Harrah’s Entertainment Essay

1. BACKGROUND 2. UPDATING 3. PEOPLE INVOLVED 3.1 Philip Satre: Philip G. Satre, Private investor since 2005. Mr. Satre was Chief Executive Officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., a provider of branded casino entertainment, from 1994 to 2003 and a director of Harrah’s from 1988 to  2005, serving as Chairman of the Board from 1997 to 2005. Mr. Satre has held various other positions of increasing responsibility with Harrah’s since 1980, when he joined the company as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, until his retirement in 2005. Prior to joining Harrah’s, Mr. Satre practiced law in Reno, Nevada. He has been a director of International Game Technology since January 2009 and its Chairman since December 2009, and a director of NV Energy, Inc. since 2005 and its Chairman since 2008. Mr. Satre served as a director of Rite Aid Corporation from 2005 to 2011 and Tabcorp Holdings, Ltd. (Australia) from 2000 to 2007. Phil as CEO of the company is in accordance with the strategies Harrah ´s adopted to give its customers a better service and thus to ensure and increase their loyalty, the first is the independence that the company, ie, does not depend on shops, restaurants, bars and high income has come from their own casinos and second concerns the relationship of the company with his frequent customers because this leads to an increase compared to the benefits that would bring to the company On the other hand Phil chose to invest in the and development intellectuals and technological capabilities that are needed to collect and analyze data on customers. 3.2 Gary Loveman : Gary Loveman has served as a member of Coachs Board of Directors since January 2002. Mr. Loveman is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (f/k/a Harrahs Entertainment, Inc.), a casino entertainment company; he has held the position of President since April 2001, Chief Executive since January 2003, and Chairman since January 2005. He held various other executive positions at Caesars Entertainment Corporation from May 1998 to April 2001. From 1989 to 1998, Mr. Loveman was Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, where his responsibilities included teaching M.B.A. and executive education students, research and publishing in the field of service management, and consulting  and advising large service companies. Mr. Loveman serves as a Director of Caesars Entertainment Corporation and FedEx Corporation, and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Childrens Hospital Boston. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Loveman served as Harrah’s Entertainment’s chief operating officer from 1998 until 2003. Under Loveman’s leadership Harrah’s began to focus on building loyalty and bringing more gamblers to the casino. Loveman also established a rewards program for Harrah’s employees of all levels, based on customer satisfaction. 3.3 Marilyn Winn Marilyn Winn is the President of Wynn Las Vegas, LLC, owner and operator of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the properties. Mrs. Spiegel served in executive positions at Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., including Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Las Vegas and the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Shreveport Hotel & Casino in Louisiana and Vice President of Human Resources for the company’s Southern Nevada operations. Mrs. Spiegel began working for Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. in 1988. Mrs. Spiegel is a member of the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Bureau board of directors. Marilyn lives and breathes Harrah ´s CRM culture, she says â€Å" My job is to make money for Harrah ´s entertainment by creating a great climate for customers and employees†. 4. ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED 5. MAIN PROBLEM According to that seen in the case, Harrah’s is a company that provides entertainment and accommodation in resorts located in the United States. It  is one of the largest companies that offer entertainment and luxurious accommodations. As we saw in the case, the company is very concerned about the management of client relationships and gathering information through customer service, they generate what they call â€Å"customer insights † which used to contribute to the experience customer on site and the service provided . But there is a problem in all this is that according to the text, are based on surveys of their best customers, those who spend more money on their facilities. This makes the experiences and new trends in customer service are made based only on the opinions that make customers more money. And behold, when the service is bad for customers who rarely attend the place, because they give preference to senior clients and there is no equal treatment to the client. According to a page (www.tripadvisor.com.uk), a website known for the various reviews that users have to say about hotels and tourism, found that Harrah’s has a considerable level of critical customer service as you can see below: Here we can see that there is a high level when the bad reviews, well then we can see that the majority is in customer service: So this is where we see the different views of users as follows: â€Å"Overpriced NO WIFI Dirty Glass in Room – Go Elsewhere!† In conclusion, we can see that the company has flaws in the customer service industry only focuses on improving customer experiences which have more money, but relates to neglect or treat with new clients of the company and this is where most of the complaints are .The company has to conduct a study and improve treatment for all the public, since the treatment for a person with so much money as a new customer who wants to know the hotel has to be the same way because the company cannot stay focused on a group of public, the company must open the focus group to be able to grow so large scale. 6. STRATEGY (SOLUTION) ANALYSIS QUESTIONS   To what extent is Harrah’s in danger of a competitor copying its system? The risk is very high because the world of market competition is always present and always we see companies that want to copy the system of Harrah’s, Harrah’s system is so good that is under scrutiny of other companies, if any competitor is filtered and copy the Harrah’s system could be a serious situation because the competitor could take Harrah customers, it is very easy for a company to be filtered so Harra must make a supervise to ensure that the information is not given to competitors for this they must train employees instilling values ​​of honesty and gives them ​​a friendly and pleasant working environment.

Chemistry project 12th Essay

This reaction is highly exothermic, but that is not why the plastic produced is referred to as â€Å"thermoset†. Bakelite is a space-network polymer. Unlike linear and branched polymers, which are composed of long molecules that make them more or less crystalline, space-network polymers are highly and irregularly cross-linked throughout the structure. The sheer extent of the cross-linking means that a sample of the material is essentially one gigantic molecule. Although heat softens and melts linear and branched polymers, heating doesn’t soften space-network polymers because such a softening would require the breaking of covalent bonds. In fact, heating usually produces additional cross-linking in these polymers, making them harder. It is for this reason that space-network polymers, such as bakelite, are called thermoset plastics. PROCEDURE: 1. Take 5ml acetic acid and 2.5ml formaldehyde in a breaker. 2. Add 2mg of phenol to this solution and stir the mixture. 3. Wrap a cloth loosely round the beaker. 4. Stir the solution well while heating. 5. Pass dry hydrochloric acid gas or add a few ml of concentric hydrochloric acid into the mixture. Observation: A large mass of light pink plastic is produce within 5 minutes. Precautions: a) The face of the beaker should not be towards the face of the worker during heating. b) Hydrochloric acid should not be poured into reaction mixture very slowly. c) The contact of phenol with skin should be avoided. Caution: As the reaction is sometimes vigorous while adding hydrochloric acid .It is better to be a few feet away from the beaker till the reaction in complete. Scope of the experiment: Uses of Bakelite are following: Substitute: Bakelite is used as a substitute of porcelain & other opaque ceramic materials. Board/table top: It is used in the area of board & table top games e.g. Billiard balls ,Dominoes etc. Mounting: It is used in mounting of metal samples. It is used in whistles, cameras, solid body& electric guitars. Bakelite is very suitable for emerging Electric & automobile industries because as its extra ordinary resistance but also due to its thermal resistance. It has been widely used in jewellery products. References: 1. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bakelite 2. www.scribd.com 3. Comprehensive chemistry practical class XII Acknowledgment: I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the project. My deepest thanks to , the guide of the project for guiding and correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. She has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed. I express my thanks to the principal, for extending his support. My deep sense of gratitude to the in charge of chemistry lab at CSE for their support and guidance. Thanks and appreciation to the helpful people at for the support. I would also thank my school and my friends without whom this project would have been a distant reality. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and well wishers.

Research about Andre Crouch (famous gospel singer) Paper

About Andre Crouch (famous gospel singer) - Research Paper Example He was a vocal arranger for LA recording sessions and was quick to infuse the much needed gospel sounds into the songs. He worked with various artists, perhaps picking their styles to create a unique intonation for his music. His gospel music genius can perhaps be seen by listening to his songs such as He’s Worthy, Can’t Nobody do me like Jesus, Man in the Mirror, The Force behind the Power, and Let the Church say Amen (Jones 83). Besides composing gospel sons, crouch is also the author of the best selling and an award-winning book Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, among other books that have been acclaimed internationally. Andy was the senior editor of Christian today, a magazine that majorly talks about Christianity and perception of people about religion in the contemporary times. He has directed religious documentary videos as well as a number of missionary works all over the world. He served as a senior board member of Fuller Theological Seminary, Christian organization concerned with child exploitation in Southeast Asia and Haiti. He has contributed in a number of articles tackling diverse topics ranging from religion to economy; politics to social warfare. He is rightly referred to as the founder of modern gospel. He did help to bridge the gap between black American and White churches (Reed 23). His signature style is the slow and tuneful gospel music that has mostly be mistaken to be secular. His spiritual growth was inherited from his father, a staunch church founder who greatly influenced Crouch’s spiritual growth Although he is dead, Andrew Crouch will be best remembered for his role in black American gospel music. He influenced Americans in every simple way possible. He was charismatic and perhaps helped to bridge the gap of the racial divide that has been part of American identity for a considerable length of time. He communicated through his song in a unique way than others of others before his time. He

Mobile Banking and Crowdsourcing and Networking Research Paper

Mobile Banking and Crowdsourcing and Networking - Research Paper Example Experts suggest that success rates can be relatively high in the case of smishing attacks. In case of vishing, voice communication is used to obtain unauthorized access to an individual’s account information. In cloning, identity of one mobile phone is copied to another and this practice gives the hacker access to user’s bank account details (Mobile banking overview 2009). Finally, a stolen or lost smartphone may give the victim’s account details to outsiders. In all these cases, the reliability of mobile banking transactions is challenged. B. Admittedly, the development of PDAs, iPads, e-Readers has drastic effects on items like newspapers, paper books, music CDs, and game DVDs. According to a report, the circulation of print newspapers has been alarmingly declining since early turn of the 21st century (The State of the News Media). The same trend is reported in the case of paper books too. Compared to printed newspapers and books, online books and news media are more convenient and cheaper to users today. To illustrate, many of the online books and news channels are available absolutely for free of cost and a user can obtain required information quickly using search options. Similarly, the sale of music CDs and game DVDs has been significantly dropped with the innovation of devices like PDAs and iPads. People can easily and freely download music and game products directly from the internet using those devices. A. While comparing with the traditional marketing, advertising, product testing, and product design with corresponding crowdsourcing based methods, it seems that crowdsourcing constitutes the future of content marketing. â€Å"Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributors from a large group of people and especially the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers† (  Kimbrough, 2013). Since the major aim of every business is to design

