The current situation is unfair to both young people and older people.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Pierre Auguste Renoir Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pierre Auguste Renoir - Essay Example Renoir born on 1845 February 25 and died on December 3 1919 was a French artist who contributed greatly to the movement of Impressionism. The movement is about the artists were not allowed to conduct exhibitions privately. They have to give their paintings to the official salon. Renoir gave some of his paintings to the salon and also at he same time dared to conduct exhibitions privately. He was very innovative and always experimented with his work and brought out new methods of paintings with which the work looked exclusively special. The paintings of Renoir give an impression that the figure in the image is coming out of the image, as though the sunrays are falling on the hats or window, as though there is so much delight in the life of a women or the one portrayed, as though some thing special is hidden in them. The freshness and the openness make us feel divine for a moment and we feel are we in the heaven where there is nothing but joy. One must have an artistic heart to understand the art. Renoir's paintings when viewed, I learned that he frequently painted the landscapes along with other artists of impressionism. He imitated other artists like Cezanne, with small parallel strokes of brush. It is also observed that he was fairly capable enough of painting landscapes but failed experimenting with them. I have chosen the work of Pierre Auguste Renoir because they are not only great but also pretty and whose work seems always to have been done in paradisiacal temperatures. There might be probably no artist to compare with Renoir whose work is with attractive sentiments of charming people. The images look so lively as though she is alive there with living skin. Not only fresh but the way they look can't be explained. Renoir paintings show joy even in the modern days with some chocolate box qualities. People considered his paintings as just pretty and superficial but infact they are profound and done away with intellectuality of the posers and sitters. From the artist the technique to show the bright sun light, the shaded areas, the strokes of brush and the apt color compositions to the nature are the things to learn. Renoir made a self-conscious attempt to make the grand painting through which he conquered the high society and the painting salon or the exhibition as informality of eighteenth century. The painting showed his novel combination of fluid impressionist technique. Here one must remember Vigee-Lebrun. Catulle Mendes was a celebrated poet, publicist, and impresario. He survived with his wife Augusta Holmes, a legendary beauty and a talented musician and his five children. The golden tresses of her were inherited in her daughters also. Renoir's painting "Madame Charpentier and Her Children" fetched much fame and to recall that fame and success he requested his friend Mendes for his consent to paint his three beautiful daughters. His friend Mendes was a publisher of Symbolist poetry and a well-known writer. Mendes wife and his companion Augusta Holmes, an expert pianist and a composer, was the mother of these girls whose names are Claudine, Huguette, and Helyonne. Renoir appealed to his friend like "I beg you to tell me immediately if you want portraits done of your beautiful children. I shall exhibit them [at the Impressionist exhibition] in May, so you can see why I am in a hurry. I shall do the drawings at your house and the portrait at mine". In the painting the eldest girl is seated at the piano and turns to her

The Israelis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Israelis - Essay Example The contradiction in Israel is, the ordinary Jewish citizens are a preferred lot over their Arab compatriots. Along with the rigid religious establishment, a thriving lesbian and gay community exists. In this book, Donna Rosenthal, has taken pains to interview a heterogeneous section of the people-- Jewish, Arab, men and women, secular and religious, with their fears and hopes, enthusiasm and disillusionment, willing acceptance of challenges and also expressing defiance†¦how Israel makes efforts to transform itself into an ultra-modern state, to stand shoulder to shoulder and challenge the world powers, to tell—not we also count—but better take us into account! Nation building from the scratch is not an ordinary process. Striking a balance between the orthodox and ultra-modern of the same religious group is all the more difficult. Interaction between the two has to happen often. Rosenthal writes about the strange meetings thus: â€Å"An electrical engineer with a long ponytail is eating pasta with a bearded orthodox man in a knit kippa. At the salad bar, two women programmers chat in Russian.†(p.126) Immodestly dressed women in Jerusalem streets are abused by the orthodox. Rosenthal writes, â€Å"Some men wear their short, others dangle them below their ears. Signs in their haredi neighborhood warn women to dress modestly, not to expose much skin. Blouses cover them from collarbone to wrists.†(p.174) In the matter of worship the male-female division is enforced strictly. â€Å"In haredi and orthodox synagogues, men and women sit apart so they will not be distracted from prayers. In haredi synagogues, women sit in balconies o r behind curtains.†(p.182) In the same city, you have modern entrepreneurs engaged in research for high-tech industrial products. Children of Bedouin families and Israeli Arab—both have problems in establishing their identities in a Jewish

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Segmentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Segmentation - Essay Example Despite this, there are no restaurants in Victoria, BC that serve Saudi Food. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the marketability of opening a Saudi restaurant in Victoria BC by focusing on three potential market segments for this business venture. Three market segments will be analyzed which include Single Saudi students in Victoria, Married Saudi students in Victoria and Muslim non-Saudi. These will be analyzed based on demographic, psychographic, behavioral attributes. Evaluation of the profitability of the restaurant will be based on the analysis and finally recommendations would be offered for the business. The segment consists of Saudi students including both genders male and female. According to Saudi club in Victoria â€Å"Victoria now has more than 860 Saudi students male and female are divided among between University of Victoria, Royal Roads University, and Camosun College as well as other English institutions in the city; 67 per cent of the students are single and the rest are married† (N. Daheher, Personal Communication, 12 February, 2013). This means 576 are singles. The percent of single Saudi females in Victoria are 17% of 576 (98 females). The percent of single Saudi males in Victoria are 83 of 576 (478 males). These students usually lead a very busy lifestyle. They are involved in a myriad of activities which apart from taking classes includes homework, taking English Language classes and also socializing. Saudi students, especially men, come from a culture where they have little experience of household chores including cooking. Also their busy schedule in Canada does not allow them to take out the time to cook food. While they consume mostly Western fast food, they are still nostalgic about their Saudi food which is quite different from the food that is available in Victoria BC. As mentioned before, there are more than 860 Saudi male and female students; of these 23 percent are married. The married are further divided into male

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Statutory interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Statutory interpretation - Essay Example nction of the judiciary is to justify whether a statute contains any such provisions that is violating or can possibly violate the fundamental rights of a common person as it has been enshrined by the constitution of that nation. If judiciary feels that any such provision is present in the statute then it sends it back for required rectification or it may cancel such statute. Additionally, it is the onus of judiciary to see what actually a statute tries to convey and to which extent scope of the statute is expansive so that it can be applied in interpreting the scope of law, while coming up with any judicial decision making process. Due to such capacity of judiciary, in the context of interpreting a statute, statutory interpretation is also referred as â€Å"judicial interpretation.† (Maxwell, 1991, p. 1) â€Å"Statute law is the will of the Legislature; and the object of all judicial interpretation of it is to determine what intention is either expressly or by implication co nveyed by language used, so far as it is necessary for the purpose of determining whether a particular case or state of facts which is presented to the interpreter falls within it. When the intention is expressed, the task is one simply of verbal construction; but when, as occasionally happens, the statute expresses no intention on a question to which it gives rise, and on which some intention must necessarily be imputed to the Legislature, the interpreter has to determine it by inference grounded on legal principles.† (Maxwell, 1991, p. 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looking at the history of statutory interpretation we find that since the 6th century onwards in the context determining and interpreting application of the law in the society, with the purpose of solving different disputes, the method of statutory interpretation was considered as the most effective way. Roman legal system of the late medieval that has influenced modern system of legal jurisprudence to a great extent also depended over the process