Assignment 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Assignment 6 - Essay Example Thus, this will basically explain how we each deal with emotions. There are many factors that explain the universality of emotional expression in various cultures. These factors are expression, perception, experience, antecedents, appraisal, and concept. These factors basically shape who we are. Charles Darwin gave us the basis on which to discover the universality of human emotion. He suggested that facial expressions, like other behaviors, are biologically innate and evolutionary adaptive. And humans express emotions in their faces in exactly the same ways around the world regardless of culture or race. In this he was right. Culture plays a major role in how we react to different situations daily. Whether these situations are social, business, with family, with friends, or with strangers; we react differently. We use cultural display rules to help guide our reactions to each and every situation that we are in. These rules are learned early in life and by adulthood our reactions to these rules are pretty much automatic. Thus, facial expressions of emotion are under the dual influences of universal, biologically innate factors along with culturally specific learned display rules. Furthermore, when the displays rules do not apply to the situations, the innate universal facial expressions tend to come forth. That explains why people can differ in their emotional expression despite the fact that out expressional base is all the same. Culture has shown me that our expressions can vary. However, the value of morality that I choose to uphold allows for my general reactions to various situations to be somewhat different than other people. I choose to go with a more Christian value base and a more professional base when I am at work. I try to be friendly to everyone that I meet. Thus, I am generally regarded as a dependable person and a well liked person. I feel that culture is now more degrading a person than ever before in my life. Thus,

How do authoritarianism and sultanism differ, and which type of Essay

How do authoritarianism and sultanism differ, and which type of authoritarianism defines Arab monarchies Give contemporary exam - Essay Example The whole of the twentieth century has gained importance in history for creating more authoritative regimes that include Hitler’s rule of Germany, Stalin’s regime in the then USSR, Pol Pot’s reign in Cambodia and Mao’s brutal rule in China, than for democratic transformations. It is easy to relate non-democratic regimes as historical and political anomalies in the twenty-first century, especially after the collapse of the communist USSR during the late 1980s and the dramatic revolution in the Middle East (also known as the Arab Spring of 2011); however, it would be overly optimistic to view non-democratic authoritative bodies as outdated. Such perspectives fail to take into account the possibilities that forcibly removing one authoritarian leader may simply lead to another one taking his/her place, or it may also lead to foreign invasion, or even a failed state. A study of literature showed that the breakdown of the USSR and the subsequent collapse of comm unism did not bring democracy to countries such as Uzbekistan, neither does the ousting of authoritative heads in Yemen, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt guarantee stable democracies in all these states. In this context, Way claimed that when the collapse of the USSR and the Arab Spring of 2011 are compared, it reveals the likelihood of the survival of authoritative regimes, ‘and that those [Arab] countries which do witness authoritarian collapse will be less likely to democratize than their European counterparts were’ (2011: 17). It is noteworthy that the Middle East has singularly remained steadfast in maintaining a non-democratic authoritative regime in power in the form of monarchy or sultanism. Sultanism is a type of  authoritarian regime, where  a ruler is present in all aspects of governance. Sultanism  is a term derived from the Arabic word sultan, which denotes an absolute monarch in Muslim societies. In the context of authoritative regimes, as seen in the Middle East and North Africa, Belling said: While the number of electoral democracies [in Middle East and North Africa] has nearly doubled since 1972, the number in this region has registered an absolute decline. Today, only two out of twenty-one countries qualify as electoral democracies, down from three observed in 1972. Stagnation is also evident in the guarantee of political rights and civil liberties. While the number of countries designated free by Freedom House has doubled in the Americas and in the Asia-Pacific region, increased tenfold in Africa, and risen exponentially in Central and East Europe over the past thirty years, there has been no overall improvement in the Middle East and North Africa. Aggregate scores in 2002 differ little from 1972. Fifteen countries are designated not free, five partly free, and only one free. While a few countries, notably Morocco, Jordan, Bahrain, and Yemen, have registered noteworthy progress toward political liberalization in the past decade, o verall the vast majority of countries has failed to catch the wave of democratization that has swept nearly every other part of the world (2004: 139). This essay will make a study of the available literature to find out the differences between authoritarianism and sultanism regimes, and the type of authoritarianism that defines Arab monarchies. Discussion Non-democratic regime in the general sense relates to the rule by a political body or a government in a manner that does not

How South Korean students make decision for choosing master course Dissertation

How South Korean students make decision for choosing master course abroad - Dissertation Example The primary objective of this research was to examine the choice factors that prospective South Korean students considered in choosing their master courses abroad, as well as the source of information employed in the decision making process. A non-probability convenience sample of 150 international students from 10 higher institutions abroad took part in the study. Data was obtained through questionnaires, which were distributed to the participants through their email addresses. The data obtained was analyzed through percentages and put in tables. The observations of the research suggest that job outcomes and prospects, parental influence and academic reputation ranked the highest significant choice factors. Beauty of the campus, co-curricular activities and the institution’s website rankings were the least significant choice factors. The internet was ranked the most useful source of information for potential students. Friends and institutional publications ranked the least us ed sources of information. 1.0 Introduction Internationally, higher education is experiencing significant changes, including the generation of partnerships (Newby, 2003), increased concentration on the universal market (Kwong 2000), and increased competition (Ehrenberg et al, 2006). Additionally, Baird (2006) denotes that higher education institutions also face financial pressures. These institutions are faced with increased prominence on technology, globalization, and transformation policies. Globalization has boosted competition through opening national and international boundaries. This makes it essential for such institutions to market themselves effectively. It is imperative for institutions to assess and re-assess their marketing strategies aimed at attracting potential master’s students. Over the past few years, there have been increased promotions, advertisements and other marketing stratagems evident in the higher education sector globally (Etzel et al, 2007). Moreov er, it is necessary for the higher education institutions to understand how to reach potential students and what to say in order to effectively communicate with them. Putting into account all the difficulties that these institutions go through, it is apparent that they will have to turn out to be more market focused (Lamb et al, 2005). An appropriate evaluation of the choice elements that South Korean students consider in choosing their master courses abroad, on top of the sources of information conferred with, will assist institutions understand how to target the prospect students. Numerous researches have been carried out in the field of marketing for non-profit making organizations including universities. Numerous scholars have examined the significance of institutional image in attracting students to choose the institution (Palacio et al 2002; Pabich 2003), on top of the choice aspects that students consider when registering with a university (Punnarach 2004, Gray & Daugherty 20 04). Marketing has been the only medium employed by higher education institutions to communicate with the prospective students. In reference to Abaya (2004), marketing a higher education institution is simple and multifaceted at the same time. Higher education institutions subsist primarily to offer a unique educational and campus experience to students. For this reason, higher

Performance Levels of iPhone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Performance Levels of iPhone - Essay Example The present research has identified that Apple Company was incorporated in the year 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The duo brought on board a vision of transforming the way people viewed computers. Jobs and Wozniak had a key objective of making computers portable in order for people to have them in their homes or offices. Apart from venturing into the computer market, the Apple has also diversified into iPod and media player software. These two products have also seen good days in the market as they have become very popular across the age divide. The latest to be introduced in the company is the iPhone, a cellular phone, and the Apple TV into the market. For the sake of this study, it is important to mention that before the entrance of the Apple Company, Smartphone industry was dominated by the Canadian giant Research in Motion. The company had penetrated the market very well until the Apple emerged, and quickly overturned the tables. The major competitor of Apple’s iPh one is the Google products such as the Android operating system (OS) that is incorporated in a majority of non-Apple gadgets produced by Samsung, Huawei, Sony, HTC, Lenovo, and others. Philip defines the marketing mix as a business tool used in marketing. The tool facilitates a deep analysis of various aspects of a product so as to appeal to potential clients. Through the adoption of the marketing mix, the performance of the iPhone has increased significantly. Its assimilation in for the purpose of sales and marketing can explain the tremendous profitability, efficiency and the increased sales of a phone in the recent past. The marketing mix concept is illustrated in the paper.

Opportunities and Challenges of Having Access to a Broader Workforce Essay Example for Free

Opportunities and Challenges of Having Access to a Broader Workforce Essay Question: a) Discuss the opportunities and challenges of having access to a broader workforce. Answer: The Workforce is the total number of a countrys population employed in the armed forces and civilian jobs, plus those unemployed people who are actually seeking paying work. In other words, workforce also refers to Total number of employee (usually excluding the management) on an employers payroll. It may also mean all those that are available for work. Workers may be unionized, whereby the union conducts negotiations regarding pay and conditions of employment. In the event of industrial unrest, unions provide a coordinating role in organizing ballots of the workforce, and strike action. As the world becomes globalize, the workforce in industries/companies become diversifies. The broader workforce make up from employees that come from different age groups, race, beliefs, gender etc. Opportunities Provide training on core competencies Devise training is needed to address the needs of different levels of workers, including training directed at entry-level and less skilled staff, workers with degrees not directly relevant to afterschool, and workers pursuing credentials. We cannot afford to ignore the workers who stay only a short time or work part-time, because they make up too large a portion of our workforce. They need some minimum level of knowledge in the core competencies required to work in afterschool programs. Moreover, providing training and supporting pursuit of a credential is an excellent way to foster an attachment to the field. Expand Quality training and professional development opportunities Quality training and professional development opportunities are needed to be expanded for all workers, including encouraging programs to give workers paid time off to attend training. Another need is for approaches such as distance learning to increase access to training in rural areas. We also should establish a core group of high quality, recognized, and approved trainers and promote ways to share the knowledge of experienced afterschool staff, for example, through mentoring younger staff. Provide afterschool/youth work content in higher education curricula We need to work with institutions of higher education to provide more course work relevant to youth work and afterschool that could be accessed by workers and students pursuing credentials or a degree. We also need to work with these institutions to address the needs of the adult learners in our workforce who would be candidates for these courses. Advocate for funding for training and professional development Policymakers at all levels need to provide more funding specifically for training and professional development for afterschool staff through supports such as scholarships and loan forgiveness. In advocating for such funding, the afterschool field needs to highlight the connection between positive outcomes for children and youth in afterschool—a goal endorsed by policymakers—and the qualifications of the staff that provide afterschool services. Provide human resources staff with the training and resources they need to recruit and hire Although the focus of this project and resulting report is on the current afterschool workforce, it’s difficult not to consider the need for effective recruiting and hiring techniques in afterschool programs. A program’s workforce begins with, and its success reflects, the recruiting and hiring of employees who are adequately matched to a program’s core competencies and needs. Challenges Developing specific strategies for reaching the target populations There are people 18- 59 years old in the population who are all needed in the workplace and who need the education/training to take advantage of the opportunity it provides. The challenge is to develop marketing campaigns and services that focus on each of these groups, their specific education/training needs, and their need for user friendly access, delivery, and support systems. Further, there are significant shifts in the gender, ethnicity, and work experience within these populations. Studying these shifts identifies targeted opportunities for increased participation and support. The lack of clear, systemic, and complete information continues to be one of the major barriers to these populations. Several recent studies suggest the lack of useful labor market information contribute to the lack of participation. Developing a series of strategic alliances with business/industrial associations, professional associations, and assessment organizations Education curriculum and competency standards are no longer within the sole domain of the academy. Such areas as education content, achievement, and application are all reflections of constant evolutions in the world external to higher education. It is no longer possible for free standing independent education and training organizations to unilaterally maintain currency with the rapidly changing demands of the new economy. Curriculum is no longer fixed, singular, or limited in scope. Competency standards are evolving at increasing rates as are the related assessments. Further, the expansion of multiple employer related delivery options as well as the growth in industry recognized credentials suggest the need for formal alliances with external partners. Employer Associations Three fundamental shifts have shaken the employer world: 1) the rapid changes in technology and productivity and the resulting impact on workforce skills, 2)the dramatic shift in demographics with the loss of skilled workers and the lack of skilled entrants, and 3) the difficulty identifying effective educational ‘pipelines’ for skilled applicants. Both employers and educators are looking to industrial associations as partners in developing the definition of new skills and competencies, the related curriculum, the required assessments and, the resulting credentials. The move towards alignment (tuning) is increasingly dependent on association partnerships. Effective associations will have systems of continuous improvement that will ensure alignment between their education and training partners as well as their employer membership. This communication system opens up the pipeline for skilled workers and provides a communication system for internships, work based learning, and ultimate support for placement of graduates within the industry. The primary purpose of these alliances is to ensure both the continuous alignment and portability of academic content and outcomes with the constantly changing expectations of both the employer and academic world. Industry Recognized Certifications (IRC) Opportunities for more formal alliances occur with associations that sponsor formal industry certifications. These offer industry recognition of credentials and their accompanying competencies. They offer the individual portability of their recognized credentials and the institution a means of aligning curriculum, competencies, and assessments. An exceptional opportunity exists in providing academic credit to students enrolled in programs resulting in industry recognized certifications. Students engaged in technical training would be more inclined to stay in a program if they receive industry recognized credentials as well as specific credits toward academic or technical Associate degrees. This creates a unique prospect to engage students in seamless system of lifelong continuous learning. The prospects for long term strategic alliances with industry associations are enormous and offer great marketing benefits. Alliances with Professional and International Organizations Forming strategic alliances with professional organizations and accreditors ensures both alignment of curricula and outcome standards as well as ensuring the portability of the credits and credentials. These alliances are becoming increasingly recognized as significant pipelines for qualified professional applicants and they offer exceptional marketing opportunities to both student applicants and industry. Development of a ‘One Stop’ access to the new economy A ‘one stop centers’ is needed for individuals to: 1) get labor market information about high wage/high growth industries, 2) obtain available skill standards and/or IRC’s, 3) accredit their past training, education, and experience, 4) gain advice and counseling on entering post secondary education, 5) receive assistance with entrance to recognized academic and training programs, and, 6) get assistance with placement within the industry. The major problem with the labor market adjustment system in the United States is a completely bifurcated and user unfriendly information, counseling, advising, crediting, accessing, financing, and education/training system. Both the unemployed, re-entering adults and first time students are highly mobile learners who are looking for the access portal to the new economy. Stagnate outdated agencies, policies and systems are simply incapable of delivering such services. It is time to develop a new on-line system that would ensure all citizens ongoing and easy access to understandable and timely job matches, labor market information, and credentials needed for the new economy. All post secondary institutions have a unique opportunity to participate in the building of this broader set of services into a publically transparent system. Ability to offer, give a perception of and have the reputation of providing a ‘Guarantee’ This is the outgrowth of the need to close the loop between employers, students, and educators. The primary question is: does the institutions system of identified learning outcomes meet the academic and technical standards of the new economy and, then, does it ‘ensure’ that every graduate meets those standards? This means establishing standards, curriculum, and assessments that achieve these levels and ensuring that every graduate meets them. When substandard performance is recognized there is a system of remediation and ultimately the failure to graduate if the student simply cannot meet the institutional standards. Some would add that for any student hired which the employer believes does not meet the standard, the school would take them back and remediate them at no cost. While this would come with a cost, it is far more important to develop a reputation with employers for producing graduates that meet the industry standards for tomorrow’s economy. While this important for employers, it is imperative for students who want to be certain that the education/training they are engaged in will in fact prepare them for the new economy. Action on this challenge represents a fundamental shift away from the old system of ‘education opportunity’. For the future, it is about highly mobile students accessing a system that ‘ensures’ their achievement of the competencies required for the new economy. America’s exceptionally diverse post secondary education system has the capacity and commitment to implement this new relationship. (b) What extend Malaysia has benefited and also able to develop own Knowledge worker. The Malaysian labor force is generally educated. This is because youths who enter the labor market would have undergone at least 11 years of schooling. Furthermore, the proportion of labor force with secondary and tertiary education has risen over the years, making them easier to be trained and to learn new skills. Nonetheless, it has been argued that there is a shortage of skilled labor in Malaysia. This shortfall in skilled labor was believed to be one of the causes for the tightness in the Malaysian labor market during the 1980s and 1990s, alongside a mismatch between demand for and supply of labor. Malaysia’s response to this matter is one of the reasons for the nation’s focus on human capital development in recent years. Since the mid-1990s, Malaysia has entered into a phase where new emphasis and demand for high technology and knowledge-based industries were in place. A change in the Malaysian economic policies was, therefore, needed in order to maintain the nation’s competitiveness. Knowledge-based economy is defined as one that is â€Å"directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information†¦ towards growth in high technology investments, high-technology industries, more highly skilled labor and associated productivity gains†. Malaysia adopted this definition into its Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan, which defines a knowledge-based economy as â€Å"an economy where knowledge, creativity and innovation play an ever-increasing and important role in generating and sustaining growth†. The Master Plan was developed to provide a strategic framework outlining the required changes to the fundamentals of the Malaysian economy. Since the concept of a knowledge-based economy revolves around knowledge and information as the key contributors to economic growth and development, the move towards a knowledge-based economy is expected to provide Malaysia with the necessary competitiveness in order to achieve a developed nation status and meet the objectives of Vision 2020. Several reasons were given as to why Malaysia should move into the knowledge-based economy. First, the nation has lost its global competitiveness in attracting FDI when it fell from the 18th place in 1994 to the 29th spot in 2001, as reported the World Competitiveness Yearbook (IMD, various years). Related to this is the increasing competition for the country’s products from other developing countries, such as China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia that enjoy cheaper labor and more abundant resources. This is especially true in the case of China, where it has been reported that cheaper and equal quality goods from this new economic power, mainly in labor intensive textiles, would bring about stiff competition to Malaysia’s export goods in its domestic and international markets. Third, Malaysia’s economic policies have been affected by globalization and liberalization as barriers and protective