Monday, September 23, 2019

Juvenile justice Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Juvenile justice - Thesis Example It is strongly felt that the best institutions that could try child or juvenile offenders need to be Juvenile Courts, and not adult Courts. This is because of the two principal reasons: 2. At their tender age, what is more important is the ability of the system to take correctional and rehabilitative measures to bring the offender back into the mainstream in order to do productive and useful work in future. By incarcerating the child to jail sentences, their future lives are spoiled and even after their sentences are completed, it may be too late to being them back into the mainstream of social life, and thus, later, they would prove burdens for themselves and society and may indulge in large-scale criminal activities due to non-correctional measures. Children and juveniles are not in a position to offer strong defense in adult courts of law because of their cognitive disabilities and other limitations because of which their position would be marginalized in adult Courts and they would not be in a position to defend themselves as well as they could possibly be able to do in Juvenile Courts, which would need to take more compassionate perspective of their crimes and misdemeours and pass judgments, based on individual characteristics of the crime and perceived 'child criminal. The aspect of children being tried in adult Courts is a social problem and s... Judgments need to be based on rehabilitative and correctional therapy and not designed to be punitive based. The aspect of children being tried in adult Courts is a social problem and sociologists, child behavioral specialists and child psychologists need to feel the responsibility of ensuring that the incidence of such cases are kept to the minimum. However, when one has to judge the severity of the crime, especially murder or rape, there needs to be a greater degree of autonomy to be granted to the legal process in trying such serious offenses and meting out punishment to the offenders, whether under-age or adult. This research study would take up the matter of trying children and its short and long-term implications upon society. The research question is: Should children or Juveniles be tried in adult courts Literature Review: In order to understand the progression of this hypothesis, it is necessary to go back to history. The aspects of juvenile Courts are a recent phenomenon. During the 18th Century, an offender who was above 7 years of age would be treated as adults. It was believed during that time that children below 7 years lacked moral capacity, and was thus devoid of giving consent. It has been documented that, before the 20th Century, 10 children below 14 years of age were awarded capital punishment in US for committing heinous crimes. (Stolba, 2001). The combination of child offenders with adult criminals in prison settings created social unrest, so much so that the "Society for the prevention of juvenile delinquents " was formed in 1925. With the primary objective of rehabilitating juvenile offenders. Since the majority of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Domestic and perfect Essay Example for Free

Domestic and perfect Essay ‘In the Grass’ and The Vindication of the Rights of Women are two works which consider the woman and her relationship with men. This is the only way they are similar, because the lead woman of each one is very different in their ideals of their relationship with their man. In the poem, ‘In the Grass’ by Annette Droste-Hustoll, we find a woman who is mourning the loss of a beloved man, though one doesn’t know if it is her husband, father, or brother, it’s just a man who is very important to her. This woman is the perfect female of the family and unbelievingly domestic and ‘perfect’. A major issue is the repeated use of the word sweet. It seems to not only mean ‘sweet repose’, ‘sweet reeling’, and ‘sweetly laughter’, but sweet, devoted female. This poem is a sort of mourning remembrance of the perfect life where this woman was the little darling of the now gone man. The phrase ‘Sweetly laughter flutters down, dear voice mummers and trickles’, is a major phrase used to conjure up to the reader this perfect family life. It is an image of the ideal family, the man strong and ruling and the female soft and yielding. She reigns in her domestic sphere, giving the man a place of rest. But, now the man is gone, and she is remembering the good times. She is lost because she no longer has the only life she knew how to live. Finally, the last series of lines tells the only course left to her is to go with him, ‘Please, a soul, to fly with him’. She believes she no longer has a reason to live without her guide and protector. She was a queen, but only with him, and all she wants is to go with him and continue their happy relationship. She is not envisioning life on her own, perhaps she can’t. Is she an individual being or an extension of him like his arm or leg? When Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Right of Women, the woman in the poem, â€Å"In the Grass†, was the ideal. Women in Wollstonecraft’s class were supposed to be soft creatures that let their husband do the thinking while they discussed clothes and child rearing. Wollstonecraft was against this and preached women’s rights. For this she was called ‘a hyena in petticoats’, but she refused to be silenced. Remember how in the poem ‘In the Grass’, the word ‘sweet’ is repeated over and over to set the tone of a darling little women by her man’s grave? Wollstonecraft strongly rejects this, calling all those endearments given to women from men, ‘those pretty feminine phrases, which the men condescendingly use to soften our slavish dependence. ’ Slave was a harsh word to be throwing around, especially with slavery still existing in the US, but she wanted to shock. She was writing to shock women out of their dependence. Rousseau wrote that the only good virtues of a man are the ones he creates himself and not the ones he is told he should have. Wollstonecraft thinks this should be extended to women and she should be valued by her own worth rather than by the weak virtues men tell her she should have. She tells mothers, ‘The mother, who wishes to give true dignity of character to her daughter must†¦. proceed on a plan diametrically opposite to that which Rousseau has recommended. ’ In the end, perhaps it is safe to say each writer is creating a piece of literature that reflects the times they lived in. Droste-Hulsholl wrote during the Romantic Movement, when all things were idealized, including the relationship between men and women. Wollstonecraft wrote with Enlightenment ideals which encouraged the rights and the power of the individual to take hold of his/her life and change him/herself and the world. They created such different pieces because they saw the world in totally different ways.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Time Table Generator Project Computer Science Essay