walls that help sustain local industries are slowly removed and brought down. As a result, Malaysia, like all other developing economies will have to search for new products and services that are feasible in the emerging global market where the distinction between local and world markets is gradually disappearing. Such goods and services like aircraft, pharmaceuticals, ecommerce, tourism and educational services and ICT industries are common in the knowledge-based industries. Fourth, as Malaysia strives to become a developed nation by the year 2020, this would result in its current edge in producing goods and services for the global market, which hinges on low wages, to be eroded. This is because its cost levels would approach those of developed countries. To face this anticipated escalating labor cost, Malaysia needs to ensure higher value is added to its products in order for its industries to remain viable. Thus, for Malaysia to be competitive, it must produce goods and services to compete at comparable levels as those in developed countries. Again, such high value-added is generally provided by knowledge-based industries. Fifth, Malaysia needs to move into more profitable and wealth-generating stages of production. In other words, it has to make its manufacturing sector more profitable. To do so, Malaysian firms have little choice but to move into the pre- production stage (which includes product conceptualization, research and design, prototyping etc) and/or post-production stage (packaging, branding, marketing, retailing etc) of manufacturing, because there is less profit to be made from the core production process. These pre- and post-production stages also happen to be more knowledge-intensive compared to the existing core production process stage. Sixth, Malaysia needs to find new sources of growth in its economy as the old sources of growth have become less productive. A knowledge-based economy will provide some of these new sources of growth to enable Malaysia to sustain growth and dynamism. Finally, Malaysia needs to improve the contribution of the â€Å"total factor productivity† (TFP) in terms of improving the quality of workers, methods of doing things and other delivery activities (EPU, 2002: 5). To what extend do Malaysia able to develop own knowledge worker? Education: At the primary and secondary levels, some of the indicators for quality that tend to raise concerns have to do with the teaching profession, the curriculum, and the grading of schools. The most serious concern is that of teacher recruitment, salary, career path, work load and training. These concerns have discouraged many potentially good teachers from joining the profession. As regards the school curriculum, there are two sets of issues. The first has to do with content. The second set of issues deals with implementation of the curriculum, classroom size, expertise of teachers and courseware development. Overcrowding in urban schools can impede teaching and learning, including the effective delivery of the curriculum. At the tertiary level, concerns centre mainly on the issues of research, resources, faculty qualifications, and the quality of output. Some public institutions are not keen on being assessed and ranked by an external body. Consequently these institutions become less aw are of their weaknesses. This lack of awareness about their performance does not contribute to accountability. The public requires detailed information on the performance of various institutions in order to have confidence in them. In terms of the use of ICT, the largest provider for programmes in schools is the government, mainly the Ministry of Education (MOE). MIMOS, MDC and the private sector, including parent-teacher associations, are also involved. Some observations are made on the current trends and development of the ICT programmes in schools: ââ€" ª At this stage, ICT programmes at the school level are still heavily centered on infrastructure or procurement of hardware. Software (content development for courseware) and people ware (training) in the ICT programmes are more urgent. The hardware focus alone is inadequate to create the environment for e-education which can enhance teaching and learning and accommodate life-long learning. The software and people ware aspects that are necessary for e-education have to be considered and expanded. ââ€" ª There is a lack of co-ordination among the various agencies, namely MOE, MIMOS and MDC, in their supporting activities for the ICT programmes. Redundancy and wastage of resources can be avoided if there is better co-ordination. ââ€" ª In many schools, computers are often locked up in a special room or a lab, impeding their use for teaching and learning. The class time-table often does not include time for working or playing with computers. The costly equipment forces teachers in charge of the room to be cautious in allowing access, and this adds to the difficulty in utilizing the computers. ââ€" ª Most teachers have not had sufficient training to maximize the use of computers to enhance teaching and learning, and often merely impose traditional methods of drilling and rote learning using computers. This is mainly due to the emphasis on ICT literacy in teacher training programmes. ââ€" ª Due to the lack of a standard approach in the utilization of computers, student contact hours with computers cannot be established. ââ€" ª Teachers take charge of ICT centers in schools on a voluntary basis. Most of them do not have any formal training in ICT. There is often no technician who can assist the teachers with maintenance. Public higher education institutions, especially the universities, have been expanding their ICT programmes, especially over the past five years. Computer labs at the faculty level and computer centers for the university have been initiated and are in progress. ICT’s capacity to contribute to greater efficiency of work and resource management has not been fully exploited. E-mail facilities are not being maximized, and downloading lecture notes from the web or interacting with lecturers via e-mail or the web is still uncommon. The Internet is not being adequately accessed for lecture content. Another issue requiring attention is the need to develop quality private education. Private education in Malaysia is a relatively developed sector, particularly at the higher education level. As regards technical education, the system at the upper secondary level needs to address a number of issues: ââ€" ª Greater efforts should be made to improve hands-on skills among technical school students. The Technical Education Department has already introduced the contextual learning delivery system, which essentially recognizes that learning is a complex and multi-faceted process. Such learning goes far beyond theory, drill-oriented, stimulus and response teaching methodologies. It was introduced in Secondary Technical Schools in 1998 to help all students master higher-level academic and work skills. Instruction based on this strategy is being structured to help students apply their knowledge more effectively. ââ€" ª Greater efforts are required to improve the links between schools and industry. Currently the School Advisory Committees, established in all schools, comprise representatives from industries, higher education, Parent-Teacher Associations and Head Teachers who advise schools on curriculum and equipment. The Career Guidance, Industrial Liaison and Placement Unit in every school also provide career guidance and placement of students in industries. These should be further improved. B. Skills Training and Retraining Malaysia currently has several drawbacks with regards to the education and skills profile required for a K-based economy. It lacks an adequate pool of knowledge workers, sufficiently high enrolment in the sciences at tertiary levels, and a broad base of workers with minimum literacy, learning ability and skills. Educational reform takes time while the recruitment of foreign talent is merely a temporary measure. An effective response would be to train managers and workers to cope with the new demands of the K-based economy. Private and public sector managers need to be trained to reengineer their organizations into ‘learning organizations’ which can attract, retain and develop K-workers to make their organizations more competitive, service-oriented and efficient. To increase the quality and relevance of skills, greater autonomy and flexibility should be given to public sector training institutions to make them more responsive to the rapidly changing labor market requirements of a K-based economy. To minimize job dislocation resulting from the transition to the K-based economy, ‘bridging’ courses need to be organized for displaced workers, especially those who are old, uneducated, and un-trainable. The power of the Internet should also be harnessed to establish ‘net communities’ for citizens with special needs and interests to interact among them and with the government. For the economy as a whole, there is also a need for an efficient and speedy labor market information system to help ensure effective planning to meet the manpower demands of the K-based economy. This may require the establishment of a specialist study group, improved career counseling, and a directory of training institutions. In addition to providing basic education for all, in a K-based economy it is essential to stress Lifelong Learning and Education to help citizens cope with expanding knowledge and rapid change. The challenges of Lifelong Learning and Education in the context of the K-based economy include the following: 1. Producing a highly skilled, knowledge-rich workforce. 2. Reducing unemployment and re-skilling the workforce. 3. Addressing and adjusting to the needs of an aging society. C. Global Talent A world shortage of high level manpower is likely to increase the brain drain from Malaysia. While the high growth East Asian economies compete for Malaysian talent, particularly in ICT the more serious long-term competitors are the advanced K-based economies of the US and Europe which suffer serious shortages of ICT personnel. It is estimated that Europe and the US alone need two million more ICT workers by 2002. Recent changes to immigration laws enacted to attract foreign talent to the US have serious implications for Asia and for Malaysia’s efforts to retain domestic talent and attract foreign, particularly ICT talent. A Bill passed by US Congress in late 2000 allows US firms to recruit 600,000 foreigners, a third of them from India. The three-year programme takes effect from 2001. The US recruitment drive occurs in the context of a world-wide shortage of ICT talent, with Asian countries too unable to meet their domestic demand. Despite this the best and brightest Asians ( including Malaysians), are likely to be lured by better wages, work conditions, occupational mobility and the quality of life in the US and Europe. This ‘brain drain’ has already begun, with European and US recruiters scouring Asian universities for talent. This situation signals several dangers for Malaysia. Firstly, like the Asian countries, Malaysia too is likely to lose young graduates from local and foreign universities to firms in the US and Europe. Secondly, experienced Malaysians may also be recruited, with the Malaysian labor market serving as a ‘training ground’ for developed K-based economies. Thirdly, since the Asian shortage and US demand will deplete the international talent pool, Malaysia’s option of utilizing foreign talent will be limited. Foreigners who are recruited to work in Malaysia are also likely to treat Malaysia as a ‘training ground’ for eventual entry and settlement in the US and Europe. There are several ways Malaysia can cope with this situation: ââ€" ª One current advantage Malaysia has is that except for Singapore, other countries in the region including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, and China, all of which also have ambitious ICT plans, have not moved fast enough to recruit foreign talent. Moving quickly to simplify immigration rules and ease recruitment of foreign talent will give Malaysia a competitive edge in recruitment. ââ€" ª Secondly, of all countries in the region, Malaysia probably has the most balanced set of attractions in terms of wages, low costs, quality of life, stability and safety. This advantage should be exploited to the fullest. ââ€" ª Thirdly, Malaysia’s rich and tolerant multi-ethnic heritage makes it attractive to a wide spectrum of expatriates, whether Caucasians, Middle-Easterners, East Asians or South Asians. Unlike its competitors in the region, Malaysia can therefore alleviate the problem of the world-wide shortage by recr uiting from a wide variety of countries and labor markets. The government itself has made several clear efforts to recruit foreign talent. In 1995-98 the Returning Scientists Programme managed by the Ministry of Science attracted 93 overseas-based foreign and Malaysian scientists on short-term contracts to local institutions. But their high wages posed a financial strain and contributed to wage inequities vis-a-vis local scientists. Recognizing the need for talent, the Returning Scientists Programme was revived in early 2001, and the recent national Budget provided incentives to encourage Malaysian experts abroad ‘who have the required expertise’ to return and serve the nation. Income remitted within two years from the date of arrival will be exempted from income tax. Two cars registered in the country of origin for at least six months will also be exempted from import duty and sales tax, while the husbands/wives and children of Malaysian citizens will now be given PR status within six months of the date of arrival. Previously, husbands who were non-citizens were not entitled to PR status, while non-citizen wives could only apply for PR after five years residence in Malaysia. The programme took effect from 1 January 2001. Under this programme, six fields of expertise and skills have been identified, i.e. IT, Science and Technology, Industry, Finance and Accounting, Arts, and Medicine and Health.

Narration of Chpt 7 Essay Example for Free

Narration of Chpt 7 Essay THE NARRATIVE IN THIS CHAPTER OPENS WITH HASSAN’S DREAM, IN WHICH WE SEE A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE OMEN. IN THE DREAM, AMIR AND HASSAN ARE CELEBRATED AS HEROES WHICH IS A POSITIVE FORECAST FOR THE UPCOMING COMPETITION; HOWEVER, THE MONSTER â€Å"SWIMMING AT THE BOTTOM (OF THE LAKE), WAITING† FORESHADOWS THE MONSTROUS EVENT THAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. THE DREAM JUXTAPOSES THE NIGHTMARE AMIR WILL WATCH AND HASSAN WILL EXPERI- ENCE LATER ON IN THE CHAPTER, THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF JUXTAPOSITION IN THIS CHAPTER. THE BEAUTY OF THE DAY IS TARNISHED WITH THE UGLY INCIDENT, WINNING THE COMPETITION IS CONTRASTED WITH LOSING HIS FRIEND, THE SUN SHINING ON THE SNOW-WHITE DAY CLASHES WITH THE DARKNESS OF THE ALLEY, WHICH MEANS THE AUTHOR HERE IS ALSO USING PATHETIC FALLACY TO FURTHER INCREASE THE CONTRAST; ALL THE JUXTAPOSITION MAKES THE EVENT MORE DARK AND DIS- TURBING. WHEN HASSAN IS SHARING HIS DREAM WITH AMIR, AMIR IS ABRUPT TOWARDS HIM AND INTER- RUPTS HIS STORY, HE â€Å"ALMOST APOLOGISED, THEN DIDN’T. HASSAN UNDERSTOOD†, THIS IS AN INDI- CATOR OF THE SOCIETY AND CULTURE THEY LIVED IN, WHERE PASHTUN SUPERIORITY WAS THE AC- CEPTED NORM AND HAZARAS WERE CONSIDERED TO BE AN INFERIOR RACE. HASSAN KNOWS HIS PLACE AS THE SERVANT. LATER ON IN THE CHAPTER HASSAN BECOMES THE â€Å"SACRIFICIAL LAMB†, AMIR SAYS â€Å"I RAN BECAUSE I WAS A COWARD† BUT THEN TRIES TO CONVINCE HIMSELF HASSAN IS THE PRICE HE HAS TO PAY FOR BABA’S LOVE. AMIR’S DISMISSAL OF THE SITUATION IS UNUSUAL AS HE IS TYPICALLY MORE OPEN MINDED ABOUT HASSAN’S RACE, BUT IN THIS SITUATION HE THINKS TO HIMSELF â€Å"HE WAS JUST A HAZARA, WASN’T HE? †, THIS SHOWS HOW DEEP RACISM RUNS IN THE CULTURE. HOWEVER IT IS WORTH NOTING AMIR’S THOUGHTS ARE INTERTWINED WITH HIS NOW ADULT PERSPECTIVE AS HE IS TELLING THE STORY IN RETROSPECT AFTER HE HAS LIVED WITH THE CONSTANT GUILT OF THIS EVENT; THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF POSTMODERNISM AS THE NARRATIVE IS FRAGMENTED AND THERE IS MEANING CREATED IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NARRATIVES, AMIR’S NARRA- TIVE OF HASSAN’S RAPE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS AS THE MEANING OF IT DEEPENS BY ADULT AMIR’S REASONING. AMIR’S ACTIONS HERE MEANS ‘THE KITE RUNNER’ IS A BILDUNGSROMAN, WHERE THE PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY’S ACTIONS ARE NOT HEROIC. DURING THE RAPE, AMIR’S NARRATIVE BREAKS OFF INTO MEMORIES RATHER THAN SPEAKING ABOUT THE EVENTS ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE. HE DIGRESSES INTO PAST MEMORIES AND EVENTS FROM HIS EARLIER CHILDHOOD, THIS INDICATES THE NARRATOR’S DIFFICULTY IN DEALING WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FRONT OF HIM. IT’S ALMOST AS IF THERE ARE GAPS IN HIS ADULT MEMORY AS A RESULT OF HIS CHILDHOOD SELF DISTANCING HIMSELF FROM THE SITUATION. BY HAVING THE EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN AN ALLEY IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DARK NATURE OF THE EVENTS AND THE FACT THAT AMIR FAILS TO ENTER THE ALLEY SHOWS HIS UNWILLINGNESS TO DEAL WITH THE DARKER THINGS IN LIFE, IT ALSO AL- LOWS THE RAPE TO BECOME A SIDE EVENT, SOMETHING EASILY IGNORED AND NOT A PART OF MAIN- STREAM LIFE. CHAPTER 7 IS THE CLIMAX THE READER HAS BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE NOVEL. HOWEVER WHEN THE EVENT OCCURS WE REALISE IT IS A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH THE NOVEL AND IT ISN’T THE EVENT ITSELF BUT THE AFTERMATH OF IT THAT HAUNTS AMIR AS THE EVENTS ARE FAR FROM OVER. DESPITE FROM THIS, WE KNOW THAT CHAPTER 7 IS THE PIVOTAL CHAPTER AS Micaela Mossop WITHOUT THE EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE HERE WOULD BE NO STORY TO TELL. THE IDEA THAT THE REPERCUSSION OF AMIR’S ACTIONS WILL AFFECT THE REST OF THE NOVEL IS REINFORCED AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER WHEN HE SOBS IN BABA’S ARMS WHICH INDICATES THE GAIN OF HIS FATHER’S AFFEC- TION WILL BE TAINTED BY HASSAN’S SACRIFICE.