Time Table Generator Project Computer Science Essay It is very important for the developer to measure/define a degree of success of the project. It is done to ensure projects boundaries, constrains, scope other elements. Qualitative evaluation must be done rather than a quantitative evaluation. The qualitative criteria like whether the system being developed fulfilled the entire primary component and in accordance to the software requirement specification and even is it able to solve the problems that stated at the beginning of the documentation. All the functional and non functional requirement must be met to ensure that objective have been achieved. In other word, we can say that it is just like comparing between what we had done and what we had proposed to do. Although some of the features can not be implemented as mentioned in PSF because of time and resource constraints. Previously developer was unknown about the solution of the proposed problems but slowly able to cope up with the problems. System is successful in providing mos t of the solution of the problems. For this system the main criteria for the user to ensure its success are: Fulfilling all objectives and user requirements All the objectives and uses requirements must be fulfilled for successful project development. Functionality analyzing and implementing functionality of the desired system to be developed. Usability Elements such as Learn ability, familiarity and recoverability will be evaluated here. Level of Content Detailed and well presented information and content available in the system is shown. Project Management -Following the Gantt chart and managing the project in a professional manner throughout the project development from beginning to end within proper time resource. Research and Analysis Research is very important for a good system. Documentation The documentation should be able to come up with proper formatting and according to the requirement specification. 8.1.1 Fulfilling all objectives and user requirements Evaluation Achieved User is able to able to remember all the daily activities tasks Yes User is able to set the proper constraints based upon faculty load Yes User can easily view his/her time-table of the day Yes User can successfully add, delete and modify the feature of Faculty Yes User can easily view his/her load matrix of the day Yes User can manually edit the time-table generated Yes The design is according to the user specification Yes User can apply the various principles and practices of Software engineering Yes FUNCTIONALITY Evaluation Achieved Most of the functionality can be reached from the main page Yes Report of the generated Time-table Yes Ability to measure the load accurately Yes Addition and deletion of the faculty information and the subject information Yes Constraints based upon the admin choice Yes Can copy the same schedule to other day Yes USABILITY Evaluation Achieved Having a good and interactive interface Yes Allowing user to navigate anywhere anytime Yes Allowing user to recover from error Yes Allowing user to send update the information Yes Allowing the user to modify the password Yes Allowing user for manual editing yes Level of Content It is a measure to indicate the level of depth in which the contents in the application is implemented. Developer has taken proper care to provide the in-depth level of the system. The user must understand the functionality of the system because until and unless he will not understand the system it will be a tedious task for him to operate a system. Setting right constraints will avoid the user to getting into a warning message. Correct evaluation of the load matrix will reduce the tension of the faculty. Project Management For the successful project development project management is necessary. For proper project management it is very important for the developer to manage proper time resource throughout the project. At the very initial stages of planning analysis the Gantt chart was prepared with the proper slack time. The milestone was putted so to as a measure of check on the project development. To manage the things, the developer followed PMBOK methodology of project management for planning this project. One of the major drawbacks in the project management is the time taken in defining the constraints of the system for which the time-table is to be generated. When integration testing was taking place, many problems started to arise and some of the problems took longer than expected. As a result, the developer falls short of time. One of the major drawbacks in the project management is the time taken in implementing the algorithm for producing the time-table. RESEARCH ANALYSIS For the successful development of the project, devoting time on research and analysis is essential. Evaluation Achieved Questionnaire Yes Analysis of questionnaire Yes Research on .NET architecture Yes Research on Algorithms Yes Research on Database Yes Research on programming languages Yes Research on development tool Yes Risk analysis Yes SRS Yes Research on UML. Yes Research on adopted methodology Yes Above is a table showing the list of research and analysis field which have been achieved during the development of the project. DOCUMENTATION Proper documentation is one of the major criteria judging the system. System documentation is necessary to explain about the system. The developer has tried its best to document most of the things. Each chapter defined here is easily understood as the language used is very much simple clear for any kind of audience. The format of whole documentation has been according to the standards of APIIT documentation. That includes the 3 major sections having several chapters in each. All the referenced materials are properly citied and their resources are also noted down in the bibliography page, and these are all done in standard Howard referencing style. For any existing spelling or grammar mistakes the documentation has been checked thoroughly. Specific information are also been converted into table format which provide better and easy reading. 8.2 Benefit of the System for the Targeted User There are lots of advantages of the system for the targeted audience:- Time Saving as now users can generate the time table automatically in no time. The time-table generated can be published directly from the form itself. Complete records for the faculty and the subject information can be easily maintained. The load and performance matrix can be easily calculated. Every faculty can see their time-table and whole time-table after login. Effective time-table will lead to the optimized use of resources. It will increase the efficiency of the staff and the personal dealing with the preparation of timetables. Easy to create different views of the created timetable. i.e., faculty view and student view. Saves the development time. The intangible benefits are as under: Productivity: Soft constraints include the choice of the lecture timing by lecturers will improve the productivity if implemented. But only admin can put the soft constraints. Timesaving: it takes many days effort to create a suitable time-table manually but with the help of this software it can be created within few minutes depending on the familiarity with environment of the software. LEARNING EXPERIENCE The success of project heavily depends on the knowledge gain by the developer that will help him in future to make good project efficiently and effectively. The processes were frustrating at times with obstacles and difficulties faced along the way. Many things were learnt throughout each and every stage of the project, simple things like proper time management, and also the importance of primary research. The other learning outcomes from this project are: Following are some of the knowledge gained by the developer which are. Time management and proper scheduling Ability to research extensively. Use of technologies to write better application About better project management About basics various aspects of time table creation. Using designing tool About Genetic Algorithm and other search techniques About programming skills in VB .NET Proper Analytical skills. Ability to model the prototype using UML Proper adoption of methodology according to project selection. Effective testing strategies. Limitations As always Limitations are with everything whatever the work it may be. These limitations arise due to many factors such as lack of knowledge of the developer, time limitaions or the system limitations. The developed application has the limitation related to the application that is created and they are listed as follows: The various limitations imposed within the System are: It will run only on Windows platform. The user can only provide input to the Computer by selecting the appropriate option as per choice. The user can perform only one operation at a time. The user can perform only limited task that are developed in the application. User can not view the logs of the recent work. The user can not regenerate the same schedule. The interface can be made much more interactive. It cannot be used online because it is a stand alone application. There can be difference between design and implementation. Developer took some features as challenge and mentioned it he might not implement. FUTURE ENHANCEMENT After research and analysis the developer found most of the things that were needed to implement in the system to make it more effective. The developer has realized that some more features can be added in the proposed system to make it better if more time is given on project. Below is the list of future enhancements that could/would be carried out by the developer The scheduling can be done based on the experience of lecturer. i.e., Final year student should not get any lectures from the inexperienced faculty or the new faculty. The subjects can be allocated based upon the difficulty level. i.e., the programming language can be set to the first half of the period. As the students can grasp the things most easily in the first half of the lectures. The constraints can be made more flexible. i.e., there will be faculty of modifying the constraints as per the choice of the faculty also. Online Edition: The software can be made online so that all students faculty can view time table from any where in spite of viewing from notice board only. Make the application work on various platforms apart from Microsoft platform. Search facility can be provided to search on the basis of the available faculty while manual editing. If given second chance for Developments If the developer was provided with a second chance to make the system then the developer would definitely plan the development of the system in a better way than it was currently done. The changes that the developer would bring into the System are as follows: Conduct more efficient data gathering sessions. More and more better utilization of features of the .Net. Add up more features in the current application Would have performed testing in a better manner Would have done implementation in more effective manner. CONCLUSION The developer has concluded that the project Time Table Generator is completed successfully. All the features stated in the PSF are implemented and working properly. Apart from the consolidated report of time-table as it was special feature. Most of the things were new for the developer to code. Since the developer has built such a big application in .NET first time yet the developer has successfully implemented the features. The developer has gained very good knowledge in VB.NET that will help him a lot in industry. Most of the expected feature that the developer expected could not be able to implement because of time and knowledge constraints. So, by the help of critical evaluation and reflection of the system, the developer is able to judge its system in an appropriate manner. The proposed system has successfully targeted some of the needs and problems faced by individuals in the domain.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Corporate Governance in Different Countries