Life and Work of Frank Gehry

Life and Work of Frank Gehry Many of Frank Gehrys early works reflect a refined manipulation of shapes and structures, whereby many of his buildings present distorted shapes or apparent structures. From the Guggenheim museum to the Walt Disney concert hall, Frank Gehrys architecture is close to none. He cleverly plays with shapes and geometries. In this essay, I shall start with a brief analysis of Gehrys house and the influences in the design of the house. I shall then analyze the extent to which Frank Lloyd Wright has inspired and influenced Gehry in the design of his house through a comparison with Frank Lloyd Wrights Jacobs house. Gehry draws his inspiration from famous paintings such as the Madonna and Child which he qualifies as a strategy for architecture (Friedman M., 2003, p. 42) and which he used as an inspiration for a project in Mexico. Through his interpretation of the paintings and artwork, Gehry looked for a new kind of architecture. His search for a new type of architecture culminated in 1978 with his own house in Santa Monica. What was once a traditional Californian house would be redesigned to become one of the most important and revolutionary designs of the 20th century, giving Gehry international prestige and fame. Frank Gehrys Own House uses a mixture of corrugated metal, plywood, chain link and asphalt to construct a new envelope for an existing typical Californian house. This house has been inspired by Joseph Cornell, Ed Moses and Bob Rauschenberg. Gehry comments on his house by saying that there was something magical (Friedman M., 2003, p. 54) about it. He admits having followed the end of his [my] nose (Friedman M., 2003, p. 54) when it came to constructing the new house, which led Arthur Drexler, former Director from the Department of Architecture and Design at the museum of Modern Art in New York, to actually describe the house as a joke. (Friedman M., 2003, p. 54) Through his work, Frank Gehry can be considered as an artist rather than an architect. His own house is one of the best works of art he has ever produced. In many of Gehrys early works such as the Danziger building, we learn about his worry of the translation of ideas through the many people involved in the process of making a bulding (Friedman M., 2003, p. 44), which according to him drain the strength and power out of an idea (Friedman M., 2003, p. 44); but in his Own House however, he proves us that his worry only makes his ideas and designs more powerful. He makes use of large openings, peculiar wall cladding or large lighted rooms as well as visible structure frames to reflect the postmodern style o f the house as well as to convey his wish to bring architecture to its roots, to its bare beauty. What Gehry loves about architecture and what is reflected in the style of his Own House is the humanity of it (Friedman M., 2003, p. 42). The barricading of the old house reminds us of artists such as Christo and Jeanne Claude with the Rheimstag wrapping while the angled protrusions and cuts through the old house shows Gordon Matta Clarks influence in the style of the Own House. Gehry says in an interview that his desire to use metal as a primary construction material came with Donna ONeills hay barn, for which he used metal because he could now make a very tough sculptural shape (Friedman M., 2003, p. 45), making the building fit the site hence creating a sculptural identity (Friedman M., 2003, p. 45). Just like for the titanium-clad faà §ade of the Guggenheim museum, Gehry makes use of metal cladding for his Own House. He builds walls around the old house using corrugated sheets of metal and chain link. Gehry justifies his use of chain link by saying: The chain link for me was about denial. There was so much denial about it. I couldnt believe it. (Friedman M., 2003, p. 47) He explains how modern domestic design for him is all about challenging the culture, using cheap, recycled materials and transforming them into a work of art. (Friedman, 2003) The use of metal to create new shapes for buildings, such as for the California Aerospace Museum, Los Angeles, 1984 or the University of Toledo Center for the Visual Arts, 1992 prove how Gehrys vision was beyond that of architects of his time. He admits that A number of artist friends have influenced (Friedman M., 2003, p. 43) his work and that architecture is reflected in a painting: the materials used, the texture applied or the theme o f the painting but he also expresses a great admiration for the works of his modern predecessors such as Frank Lloyd Wright or Le Corbusier. As mentioned before, Gehry was inspired by many modern architects, namely Frank Lloyd Wright. Gehry is referred to as a postmodern architect, applying modernism of the 20th century to his buildings all while challenging the conventions of that time. Frank Lloyd Wright is certainly a pioneer of modernism. To him we owe the idea of organic architecture, buildings on L, X, or T shaped grounds. Wright once said: To thus make of a human dwelling-place a complete work of artà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦this is the tall modern American opportunity in Architecture. (Humphries, 1970, p. 25) We notice how his vision of architecture resembles that of Gehry, with the reference to art. Nevertheless, the planning of Wrights houses with his idea of form following function contrasts with Gehrys idea of free plan. Still, the idea of using cheap materials for the Gehry house is a dà ©jà   vu of Wrights wish to cure this defect with houses that were simpler and more economical to build, that combined living and di ning areas into one and separated them from a bedroom zone, and that finally turned the blocky walls into windows on nature (Maddex, 2000, p. 80) basically, Wrights Usonian project. Wright wanted to build small, single storey, flat-roofed affordable houses which would make the garden as a main part of the house and create a new type of dwelling and lifestyle for the Americans. He wanted to make housing more affordable and energy efficient. The Usonian project is a development that started with Wrights transformation of the symmetrical, cruciform and pinwheel Prairie House plan into the courtyard plan. (Carter, 2001, p. 250)Hence, Wright saw the Usonian Houses as asymmetrical quadrants of the bigger symmetrical Prairie Houses. (Carter, 2001, p. 249) Perhaps one of the most famous Usonian houses by Wright is the Jacobs house, presenting an L shape plan as well as the idea of pleasant geometry, hence the very rectangular and strict edges of the house. Wrights plans of the first Jacobs house reveal adequately his vision of the Usonian houses. Hence, from his plans, we see how the garden is the geometric centre of the plan and the focus of the spatial arrangement. The idea behind the layout of the spaces in Gehrys house reflects that of Wright in Jacobs house. Hence, in the Jacobs house, the two wings of the house are well planned so as to differentiate between the public and private areas of the house. There are two entrances into the house; one leading to the private quarters, the bedrooms, and the other one to the living room and dining area on which the kitchen opens. The dining area is used as a transition between the private and public areas of the Jacobs house. To further differentiate between the nature of the different spac es, Wright uses brick wall cladding within the living room and the entrance to indicate the public nature of these spaces. We can also ask ourselves whether Wright has not influenced Gehry in the addition of the many windows and openings in his Own house. Wrights idea of architectural purism and organic architecture preach a relationship between agriculture and architecture: The American landscape was for Wright unique and in need of integration into American daily domestic life (Carter, 2001) We note how Wright makes the garden the most important space in the house. When we look at the Jacobs house from the street, the view is not inspiring; we do not feel the warmth of the house. The street view offers a dull empty front yard with no indication of how to enter the house except from the carport. If we compare this to the garden view, we immediately feel as if we are in the house. The garden view provides floor to ceiling windows, Jacobs house street view p.254 (Carter, 2001) which enable us to see the on goings of the inhabitants inside the house. Similarly, the house becomes a mere object in the landscape. We instantly understand that Wright wants to pull our focus towards the most important member of the house, the garden. We observe how by adding new walls to the existing building, Gehry incorporates the surroundings into the house, creating a new space to contain the public/service areas of the house. Other than the relationship between the house and its surroundings, Gehry has also applied Wrights Beaux arts planning with the idea of the raised floor level as well as the hierarchy of the spaces. Hence, in the Jacobs house, Wright has created a certain hierarchy of spaces with a geometric module governing horizontal and vertical spaces (Maddex, 2000, p. 82). A large open area is dedicated to the living room and the kitchen. As we enter the Jacobs house, we are oriented towards the garden by the glass doors. Similarly, the dining room is projected (Carter, 2001, p. 254) into the garden by horizontal wood walls with high windows which allow people standing in the kitchen to see into the garden. The public areas are all oriented towards the garden, creating an open space as we walk into the house. The master bedroom is clearly set apart by the bending corridor which leads to the private areas of the house. In Gehrys Own house, he uses the same principle, with the entrance leading dir ectly onto the living area which is raised above ground level. The public areas namely the kitchen, dining room and living room are all located on the right while the bedrooms are on the left, well secluded by walls. We highlight how the dining room and the kitchen are both located on the lower level, again creating this idea of hierarchy planning of spaces. We also point out Frank Lloyd Wrights idea of interlocking forms and symmetry that is reflected in Gehry house design. The Jacobs house presents itself in an L shape, which if we think of it, is barely the interlocking of two rectangles at 90 °. All the spaces in the Jacobs house are also connected at right angles. This same scheme of interlocking forms is clearly visible in the Gehry house with the notable glass cube that hangs on top of the kitchen acting as a strong source of natural light which again puts a lot of emphasis on Wrights notion of organic Gehrys Own house, kitchen view,  design, using the maximum amount of n atural resources from the surroundings for use in the house. As mentioned above, Gehry states that his choice of materials only results from their workability (for metal) or their personal significance (for chain link) but we can question that and ask ourselves how far was the choice of materials for his own house influenced by Frank Lloyd Wrights idea that from standardized materials, economy (Maddex, 2000, p. 82). Wright once said: The sense of interior space as a reality in organic architecture co-ordinates with the enlarged means of modern materials (Humphries, 1970, p. 124). For Wright, the materials used had a connection to earth. In the Jacobs house, Wright made use of a lot of wood and glass to create a comfy and warm atmosphere as well as a connection with the surroundings. He used modern materials which he believed could evoke the idea of empathy through his buildings. The low proportions of the Jacobs house oriented the house horizontally rather than vertically and Wright saw the horizontal line as the true earth line of human life, indicative of freedom. (Carter, 2001, p. 255). To him, the horizontal planes of the house helped convey the idea of empathy. Hence the planes parallel to the earth in buildings identify themselves with the ground, do most to make the buildings belong to the ground and represent the true foundation for life within the house. (Carter, 2001, p. 255) Wrights notion of modernism has with no doubt pushed Gehry towards creating a new kind of architecture. When we compare how both architects interpret modern architecture, we understand fairly easily how much of an influence Frank Lloyd Wright has had on Gehry. Wright said: In organic architecture the hard straight line breaks to the dotted line where stark necessity ends and thus allows appropriate rhythm to enter in order to leave suggestion its proper values. This is modern. (Humphries, 1970, p. 125) When we read this quote, we find that it fairly relates to Gehrys idea of deconstructivism in his own house, whereby there is a fragmentation in the design of the house. Frank Gehry has a different approach to modern domestic design. Wright wanted modern human dwellings to have earth as a great human good and make the garden be the building as much as the building will be the garden Both Wright and Gehry have been influenced by the Japanese culture. The construction of the Jacobs hous e is said to be related to the traditional Japanese house and the four primal elements that Gottfried Semper identified in 1852: earthwork, hearth, framework and roof and a screen-like infill wall. Wright combined the first two elements (earthwork and hearth) by passing pipes into the concrete flooring that would carry steam or hot water so that the floor would become a source of heat. The heating of the Jacobs house coincided with Wrights wish to use natural lighting; hence the south facing glass doors provided the house with heat during winter. This made the Usonian houses extremely energy efficient long before this was an issue for other architects (Carter, 2001, p. 255) Having compared Wrights Jacobs house to Gehrys own house, we can justly say that Gehry was influenced by art. So much that we can refer to him as an artist rather than an architect. His interest in paintings and sculptures has given him the opportunity to design buildings that would change the course of architecture for the future years to come. Gehry has also applied some of Frank Lloyd Wrights principles to his designs. The extent to which this influence can be measured is unsure but a parallel comparison between the Jacobs house and Gehrys own house has allowed us to conclude that Wrights principals of Beaux arts planning, interlocking forms, organic architecture and symmetry can be found in Gehrys own house. Frank Gehry has taken the principles of modern architecture from his predecessors and applied it to his designs with his own twist of magic. He uses Wrights concepts and ideas to create new design conventions for himself. Through his designs, Gehry wishes to challenge the ord inary. He is said to have founded the new wave of Californian architects. Frank Lloyd Wright, on the other hand is considered as one of the founders of modern architecture but what is certain is that they have both had a tremendous influence on the world of architecture today.

U.S. vs Asian school system :: essays research papers

Two Systems into One In the past twenty years the United States school system has been accumulating quite a bit of criticism. Evidence shows that the United States has been lagging exponentially compared to almost all the industrialized countries. This specifically refers to Asian countries that are statistically blowing the U.S. out of the water. Recent survey results in the universal subject of math show us that the U.S. eighth graders have fallen behind, while the twelfth grade level showed only slight improvement (appositive). This means that the U.S. students are barely floating above water, where as, Asian students have built some sort of super boat (appositive). Yet we all recognize that not any one device is perfect, and are usually leaking water in the most unnoticeable spot. Before one realizes the problem, the boat is sinking. We would potentially look at these education systems as extremes of each other. Each education system being on the different side of the spectrum. Both systems having fa ults and advantages. Taking the positive aspects from both sides and merging them together, a harmonious education system could be established (verb phrase). The article â€Å"Japan’s School System† tells us that in an Asian classroom students will feel an incredible amount of pressure starting from grade school and up, while U.S. teachers are too afraid to raise the bar because of potential discouragement of the student. We examine evidence from the article â€Å"Strengths, weaknesses, and lessons of Japanese education†. A negative of the Asian school system, is the conformity that must be upheld. This achieves better education because it becomes the â€Å"thing to do†. When everybody is on the same curriculum there is no other choice but to follow the herd. While conformity creates better math students, it demises the aspect of creativity and individuality. The boat may float, but not posses any inspiration or differentiation from the others. The U.S. places a much bigger emphasis on creativity and choice. Thus providing students with opportunities that help them learn about them selves, and develop original ideas. An important characteristic that the U.S. education system lacks, is the idea of effort being directly correlated to success. In his article â€Å"Japan’s School System†, James Kilpatrick states that â€Å"The Japanese theory is that all children have the same potential for learning†. It is effort that separates successful students from the unsuccessful students. Though the American student may think that they work hard, we find that the Asian student is at a much greater level of pressure.