Corporate Governance in Different Countries Corporate Governance and theories Development of Corporate Government is a global occurrence. Different countries have different Theories in relevance and also depend on the stage of economic condition the country is in, the corporate structure of the country and the ownership groups present. It is also important to understand that not only shareholders but other stake holders are also involved wit a company and therefore emphasis should be given to other interest groups as well like employees, suppliers, customers and local communities (Christine A Mallin 2007). Theories associated with development of corporate governance Agency theory In the theory, there are two parties – principals and agents. Owners are considered Principal and director – agents. According to the theory due to self interest agents may not be working towards principals interest. In such cases the result may not be as expected by the principals or owners. A good corporate control is thus required to reduce agency problems and to keep control over directors actions. Transaction cost economies As firms desire to grow overtime, they need capital to expand. Often a firm raises a capital by going public or including other shareholders into the firms. As the owners in the company increase it is possible that the separation of ownership and control (which mostly remains in the hands of directors) may create problems. Stakeholder theory As discussed earlier, a firm has a member of stakeholders and is not just accountable to shareholders. If there are other stakeholders that need to be given emphasis then the governance system is developed accordingly. Corporate governance has only recently gained more importance and although agency theory was the main theory that led to its development, stakeholder theory is gaining more importance as it evolves further. It has been observed that good corporate governance have helped business perform better and provided better access to finances. Corporate Governance in UK Cadbury and Greenbury reports had a major contribution in UKs Corporate Governance. Cadbury Report (1992) â€Å"The Report of the committee on the financial aspects of corporate governance†, also known the Cadbury report, was published in December 1992. After 1980s financial scandals, a committee was formed in may 1991 by the financial reporting councils the London stock exchange and the accountancy profession. The committee worked in the financial aspects of corporate Governance and produced a code of Best Practice, which all UK listed companies related to director remuneration, responsibilities and tenure. Some of the recommendations were as follows. The majority of non-executive directors should be independent of management and free from business or other relationship. Non-executive directors should be appointed for the specified terms. Executive remuneration should be subject to the recommendation of a remuneration committee made up entirely or mainly of non – executive directors. Greenbury Report (1995) The rise of remuneration of directors and absence of necessary incentives for directors to perform better works a rising concern for investors and the public at large especially for listed firms. The Greenbury committee was thus established to address the above-mentioned issue. The committee submitted its report in 1995 and much of its findings were incorporated into the code of Best Practice on Directors Remuneration. The report addressed for major issues â€Å"The role addressed for major issues in setting the remuneration package for the CEO and other director. Service contracts - performance†. Hampel Report (1998) After the Greenbury report in 1995, a committee was established in 1996 to review and revise the earlier recommendations of the Cadbury and Greenbury committees. The committee recognized that it was important to understand the situation of each company and the principle of corporate government should be more flexible to be applicable to all companies. While Cadbury and Greenbury reports addressed the abuse of the discretionary authority entrusted to management, Hampel viewed the same to maximize the shareholder value. Combined Code (1998) The combined code was formed from recommendations of Cadbury, Greenbury and Hampel reports put together. It outlined the best practices, which were not mandatory for companies to provide sufficient information to the shareholders about its practices. Higgs Report The report was dedicated towards determining the role, independence and recruitment of non-executive directors. Higgs identified non-executive directors role contributing to corporate strategy, setting remuneration of executive directors, monitoring the performance of executive management et. And recommended that one third board should comprise of non-executive directors. Corporate Governance in Germany In Germany, most of the firms are either public or private limited that have shareholders who control the firm and its policies. Like many other European countries, in Germany there are a number of shareholders in a firm. Both financial and non financial investors hold considerable shares in a firm and are the most influential people. It is therefore important to take into consideration these cross-holdings that investors have when analysing the corporate governance in Germany. According to Charkham (1994), banks have considerable investment in large firms and therefore play a central role in determining the corporate policies of the firm. Banks provide long term loans to the firms and develop long term relationship with the firms in the course of time. Due to these facts the corporate governance in Germany can also be called an ‘insider system (Charkahm, 1994). The German corporate governance has a dual board system comprising of a management board and a supervisory board. The management board handles the day to day activities of the firm and is responsible for management of the whole firm. The supervisory board on the other hand is responsible for appointing the directors in the management board, supervising them and deciding their remuneration. The supervisory board also advices the management board on various aspects of business. According to Charkham (1994), â€Å" if there were a spectrum with ‘confrontation at one end and ‘co-operation at the other, we would definitely place German attitudes and behaviour far closer to the co-operation end than, say, those of British or Americans.† (Charkham, 1994) What Charkham (1994) indicated was how close the shareholders in German firms are to its operations and the interests of different stakeholders are given equal emphasis. This is supported by the Works Constitution Act 1972, according to which work council has the right to deal with employee matters and conditions of work. This is done to improve trust of the employees in the organisation by keeping them informed about companys activities and allowing them to participate in the decisions of the company that may have effects on the workers. However the first corporate governance code, Cromme code, was first published in 2002 as discussed in the next section. Cromme Code (2002) A committee chaired by Dr Gerhard Cromme was assigned the task to submit a report on corporate governance. The committee submitted the Cromme Report, also know as the Cromme Code, which was published in 2002 and has a number of sections that provide guidelines about different aspects of corporate governance. Later in 2005 there some amendments made to the code. Some of the sections that Cromme Code covered are: General Meetings and shareholders According to this section of the code, it is required by the companies to submit annual reports and other financial statements in the general meeting. The meeting decides how the net income has to be disclosed and whether the decision made by the management and the supervisory boards are appropriate and approved. The code also requires the firms to publish these on their website, with any other agenda for public transparency. Co-operation between the Management Board and the Supervisory Board The management board being the set of directors who actually run the company operations, and the supervisory board being the one that advises and sets goals for the management board, it is important that the two boards co-operate with each other. The code therefore suggests that the management board should report its activities to the supervisory board so that the companys strategic approach is rightly followed. The management board can seek guidance of the supervisory board in case of any issue and should look to report these immediately. The supervisory board on the other hand should monitor the progress of the management board and check if the duties assigned to management board are being performed effectively and if there are any changes to be made into them. If there is any deviation from the Cromme Code then it is the duty of the management board and the supervisory board to mention them in the annual report explaining why such deviations had occurred. The company has to keep t hese details available for public viewing for atleast five years. Management Board The management board is set up by the supervisory board, and it is required as per the code to report these notes in the accounts. In case of any difference in the interest of the management board and the supervisory board, it should be immediately conveyed to the supervisory board. This is important so that management board can work independently and in the best interests of the company. The code also mentions that the remuneration of the management board should consist of both fixed salary and variable salary, as in many companies where variable salary is based on performance of the firm. Supervisory Board The supervisory board has the responsibility to determine the composition of the management board and monitoring of the management board. It is therefore important that the supervisory board has suitable knowledge, experience and ability to make good management board and set good targets. Not only this a good supervisory board can provide good guidance to the management board. The code suggests that the supervisory should be independent and not related to the management board so as to avoid any conflict of interests. The code also forbids the chairman of the management board to become the chairman of the supervisory board. The code also states that the management board directors cannot be in the supervisory board of more than 5 non group listed companies. The remuneration of the directors in the supervisory board can contain both fixed and performance related pay and needs to be disclosed n the annual report as well. The remuneration can be determined in the general meeting or in the articles of association. The Cromme Code has an important requirement that if supervisory board take part in less than half of the meetings in a fiscal year then it has to be mentioned in the supervisory board report. Transparency The code requires the management board to disclose any information or fact that might affect the company operations and not known to the public. This is so as to keep all shareholders equally informed about the companys facts. Disclosure should be made through media which is accessible in time to the public. Reporting and Audit of the Financial Resources In order to avoid any fabrication of the reports the code requires the supervisory board or the audit committee to obtain a statement from the auditor clarifying that there is no financial or any other relation between the firm and the auditor that can affect auditors independence. According to the amendments, from 2006 onwards, it is important for the companies to disclose all elements of the directors remuneration. However, if 75 percent of the shareholders feel that further disclosure is not required then the firm can chose to do so. It can be said that the corporate governance code in Germany has provided great emphasis on serving the interests of various stakeholders. Corporate Governance in India Government had set new reforms introduced in India after the economic downturn in 1990-91 to open up the economy to depend on market mechanisms instead of the government. With the new reforms the committee Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which became the regulator of the securities market aimed at transforming the public sector and the banking sector in line with international norms. As the disclosure requirements were introduced to safeguard the interests of shareholders these markets were altered. After the economic downturn in India during 1990 – 91, Indian government introduced new reforms to open the economy to rely more on the market mechanisms instead of the government. The new reforms were mainly aimed at making the public sector more efficient. There were also reforms in the banking sector to bring India in line with international norms, and in the securities market, with the new committee Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) becoming the regulator of the securities market. The securities market was altered as disclosure requirements were introduced to safeguard shareholders interests. Kar (2001) mentions how â€Å" foreign portfolio investment was permitted in India since 1992 and foreign institutional investors also began to play an important role in the institutionalization of the market†. India has a range of business, including the public limited companies listed in the stock exchange, private companies and foreign companies. Main ownership of the companies is difficult to determine as there are very few studies in this area but we can say that after the economy opened up after 1990-91, institutional investors are gaining more shares of the market. The Confederation of Indian Industries published a ‘Desirable Code of Corporate Governance in 1998 and many companies took the recommendation of the committee on board. Still there are many companies that have poor governance practices which has led to the concerns about financial reporting practices, their accountability to losses being suffered by investors and the resultant loss of confidence that this caused. A recent example of Satyam Computers proves this that still there are companies, which are not following the Code of Corporate Governance. SEBI formally established the Committee on Corporate Governance in May 1999, chaired by Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla. The report of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee on Corporate Governance was published in 2000. The report emphasizes the importance of corporate governance for future growth of the economy and the capital market. Three key aspects underlying corporate governance are defined as accountability, transparency, and equality of treatment for all stakeholders in terms of information. The recommendations of the SEBI are split into mandatory requirements, which are essential for effective corporate governance, and non-mandatory requirements. Board of Directors Board in Indian companies should comprise of the Executive Directors and Non-Executive Directors and Independent Directors. The code recommends not less than 50 percent of the board should be comprised of the Non-Executive Directors, where there is a non-executive chairman, and at least one-third of the board should comprise independent directors, where there is an executive chairman, and finally at least half the board should be independent, the latter being mandatory. Nominee Directors The Indian system allows nominee directors appointed by the financial or investment institutions to protect their investment in the company. Such directors should have the same responsibility as other directors and be accountable to the shareholders. Chairman of the Board The roles of the chairman and the chief executive are different, the code identifies the roles as related and may be combined and performed by one person. Audit Committee The audit committee has many mandatory recommendations, like the committee should comprise at least three members, all of them being the non-executive directors. The audit committee is empowered to seek external advice as appropriate and to seek information from any employee. Remuneration Committee Remuneration committee is set up to decide on the remuneration of the executive directors. Committee should be comprised of at least three non-executive, chaired by an independent director. All the remuneration package of the directors must be disclosed in the annual report with details on all the elements including the fixed salary and performance based incentives. Another mandatory requirement is that the board of directors must decide on the remuneration package of the non-executive directors. Board Procedures Board Meetings should be held a minimum of 4 times in a year with a maximum of 4 months between two meetings and that a director must not be involved in more than 10 committees or act as a chairman in more than 5 committees. Management Management should ensure smooth day – to – day activities of the company. There should be disclosure of the companys performance, position and other things of interest to shareholders in the annual report. Shareholders Shareholders are allowed to be able to participate in the annual general meeting, therefore whenever there is a new appointment of a director it must be in the knowledge of the shareholders about the same. Manner of Implementation Companies must have a separate section on Corporate Governance in its annual report. Non-compliance of any recommendations should be highlighted and explained. The Indian code is rather complex as compared to UK and Germany as it has a number of mandatory and non-mandatory recommendations in its code. Although India has good recommendations on corporate governance code but still the acceptance of code in many companies is still lagging. Roles, Duties, Responsibilities and Liabilities of Directors Functions of Directors In 1844 an Act in Parliament described directors as ‘ the persons having direction, conduct, management or superintendence of a companys affairs. (Alfred Read) described director as a special kind of agent, whose function is to control the companys affairs. The directors in a company have certain responsibilities at law, which they must perform efficiently and effectively. In large organisations the major role of the board is to set the context of the strategy and not to formulate the strategy. To accomplish this, the board must keep on reviewing the corporate definition ‘what business are we in. This can be done by assessing and reviewing strategic proposals and changing them by giving comment and advice on the same, by encouraging managers to work on their strategic aims. The results of these sets the standards of the organisation as well as the standards others have to attain. Another challenge for the directors in an organisation is to balance the powers of managers w ith accountability to the shareholders. The board of directors act as the internal mechanism for control to overcome the principal agent problem. Directors also help in acquiring critical resources and responding to environmental forces and their impact on the organisation. These were however how the roles were perceived in the 1970s and after a number of highly publicised cases of corporate fraud and failure there has been a strong focus on policy issues. According to the Companies Act 2006, the duties of the directors have been identified seven-folds. These have been formulated to keep the acts of the directors in the interest of the company they serve and their shareholders. It is quite interesting how the roles and duties are slowly being more specifically defined and the need of the directors to comply with these by enforcing these into the Company Act. The Company Director His Functions, Powers and Duties by Alfred Read, Jordan Sons Limited, London, 1971 Safeguarding the Shareholders An important function of the board is to ensure that the interests of the members are properly safeguarded. If saving and investment are to play their proper part in the future, the investor must be assured of fair treatment and an adequate return, and it is for the directors to ensure that, so far as is consistent with the circumstances, he is not disappointed. Take Over Bids The function of the board in safeguarding the interests of shareholders is of particular importance in take-over situations. The general rule regarding the exercise of directors powers applies that the interests of their company must be their paramount consideration. It follows that the directors of a company, when advising their shareholders whether to accept or reject an offer for their shares, must disregard the effect he take-over will have on their own personal positions. Ensuring Progress Another function is that of ensuring that the operations of the company are kept under constant review so that changes which are necessary are made without delay when changes take place in public taste or in political and economic conditions. Checking Up on Progress A board must check up on results in order to ensure that the policy that has been laid down is being carried out and that the results expected from it have been obtained. Proper statements should be presented to the directors at regular intervals to keep them informed of what is happening. Powers of Directors The duty of the board is to see that the business is carried in accordance with the memorandum and articles of association. While some powers may be reserved for shareholders, some powers can only be exercised by the board of directors. Often the directors are given power to declare and pay interim dividends during the year if in their opinion the profits of the company justify them. It is also usual for the fixed dividends on preference shares to be authorized by the board. Other powers usually vested in the board are the allotment of shares, the making of calls, the forfeiture of shares for non-payment o calls, the appointment of the chairman and of agents, officers and servants of the company and all matters of policy and management which are of special importance. Also the directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the directors. Remuneration of Directors Salary has traditionally been described as a word that represents as monthly income of an individual. Directors Remuneration has been a major concern for investors for long. It is observed that directors remuneration has some or most elements of the following: Basic Salary Benefits in Kind Annual Bonus Share Options Pension Rights Basic Salary Basic Salary is a fixed part of the salary that directors get. The basic is generally in the range that similar jobs are offered. Individual experience, skills, and commitment also form an important factor of determining the basic salary. It is also important for the company to analyze skills, and job security related to the individual while setting the basic pay. Benefits in Kind Certain companies provide the directors with some benefits in kind. For example provision of goods, travel and luxury items are some kinds of benefits given to the directors of the company. It is however important that the remuneration committee keeps a close check on such benefits and reviews them periodically, annually provided to improve executive performance. Annual Bonuses Annual bonuses are given based on the performance of company or division. It is mostly a variable form of remuneration and is generally a percentage of basic pay. Annual bonuses can act as motivation for directors to improve their performance. It is therefore important that the remuneration committee sets the good performance targets for the directors. Long Term Incentive Schemes (Share Options) Executive share option is a long-term incentive scheme that has been used by companies for long. Share Options are provided at a lower price than that in the market or at some future date at current prices. This is a factor used to align directors and shareholders interests. The directors thus would want the share prices to go up so as to benefit from the returns from their holdings. However, the directors may sell off their shares and loose interest in share prices thereafter. In UK a provision in the code C6, limits directors to exercise their share options, for at least three years. This is done to keep directors interest in the share prices high for at least that period. A benefit for share options is that it is not taxed until the shares are sold and thus provide the directors a non-taxed form of investment for a specified period. Pension Rights â€Å"Pension Entitlements are a key element in the total Remuneration, with important longer term implications for the individual and the company† (Greenbury, 1995). The pension provision is carefully considered by the remuneration committees, and is measured in terms of the value of pension entitlements earned during the year. (As written in proposal needs more changes but not sure of the books from where it was written) Remuneration can be defined as the aim to reward people fairly, consistently and equitably in accordance to their value to the organization. The impact of executive remuneration on the efficiency of the company can be explained with many different theories. Other policies and theories on effective remuneration, like theory of Human Motivation, are based on the need for stability and sustained staff commitment. Also there are surveyed and comparable pay market for different grades and specialists. Remuneration also depends on the pay structure practice in comparable organizations. Members of board of directors who are not the employees or major shareholders are paid for their services as directors of the company. In the past directors compensation was relatively dependent on the number of hours they devoted to the company but according to the new federal law a new sense of public outrage has appeared and a new fear of shareholder litigation has caused directors to work even harder as before and hence many of the determinants have changed since then.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Community Gardens Essay -- Personal Narrative Culture Papers

Community Gardens As I tire of the ongoing struggle between my umbrella and the wind, I look for a warm, sheltered corner to pause and pull myself together. All I see is a deserted parking lot. Frustrated, I step onto the concrete under the awning of a neighboring building and fumble with the weathered wiring of my umbrella. Fighting the torrential rain isn’t my idea of a nice afternoon as my venture to explore the picturesque EastVillage turns into hugging the side of a building to escape a storm, staring at black pavement marked and divided with white lines. As I muse over how unpleasing the aesthetics of a parking lot are, I notice a worn 8 by 11 sticker stuck to the wall of the building. The phrase Save Our Gardens frames a torn caricature of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. I wonder why someone would put up a poster in this parking lot because no one is likely to see it. The tears on the sticker stand out because they remove the first printed layer of the image. Someone who inhabited this space just as I have has made a physical statement representing his or her response to the sticker. Was it the mocking picture of Giuliani that captured their attention and inspired their resistance? Was it the gardens? Or was it the location? Regardless, it is clear that the Save Our Gardens sticker has aroused controversy. I am reminded of â€Å"Enactments of Power: The Politics of Performance Space,† an essay by Ngugi Wa Thiong’O that investigates the rich content of a performance space in the context of post-colonial Kenya. He explains that the â€Å"space is never empty† (291). According to Ngugi, even a space as sterile as a parking lot can be â€Å"the site of physical, social, and psychic forces in society† that often reveal points of contention, mani... ...l interview. 23 Feb. 2003. Geertz, Clifford. â€Å"Deep Play: Notes on a Balinese Cockfight.† The World Through Art: The Advanced College Essay. Ed. Darlene A. Forrest, Pat C. Hoy II and Randy Martin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 145-78. Goulish, Matthew. â€Å"How Does a Work Work Where?† The World Through Art: The Advanced College Essay. Ed. Darlene A. Forrest, Pat C. Hoy II and Randy Martin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 184-87. Greenblatt, Stephen. â€Å"Culture.† The World Through Art: The Advanced College Essay. Ed. Darlene A. Forrest, Pat C. Hoy II and Randy Martin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 188-95. Sonia. Personal interview. 23 Feb. 2003. Thiong’O, NgugiWa. â€Å"Enactments of Power: The Politics of Performance Space.† The World Through Art: The Advanced College Essay. Ed. Darlene A. Forrest, Pat C. Hoy II and Randy Martin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 287-319.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Salvador Dali :: Biography