Family Resource Centers Essay -- Social Work Children Papers

Family Resource Centers Half the children in this country live in homes in which one or both parents work. Twelve million children in this country do not have health insurance, and over 4.5% of all children are victims of suspected child abuse or neglect (Doktor and Poertner). Believe it or not, these are all indicators of the demand for Family Resource Centers within our school systems. Many question whether Family Resource Centers are worth the money the state pours into them. However, in serving students, parents and teachers, there should be no question of their significance. Due to The Kentucky Education Reform Act in the early 1990's we have seen the development of Family Resource Centers in Kentucky, and they are fulfilling expectations and serve a valuable purpose in spite of some skepticism. Being a social work major and growing up in a school system under KERA, I know that family resource centers are important and that all parents, students and teachers need to be informed of all the good they do for a community. To address these points we will discuss the purpose of family resource centers the controversy that surround them and their effectiveness. Background of Family Resource Centers Before we can look at the purpose and the controversy around Family Resource Centers, we must first consider their background and what Family Resource Centers are. According to an Orientation Guide for Newly Employed FR/YSC Coordinators published by Morehead State University's College of Education, Family Resource Centers originated in the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. Section 18 of the historical document called for the establishment of a system of statewide coordination of child service agencies though a school base... ... Blocks for Success: States of States Kentucky." Education Week 21.17 (10 Jan 2002):119 Fact Search. Camden Carroll Lib. Morehead State University. 27 Oct 2013. Jones, Doug. Personal Interview. 2.Dec.2013. Messer, David. Personal Interview. 3 Nov. 2013. Rose, Harold. "Preface. "Orientation Guide for Newly Employed FR/YSC Coordinators." Morehead State University College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, May 1991: 1 "Student and Family Support." Kentucky Department of Education: (9 Sept 2003). 3 Nov. 2013 http://www.kentuckyschools.net. Wojciechowski, A. "Assuring the Effective Advanced Degree Nurse as Clinical Education Program Manager." Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice: 5.2 (Jun 2002):43 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO Host. Camden Carroll Lib. Morehead State University. 27 Oct 2013.

Organizational Culture at Wal-Mart Essay

Explain how viable employee relations’ practices have contributed to Wal-Mart’s success as an employer When you think of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart is usually the first name that comes to mind in its industry. With over 2 million employees, one must ask them-selves, why is Wal-Mart so successful and popular among employees? As a corporation, Wal-Mart focuses closely on its corporate culture and behaviors throughout the organization; paying close attention to satisfying both its customers and its employees. The company engages its employees to be happy to serve its customers, which is the reason they are employed. In an article titled, A culture of corporate at Wal-Mart, the author interviews a Wal-Mart management employee and writes, [â€Å"I think they’re very excited about us being here,† Copeland said, in reference to her staffers. â€Å"Just having to adjust [to the fact] that this is kind of like, corporate. That’s what we are. It’s not a typical ‘oh, I’m just coming to work.’ †¦ It’s not just being a cashier forever. Once they learned the benefits, the culture, it all started at the hiring center, it all started with the interviews. The expectations and what we wanted. They just carried that on from there. It’s like a fever everybody’s caught. This is just what it is. This is how our stores operate.†] (Yates, C.). Wal-Mart’s motto when it comes to employees is â€Å"our people make a difference† (Walmart). The company believes that its employees are the heart of its business and build an environment that is based upon integrity, respect, open-communication, and innovation. In fact, Wal-Mart has created four beliefs that it stands by to meet its purpose. Those beliefs are, â€Å"service to our customers, respect for the individual, strive for excellence, and act with integrity† (Walmart). Associates and corporate employees are reminded of those beliefs and strive to act on them every day. Even with bad publicity and criticism, Wal-Mart is still making plans to move forward to improve its employment practices and boost employment in the nation. In 2013, the company announced it would have plans to hire at least one hundred thousand veterans, purchase $50 billion dollars in American made products to help create various new jobs, and promote part-time workers to full-time. These types of employee relations’ practices help to relieve some of the bad criticism Wal-Mart has received and  contribute to retention among its employees in the corporation. Determine how the benefits may contribute to the success of Wal-Mart’s employment practice In today’s world, having great benefits are a deal breaker for many employees when choosing a company to work for. With the high cost of individual healthcare, workers want to ensure they are receiving the best benefits amongst competitors in their prospective industries. Wal-Mart focuses on offering affordable benefits to its employees that include health benefits such as health, dental, and vision with four dollar co-pays for generic medicines, financial benefits such retirement plans, employee stock purchase, employee discounts at Wal-Mart stores and subsidiaries, and discounts wireless services. The company offers great benefits that for sure contribute to best employment practices and the retention employees. These employee benefits are also contributing factors of why there aren’t many unions within the corporation; because many employees are satisfied. Describe how the organizational culture and the use of performance criteria could affect the introduction of a union Unionization is described as â€Å"the process of organizing the employees of a company into a labor union which will act as an intermediary between the employees and company management† (BusinessDictionary). In most cases, when management does not effectively communicate with employees on issues and concerns within the company, employees seek to form a union to act as the liaison on issues they would like resolved. Wal-Mart as a company is highly concerned about addressing issues with its employees. In fact, the company has created a open door policy that states [â€Å"We believe open communication is critical to understanding our associates’ and our customers’ needs. Associates can trust and rely on our open door policy. You are encouraged to raise your questions, concerns and ideas to your management team. This is how we get better.†] (Walmart). Wal-Mart is very much aware of criticized issues and continues to use the employee relation’s process to come up with best practice solutions to rectify these issues for  a more satisfied employee. Discuss why you believe Wal-Mart has not been effectively unionized over the years I believe that unionization has not been effective over the years because of the open door policy that Wal-Mart creates with its employees. Employees may realize the pros and cons of a union and either back out or I believe once Wal-Mart realizes employees feel their concerns are not being handled effectively, as organization they quickly organize a plan of action. In an article titled, Walmart: We Aren’t Unionized Because Workers Don’t Want Unions, the Director of Communications Steve Restivo states, â€Å"We have a clear and open line of communication with our associates. Our associates recognize that they appreciate that, and they know that the wages and benefits they receive are extremely competitive in the industry.† (DePillis, L.). â€Æ'References and Citations Walmart Corporate – Working at Walmart. (n.d.). Walmart Corporate – Working at Walmart. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/working-at-walmart/ Yates, C. (2013, December 4). A culture of corporate at Wal-Mart. Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2013/12/04/a-culture-of-corporate-at-wal-mart/?tid=pm_local_pop Working At Walmart. (n.d.). Walmart Careers. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://careers.walmart.com/about-us/working-at-walmart/#benefits-accordion Vranjes, T. (2013, February 9). Walmart Promises Bold Moves to Boost Employment  « Revive My Career. Revive My Career Walmart Promises Bold Moves to Boost Employment Comments. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.revivemycareer.com/2013/02/19/walmart-promises-bold-moves-to-boost-employment/ DePillis, L. (2011, May 19). Walmart: We Aren’t Unionized Because Workers Don’t Want Unions. Housing Complex RSS. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/05/19/walmart-we-arent-unionized-because-workers-dont-want-unions/ What is unionization?