Salvador Dali precise and detailed painful reality and, placed them inside somber and depressing landscapes as in The persistence of Memory' in 1931 (Smith, 2002, 1/1). His paintings showed a surrealist maturity since he was twenty. From 1926 to 1929, Dali begun making objects loaded with modern sexual symbols. For example, showing a dirty figure filled with excrement as in 'The Lugubrious Game' done in 1929. At this period, surrealists were very attracted to Salvador Dali because of his strong personality and his violent works and paintings full of sexual and excrements allusions (Neret, 2000, p.21). The trompe-l'oeuil photographs, by Salvador Dali, took surrealist paintings to another level by using techniques never used before. These paintings are filled with unusual shapes, double-sided figures and, anamorphosis, that are distorted images that could be well understood only if seen from a certain angle. They made him "a quarter century in advance, the patron saint of American photo-realists" (NÃ ©ret, 2000, p.27). They were used to transcribe the image of Dali's dreams. This was a revelation in his surrealist paintings mainly caused by a very special person in Dali's life called Gala. As a person, Salvador Dali was very special and had a revelation in his life by meeting Helena Diakonoff or Gala. It all begun by a visit of Andre Breton, Louis Aragon and, Paul Eluard to Dali. They were three masterminds of the surrealism movement. At this time, Gala was Paul Eluard's wife and the minute she entered Salvador's home everything changed in his life. She was for Dali, "the woman of his childhood dream"

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The wise judge

Anna and Her Toys Once there was a little girl named Anna who is very active in her class. She participates in all the contests and she always wins. She always perfects her quizzes and she always recites in their discussions. She is the top of their class. Her parents are very proud of her achievements and as a reward they give everything that she wants. She demanded for toys and for new gadgets. They gave her everything she asked for.So she played all day long and forgotten all her assignments. She didn't want to study because she is so distracted with her toys and gadgets. She didn't even want to go to school anymore. She Just wanted to stay at home and play. Because of that, her grades became low and she's not the top of her class anymore. Her parents even scolded her but she didn't care because she loves her toys and gadgets so much. One night, the little girl dreamt about her toys.They became bigger than she is and they were holding her parents taking them away from her, she tri ed to chase them and save them but she was way too small to keep up. Anna woke up crying and went running to the room of her parents. She hugged them and promised them that she will study very well again and be the top of her class. She then kept her toys In a box and only played with them when she finishes her home works and at weekends.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Julius Caesar Seminar Questions

Julius Caesar Seminar Questions 1. When Caesar says that Cassius thinks too much, I agree. Cassius tends to look into the details and over think simple situations. He becomes very meticulous about how the group of the conspirators is organized. Also, while Cassius is the one who originally comes up with the idea of the conspiracy and that he wants Brutus to be in charge, he thinks through the plan, yet does not want to take responsibility. Cassius just about argues with himself, due to too many thoughts running through his mind. He thinks about so vile a thing as Caesar! But, O grief, where hast thou led me?I perhaps speak this before a willing bondman. Then I know my answer must be made. But I am armed and dangers to me indifferent,† (1. 3. 11-115), proving that his thoughts are all over the place. 2. Brutus does not want the conspirators to swear an oath of allegiance because he feels that it is bad â€Å"to think that or our cause or our performance did need an oath; when e very drop of blood that every Roman bears, and nobly bears is guilty,† (2. 1. 136-139). Brutus obviously feels that if their intentions and motivations to carrying out the assassination of Caesar, they do not need an oath.An oath causes people to get lazy because they begin to lean on the idea that, no matter what happens. 3. Caesar’s response to Calphurnia’s fears adds credence to Brutus’ and Cassius’ fears about Caesar because he does not heed warnings. This response might add to the pattern Caesar might follow when other senators bring up new ideas. This can be very serious for others that want to have somewhat of a say when it comes to their opinion on a serious matter. Calpurnia notes that his â€Å"wisdom is consumed in confidence,† (2. 2. 49), showing that Caesar has the idea that what he thinks is what is to happen, without any other opinion. 4.The significance of Caesar’s â€Å"north star† speech at the Capitol is that Caesar establishes his ideals around his role in power. Caesar frames his arrogance and stubborn nature by stating â€Å"there is no fellow in the firmament,† (3. 1. 62). In his eyes, he walks on water to all of those that are his supporters and followers. Caesar is overly confident, providing reason to the motivations of the conspirators in their quest to assassinate Caesar. 5. The third plebeian’s cry of â€Å"Let him be Caesar,† (3. 2. 52) is ironic because, while the people do not know of the truth being the conspiracy, the goal was to take out Caesar, not replace him.While their quest seems successful, the true hardships have yet to begin. 6. In the play, Shakespeare portrays the common man as almost incoherent. The people constantly seem to be easily swayed by the words of each and every important character. Also, all of the common people are followers. Not one stands up to the officials. At one moment, they are saying, â€Å"This Caesar was a tyrant,â₠¬  (3. 2. 74) and the next they say that they must â€Å"tear him to pieces! He’s a conspirator,† (3. 3. 29), now angered with the retaliation against Caesar. 7. Shakespeare portrays the noblemen in the play as gallant but also cowards.While they follow through with what they originally decide to believe in, in the end, they are left questioning their motives. While I commend them for following through with their original endeavors, they begin to get rather brutal. An example is when Antony creates a hit list and says that, â€Å"these many, then, shall die; their names are pricked,† (4. 1. 1-2). The noblemen want to be noble and honorable, yet they go to such brutal extremes. 8. The idea that Brutus never gives in to Cassius shows a little bit of stubbornness, but it also shows determination. Brutus feels that he knows what is best for the conspirators.The difference between the ways Brutus is resilient and that of Cassius is how firm Brutus is. He makes his p oint, but shows its advantages to different members. He shows compassion when he says that â€Å"when every drop of blood every Roman bears, and nobly bears, is guilty of a several bastardy if he do break the smallest particle of any promise that hath passed from him,† (2. 1. 134-140). Brutus is saying that an oath would be pointless because if a man were held responsible for every promise he ever broke, the consequences would be endless. 9. Calpurnia and Portia both seem like protective and honorable wives.Calpurnia is more focused on her husband taking his warnings seriously. She is not focused on the details of everything that happens, but is focused on the main idea that Caesar’s, her husband, life is in danger. Portia, on the other hand, is more focused on what Brutus is doing. She wants to be informed of the action rather than simply protecting her husband from what is happening, whether she as an explanation or not. She is angered that, at the moment, apparently , â€Å"within the bond of marriage†¦it is expected I should know no secrets that appertain to you [Brutus},† (2. 1. 280-282). She feels wronged by this.Portia is driven by facts and information, while Calpurnia is driven by intuition and her feelings. 10. Cassius tells Brutus that if he himself fears the reign of Caesar, that he, Brutus, must stop it. Cassius provides Brutus with logical and emotional factors for reasons as to why Brutus should lead the conspiracy. Cassius informs Brutus that, â€Å"There was a Brutus once that would have brooked th’ eternal devil to keep his state in Rome as easily as a king,† (1. 2. 159-160). Cassius makes the point that Brutus would never let Rome fall by the hands of Caesar. Cassius is basically telling Brutus what to think and what to feel.While this is cleverly manipulative of Cassius, it shows that Brutus has some mental weakness due to the fact that he is even able to be subject to mind games. 11. Brutus and Cassiu s are both leaders. While Brutus takes charge and responsibility of the conspiracy, Cassius is the one who took responsibility of persuading Brutus to join in and become the leader. While this shows a manipulative side of Cassius, Brutus has the same. He manages to convince all of the conspirators that an official oath is not necessary, when, in reality, it is often used as a sacred promise to follow through with a plan.In my mind, a sacred oath would have been somewhat important to the success of the plan, but, as Brutus points out, â€Å"what other oath than honesty to honesty engaged that this shall be,† (2. 1. 126-128). In Brutus’ mind, honesty and honor is all that is needed in a group decision to proceed with the assassination of Caesar. Cassius strongly disagrees, but, while both men have conflicting ideas, their core values are quite similar, showing in their agreement to create the conspiracy. 12. Cassius wants to create the conspiracy for more personal reason ing.Cassius, speaking about Caesar, notes that â€Å"this man is now become a god, and Cassius is a wretched creature and must bend his body,† (1. 2. 115-117). From this, one can tell that Cassius is more focused on his personal aspirations to be free of Caesar’s grip on politics. Brutus, on the other hand, is more focused on the well being of the people of Rome. He wants them to have a fair, focused, and just ruler. While Brutus and Cassius’ motives for enabling the conspiracy could not be more different, the men find common ground on which they agree to attempt a successful assassination of Caesar.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Business: Public Relations and Press Release

The website is http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/About-JPMC/about-us.htm. The sender is JPMorgan Chase’s public relations and communications department. Looking at the variety and richness of messages heralding the successes and profitability of the bank, it is obvious that the message is intended for a variety of stakeholders like investors, potential investors, shareholders, customers and potential customers, employees and even its competitors. Analyze the integrated business communication.Integrated business communication is defined as â€Å"†¦the process of planning, executing and evaluating unified messages that create stakeholder relationships and build brand recognition.† (Stuart, Sarow, and Stuart, 2007,p.14) The press release section uses information from public relations, management, organizational changes, marketing and incorporate these into a series of dynamic message that paints a picture of the company as a whole making it possible for stake hol ders to form a comprehensively positive image of the company. For example, if one looks at the press release of April 25th of 2013, one realizes it heralds through its title â€Å"Chase Ranks #1 in Mobile Banking Functionality† a technological milestone that not only places the company ahead of its competitors, but also entices prospective customers who might see this as a plus.In this particular press release,  many stakeholders are targeted at the same time. In another press release dated April 17th 2013 titled â€Å"100.000 Jobs mission Announces 64,628 U. S Veterans hired Through First Quarter2013†, the company uses public relations technique to announce its position as an outstanding responsible corporate citizen through offering employment to a target under-privileged group. This particular release serves also as a public relationship announcement to prospective veterans that employment is done on the spot. This is an image building and publicity stunt that als o targets a wide variety of stakeholders. Assess the media richness of the section.To achieve its communication strategy, the company uses both audio and video presentations, emails, news feeds, downloadable data and links to other pertinent information that may be important sources of enrichment to its readers or stakeholders. Of particular interest is its use of webcasts and live feeds or reproduced information that can be viewed live or at the stakeholders’ convenience by way of archived presentations. Describe how the message is framed.Framing according to Robert Entman is â€Å"selecting, and highlighting some facets of events or issues, and making connections among them so as to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation and /or solution†, (Stuart, Sarow, and Stuart, 2007,p.18). This is exemplified in the very setup of the website and the various breakdown of the message into sections, topics, dates in a coherent and easily accessible way through internet ac cess and other communication tools. For example, the topics are arranged beginning with investor relations, financial information, CIO reports, annual report and proxy, shareholder presentations, corporate responsibility to feedback link in frequently asked questions. A cursory look at the table of contents shows that there is a deliberate attempt at presenting a unified message about the company to its stakeholders that paints a bright light, vision and growth with special attention to the shareholders.Identify opinion leaders.Opinion leaders that are targeted by the communication are shareholders, prospective employees, employees, customers, prospective customers, government regulators, generally known as stakeholders. Make recommendations  for improving word choice.The choice of words while technically appropriate to its audience, may be confusing to the rank and file customer and investor who may not understand the use of technical words. This is seen in the earnings reports, and other communiquà ©s in the website. I would also recommend that concrete words be used to avoid ambiguity. A more simple but concise language devoid of ambiguity, double meaning laden with cramped up facts and data is recommended considering the targeted audience and general public to whom the message is addressed.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Music and why it should be used in schools