Ethical Dilemma in Glengarry Glen Ross

Nietzsche’s claim that God is dead arouses interesting questions not only on what or who killed God but also on how human society, devoid of the long-held comfort of the polarity of ethical and moral grounds, would formulate judgements of what is real, good, or beautiful in their lives and in the world. The moral and ethical contradiction of a world where Truth does not exist is shown in the movie Glengarry Glen Rose which is an exploration of the motivations and impetus of individuals in a society where the duality good and evil have ceased to become the standards.Arguably, the film portrays the ethical dilemma in a postmodern world, notably posed by Nietzsche, who observed that the demise of the notion of absolute Truth is a double-edged sword for society. This is because the lack of clearcut and universally held concepts of what is right or wrong, while at first seems to connote freedom,   ultimately leaves a void that leads to human despair and nihilistic feelings.Adapte d for the big screen from a play written by the movie’s director David Mamet (1992), Glengarry Glen Ross follows two days in the lives of four real estate agents who face a bleak future if they do not close a deal soon. These characters, played by a veteran and brilliant cast which includes Al Pacino (Ricky Roma), Jack Lemmon (Shelley Levene), Ed Harris (Dave Moss), and Alan Arkin (George Aaronow), are told point blank by company representative Blake (Alec Baldwin) that the company will fire every salesman except for the top two within one week.The agents, desperate to retain their jobs and continue to earn a living, commit actions that raise questions and at the same time comments on how far human beings in today’s society would go to preserve themselves and attain their materialistic dreams. In a couple of days, the characters become involved in a series of events that show how human culture has tremendously suffered from the lack of ethical and moral considerations. Apart from capturing the apparent decay in human culture, the film is particularly concerned about the motives and assumptions that drive each sales agent’s actions and how these motives often result in clashing interests. This is evident in how the themes of truth, status, and identity are tackled based on the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the characters in the film. For instance, Blake’s character as a ruthless and unfeeling company representative is clearly intended to parody the attitude of big business when it comes to ensuring a healthy bottom line, which is clearly against the interest of its workers.On the other hand, these workers—or salespeople—are depicted as similar to Blake himself in terms of cruelty and lack of humanity. Ricky Roma, for instance, is later shown to be a heartless soul who takes advantage of the weaknesses of others to advance his objectives. Shelley Levene likewise resorts to thievery in order to close a sale and exact vengeance on his perceived enemies. In the end, Blake’s character with its apparent inhumanity becomes less despicable as the frailties and weaknesses of other characters are exposed. Ironically, the audience is led to feel pity for such human weakness instead of being led to feel righteous. This is because the film attempts to evoke empathy in its viewers for characters who are, alas, as human as the viewers are and whose justifications for â€Å"wrongdoing† resonate with the audience.Arguably, the narrative of the movie itself is a statement against the ethics—or the lack of it—of the four real estate agents. In this sense, Glengarry Glen Ross delivers a stinging critique of how society’s sense of ethics and even the sense of morality have been replaced by materialistic desires. The story of the four salesmen, desperate and â€Å"immoral,† mirrors the realities faced by individuals in their quest for personal success and a higher social st atus and how this quest, ironically, often results to the further debasement of the humanity in the individual.The film, in fact, is full of such play at irony that depicts how people’s worth are not judged by society based on how â€Å"good† they live their lives but on the number of material things they possess. In this social order, humans are segregated by their class, ethnic identity, and gender which determine their ability or their eligibility for access to basic and higher needs. The film’s narrative itself, which revolves around real estate agents trying to sell dirt in its figurative and literal meaning, alludes to the way in which humans are not anymore concerned with telling the truth or with earning a living through honest ways or at least, without causing the ruin of others. Apparently, today’s world has gone beyond being immoral or corrupted to being amoral or lacking in moral standards itself.Thus, the ethical dilemma raised by the film re flects Nietzsche’s argument on the death of God, referring to the demise of society’s dualist notion of good or evil. With this death, everything that humans have come to believe in becomes subject to doubt as truth falters in its absolute hold on consciousness. In this society, even the realities of human experience—the entire spectrum of feelings and thoughts—can be questioned and examined for their validity. Human acts are therefore defined not by their conformity with accepted norms or intrinsic values but by the circumstance surrounding them. This circumstance, in turn, becomes the standard by which an act becomes socially acceptable.In Glengarry Glen Ross, the death of universal values and norms for what is good or evil meant that ethical considerations were dispensable and were useful only when the need arises. Ricky Roma’s character, for instance, engages in a monologue—which is later revealed to be a sales pitch—that shows ho w society and individuals have suspended all forms of judgement in favor of individuality. Accordingly, Roma’s speech, which deals with stealing, cheating, and even pedophilia in a nonchalant manner, is a tell-tale sign of the central argument made in the film: that the death of absolute Truth has entailed the death of things once cherished by humans such as the concept of love and goodness.According to Nietzsche, this has created a void in individuals who felt lost without the ethical values and concept of morality that served to anchor their lives. Instead, these ethical ideals such as Truth, were replaced by the notion that there was a multiplicity of truth depending on how these benefitted society or the individual. Ultimately, however, Nietzsche points out that this loss of a sense of ethics and morality also leads, for many individuals, to lose their sense of meaning and to despair. Thus, loneliness and desperation is pervasive in Glengarry Glen Ross; for how could men engaged in crafting lies to their fellow humans in order to earn a living be able to live truly meaningful lives?It is therefore in portraying the ruthless and callous ways with which human beings act in a system dominated by materialistic notions of success and happiness, that Glengarry Glen Ross succeeds at brutally dissecting individual motivations and actions based on Nietzsche’s philosophy. Consequently, the film is able to provoke retrospection on what has become a reality for many individuals in a materialistic society, and to evoke the decision of whether this is a reality that is worth maintaining for the long term or one that needs to be transformed and changed to affirm the meaning of human life.Work Cited:Glengarry Glen Ross. Dir. David Mamet. Perf. Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, and Kevin Spacey. New Line Cinema, 1992.

Matsushita and Japan’s Changing Culture Essay

1. What were triggers of cultural change in Japan during the 1990s? How is cultural change starting to affect traditional values in Japan? Cultural change in Japan during the 1990s has a few factors. One of them was the richer society. The society being richer than the previous times made the new generation feel that they had greater opportunities rather than being tied to a company for life and being a â€Å"salary-man†. The western culture was also a big influence in this respect. The laying off of older workers also made them believe that loyalty to a company might not be reciprocated. Cultural change is starting to affect the traditional values in Japan. Values like strong group identification, reciprocal obligations and loyalty to their company are being taken over by individualism and lack of loyalty. People don’t want to be tied to a company for life anymore. 2. How might Japan’s changing culture influence the way Japanese businesses operate in the future? What are the potential implications of such changes for the Japanese economy? Japan’s changing culture will influence the way Japanese businesses operate in the future. Companies might change their benefits and pay structure from traditional retirement plan structure. They might allow employees to choose from different type of employment contracts where they can choose greater salary to forego company housing, lifetime employment guarantee, seniority benefits and retirement bonuses. The potential implications of such changes in the Japanese economy might be the rise of a dynamic workforce with ambitious individuals who would be rational and logical in their thinking. This workforce can be the agent of the economic growth of Japan in the future. 3. How did traditional Japanese culture benefit Matsushita during the 1950s-1980s? Did traditional values become more of a liability during the 1990s and early 2000s? How so? The traditional Japanese culture helped Matsushita achieve its goals during the 1950s – 1980s because in response to all the benefits Matsushita gave to its employees, the employees worked hard for the greater good of the company. The employees were given guaranteed lifetime employment and so the employees never left the company. Matsushita took care of them from â€Å"cradle to the grave† by bestowing â€Å"blessings† on employees. The traditional values did become liability during the 1990s and early 2000s because the company faced financial crisis and its growth slowed down, but it couldn’t lay its  employees off because of the lifetime employment guarantee. 4. What is Matsushita trying to achieve with human resource changes it has announced? What are the impediments to successfully implementing these changes? What are the implications for Matsushita if (a) the changes are made quickly or (b) it takes years or even decades to fully implement the changes? With the human resource changes it has announced, Matsushita is trying to achieve a younger workforce that is encouraged with individuality, initiative taking and risk seeking. It wants its young managers to become rational and logical, ambitious and aggressive, and at the same time to create an organization that can carry out their ambitious plans. One of the impediments to successfully implementing these changes is the lifetime employment commitment, which held Matsushita back from cutting off unnecessary management staffs. Also, the existing managers are performing poorly because of their old way of doing things. Again, since it cannot lay workers off, it has to cut back on its hiring and this is triggered by the slow growth rate. Implications for Matsushita: (a) If changes are made quickly, the company would have a dynamic workforce that would increase the growth rate. But that would lack the loyalty of its employees, which is still a very strong force to keep the company going. (b) If Matsushita takes too much time, it might fall back and become unable to revolutionize its workforce. If old employees do not make way for new employees, the company will have a slower growth rate with an aging workforce. 5. What does the Matsushita case teach you about the relationship between societal culture and business success? The Matsushita case teaches us that societal culture and business success are very closely related. This is because the culture in the organization is a very important driver of its success and this culture is shaped and determined by the existing culture of the society.

Challenges of Scholarly Writing

Writing is a means of expressing oneself through words and even a method of sharing information about different fields of study. Many have enjoyed and appreciated various forms literature that have transformed readers to another place or make them feel that they are someone else. The benefits of writing are endless. More so, it has become an integral part of a person's life and an inevitable component of the society. For without it, the world today would be bland and monotonous. Since we were toddlers we were trained to read and write so that in our adult years, we will be equipped with a tool that can advance our status in the society which can either be for personal or professional purposes. For me, writing has been an arduous but rewarding part of my life. At first, I was a little apprehensive about writing because it requires the writer to know a lot about sentence constructions, proper usage of punctuations and others. It seemed that writing was a tedious task that demanded time and effort in order to produce high-quality outputs. But after numerous writing exercises and trials, I was able to get used to with the rules and guidelines involved in writing. Because of this, I was able to be exposed to various forms of writing such as creative, technical and scholarly writing. Among the three, creative writing is the easiest and most enjoyable because it gives freedom to the writer to write about anything under the sun. It is like typing on the keyboard or scribbling on a piece paper everything that pops in your head. Meanwhile, technical writing demands technical knowledge about a certain subject which makes it harder than creative and scholarly writing. However, scholarly writing is a different story because it is arduous to write but the end results are beneficial and helpful particularly to the academe. During my days as a student, I was bombarded with a lot of scholarly papers which helped us to learn more about the courses that we took in college. There were days that ideas just came flowing in your mind that helped me finished my research or writing papers in a short amount of time. But there are also moments when you can not seem to extract any good thoughts from your brain even if you spend hours and hours researching, reading and brainstorming. This type of incident is famously known as writer’s block wherein the writer experiences a short-term inability to start or continue the writing process which is frequently caused by the lack of drive and creativity. Also, another writing obstacle is the generation of ideas or thoughts. The most difficult part of writing is the beginning and the conclusion phase. As a writer, I found it hard to organize and develop properly my views and perceptions about a certain subject matter. Even though there is a lot of information, sometimes it is difficult to synthesize all of them to make coherent and logical paragraphs. Aside from this, writers particularly students also go through many obstacles in scholarly writing such as poor structure of writing composition, incorrect usage of grammar and words, citations and plagiarism. When these factors remained unnoticed, the likelihood of generating a solid writing material would be impossible. The key to producing a well-structured scholarly paper is that the thesis statement must be direct and concise. Also, it should be supported by strong arguments at the body of the paper and followed by a conclusion that summarizes the main points and answers the thesis statement. More so, grammar and language used should be appropriate to the topic to make the paper credible and smooth-flowing. However, the most important factor to consider in writing is using proper citations to avoid plagiarism. In writing, it is inevitable to borrow ideas from other writers or previous studies. In order to avoid committing a professional misconduct, writers should cite all sources that they have used in their scholarly papers as a sign of acknowledgment that the incorporated information were taken from other publications. As an alternative, it would be better if writers tried to create their own ideas instead of copying other people’s work thus their skills in writing and critical thinking would be further developed. There is no shortcut in making excellent scholarly papers. Writers must learn the basics of writing before they can be able to yield productive outputs. Moreover, there is no alternate for sitting down and jotting down your ideas on paper so writers should make the best out of writing and try to be honest and responsible .