Music is a form of art. It is used daily in many parts of the world, different kinds for everyone. It improves focus, gives students a better mood and it helps pass the time. Even though it may create an antisocial environment listening to music with headphones in classes has more good outcomes then bad. Students minds wander, No matter what. But personally when I am listening to music and working I'm more concentrated and I work faster. A wandering mind is unhappy, most of that time it is spent focusing on the inadequacy of life; music brings you back to the present.In your classes you need to focus. And what better way to do that then when listening to music? Though it has been proven that â€Å"some students can study effectively with music playing, while others are distracted by any outside stimulus†. You would find that more students can listen and study at the same time then people that cannot study with music playing in the background. â€Å"It breaks you out of Just t hinking one way,† said Dry. Teresa Leslie, an assistant professor in the music therapy program at the University of Miami.In biological terms melodious sounds help encourage the release of dopamine in the reward area of the brain, as would eating a delicacy, looking at something appealing or smelling a pleasant aroma† said Dry. Amid Sod. That being said listening to music in the classrooms would bring a positive vibe to students as dopamine releases â€Å"good† feelings. Students who are in a better mood give the teachers they are with a better attitude, meaning that they do not deal with kids who are in a bad mood due to the fact that the dopamine did not release Into he reward section of the brain.When students have a good attitude they are more than likely to learn better. And If students learn better they will get a better grade. When students listen to music In class It passes time faster and then they will not be rushing to finish before the bell rings to go to their next class. Cons of listening to music with headphones In class are equally Important to the pros of using headphones In class. One of the cons being that It may create an antisocial classroom environment with everyone listening to their music and not participating tit their peers as often as they would If they did not use headphones.Another con would be subliminal messages In songs that the kids are unaware of, changing their way of thoughts about certain things. Also If an alarm or announcement were to go off the students would not be able to hear It as their music may be up to loud. As you can see listening to music with headphones In can benefit the students and teachers In their classroom environment, In both good and bad ways. Even If It's for certain days of the week students should be given the chance to prove how they learn with USIA.I'm not saying that they need to listen to the music constantly because they still need to pay attention to lectures or presentation s from others. And It should be Individually discussed between the student and teacher. So If It makes the loudest and most difficult student to teach be able to learn, why not try It? Music and why it should be used in schools By skeletally headphones in classes has more good outcomes then bad. Student's minds wander, kids who are in a bad mood due to the fact that the dopamine did not release into than likely to learn better.And if students learn better they will get a better grade. When students listen to music in class it passes time faster and then they will not be music with headphones in class are equally important to the pros of using headphones in class. One of the cons being that it may create an antisocial classroom environment with everyone listening to their music and not participating with their peers as often as they would if they did not use headphones. Another con would be subliminal messages in songs that the kids are unaware of, changing their ay of thoughts about certain things.Also if an alarm or announcement were to go off the students would not be able to hear it as their music may be up to loud. As you can see listening to music with headphones in can benefit the students and teachers in their classroom environment, in both good and bad ways. Even if it's for certain still need to pay attention to lectures or presentations from others. And it should be individually discussed between the student and teacher. So if it makes the loudest and most difficult student to teach be able to learn, why not try it?

Friday, September 13, 2019

Health Fair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health Fair - Essay Example The group was culturally homogeneous including whites, Hispanics and some pacific islanders. Most of the people were wearing jeans with tee shirts and tennis shoes. There were a few in shorts. The girls and boys were dressed the same with tee shirts and jeans. There were interesting things to note about grouping. Most of them seemed to group up with ages and some were girl, boy matched but in general it was groups of kids that looked athletic together and groups of kids that tended toward education together and then the obese kids either alone or with someone else that was obese. The group of adolescents seemed to be the ones most likely to tease each other. Some of them were having problems with their skin and some of the girls were developing physically. There were a few that were trying to act macho or stand out and several of them were already using piercings and colors in their hair. This age group was a little confusing. They seem to span many years when there are just a few. It certainly is a time when they are beginning to want to be just like each other or totally different from each other.. Dental health is what this writer participated in. The questions that were ask at the booth were how many times should you brush your teeth every day and how many times should you floss How often should you go to the dentist. I, personally did not learn a lot about this topic because dental health is extremely important to me so I try to stay on top of

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Human Resources in Probank Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Human Resources in Probank - Case Study Example Granted this is conducted in a fashion that suits the conventional research methodology, it becomes relatively easier to assign a research method that generates evidence for the research findings (Sato, 2000). At this juncture the findings and outcomes triggers the development of an obvious logic essential to make my hypothesis worth the expected consideration. Probank, a medium-sized Greek bank which started operations in 2001, has been growing at a remarkably fast pace, and is on track to get listed on the Athens Stock Exchange within 2008. The bank's Human Resources strategy is notable by its absence, but this could be viewed as not very surprising, insofar as the rise of the bank has been meteoric, the whole sector has been growing and operational issues were higher up on the agenda. As the organisation is maturing, this report will attempt to understand the mechanics of HR within Probank, including the obligatory devolution of personnel activities to line/branch managers, and evaluate the bank's performance in a number of key HR areas, namely knowledge management, performance management, employee satisfaction/retention, and the recruitment and development of managers/executives. Even though Probank do have a personnel department, it is very small (3 employees) and distinctively non-strategic, almost confining itself to purely administ rative matters. While there has been a lot of discussion about the devolution of HR to line management, there remains a very clearly identifiable gap in the published academic literature in that only Thornhill and Saunders (1998) have attempted to analyse a sizable organisation lacking a human resources department. On the strength of the (relatively) tiny size of the department and the impression conveyed by Probank managers during our conversations at the start of this project, it is felt that the "absentee specialist" paradigm effectively holds true for Probank, and, where applicable, parallels will be attempted with the Thornhill and Saunders (1998) study, in an attempt to evaluate the personnel situation at the bank, identify strong points in the current policy as well as its weaknesses, highlight areas for improvement and suggest ways for it to take place, considering both the "absentee specialist" scenario as well as one of more formal HR involvement. Cardinal to this report is the desire to identify a reconciling gap that will fill the existent void between academic literature and direct policy inclusions that have an intricate bearing on the justification, either covertly or overtly on the backseat role assigned to conventional human resource practice. It should be noted that, the depth of research carried out on this topic is very limited and where it is available is very scanty and vague. In this report, the practicality of the policy is explored from all angles using Probank as the main case in point. Suffice to explicitly state at this point that my report seeks to highlight and answer a number of pertinent questions that are directly related to the research goal. Measured by the overall performance of the bank since its inception, it should be asked

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Functions of GCC Central Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Functions of GCC Central Bank - Essay Example The novel set of commercial subtleties will bring significant demographic and economic changes within individual member countries. It is because of this that the merger seeks to inaugurate a fledging monetary union. The management and operational structure will have to accommodate the system of Islamic banking in its structure (Sturm Michael, 2005). The Central Bank of the Gulf Cooperation Council shares critical financial management essentials. The difference comes in the scope of autonomy, the depth of economic power of the member states and the unique geopolitical facts of the Gulf region. The comparison is made against the already established European Central Bank. Some of the objectives include the elimination of foreign exchange risks, expanding the nature of global financial bargaining power, stabilizing the currencies of the member unions and generally assuring the economic power of the nations involved. Challenges are bound to arise, including the fluctuation of the international oil prices that is the economic backbone of most Gulf States. There also are many wars and instability in the region and religious in-fighting even within Islam, the single dominant religion in the region. The Gulf Cooperation Council embraces the nations within the Arab Persian Gulf, leaving out Iraq. The member states include Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The suggestion to establish the confederation was inspired by Saudi Arabia. It then was initiated in Abu Dhabi on May 25th 1981 after which it was legitimately actualized on November 11th 1981 in Abu Dhabi. The members saw it necessary to form a mutual currency and establish a Common Bank. The hint of the Gulf Central bank was agreed on 5th of May 2009 at the advice-giving gathering held in Riyadh. It was unanimously agreed that Riyadh, Saudi Arabia would play host to the fresh bank. The proposed bank has however never materialized. Autonomous