Constitutions and by Laws of Ssg

Northside High School Science Club Constitution and By-Laws Article I: Purpose of the Northside High School Science Club The primary purpose of the NHS Science Club is to encourage scholastic effort, foster scientific literacy and interest in science. Article II: Membership Membership in the NHS Science Club is open to students presently enrolled in a science course or were enrolled in a science course the previous semester, has/had an average of 80 and has shown interest in science. Once a student becomes a member, he/she must participate as an active member of the club.Failure to maintain at least an average of 80 each nine weeks will result in probation during which time the student cannot participate in club activities. If the student fails to improve the science course grade to an 80 average for the second consecutive grading period, the student will be dropped from the club membership roll. Activities in which the student must participate may include club meetings, Science Olym piad, Envirothon, other science competitions, and special projects. Article III: Dues Each member must pay a $20. 0 membership fee for dues by the first meeting of the school year. Article IV: Attendance Club members must report to club meetings on the designated days and must remain during the entire time period of the meeting. If a member is not eligible to attend or desires not to attend a meeting, he/she must attend the regular scheduled class for that period when held during the regular school day. A majority of the meetings will be held during nonschool hours for guest speakers, practice for competitions and/or special projects.Failure of a club member to attend club meetings and participate in special projects may result in a student being ineligible for future club membership. Article V: Advisors The Science Club advisor(s) must be a science teacher. He/she must attend scheduled club meetings. The advisor(s) must show an interest for the betterment of the club. The advisors( s) must approve the agenda for each meeting. Article VI: Projects All club projects must be approved and voted on by a two-thirds majority vote.The club will choose whether or not to have a fund-raising project. Article VII: Officers Section 1. Officers will be elected by secret ballot. Nominations will be made at the first meeting of the school year. The advisor(s) will tally the votes and announce the winning officers. Section 2. President The president of the club will be a junior or senior. He/she will preside over all meetings using order to conduct all procedures. It is the president’s responsibility to plan social activities for the club meetings. Section 3.Vice President The vice president’s job will be to assist the president as needed, to help maintain order, and to preside over meetings in the president’s absence. Section 4. Secretary The secretary will be responsible for all club correspondences, keep accurate records of meetings and an accurate roll of members. Section 5. Treasurer The treasurer is to keep accurate records of money collected and spent. All money is to be turned into the advisor(s) so that it can be deposited into the club account. Section 6. The Executive CommitteeThe executive committee will be made up of the four officers listed above and the advisor(s). The committee will plan projects and activities for the club. Article VIII: Goal It is the goal of the Science Club to strive to promote excellence in scholastic achievement in the science courses offered at Northside High School. As well, the club members will strive to provide opportunities for students to further their interest in all fields of science and to educate the student body of Northside High School and the community about the preservation of the environment and its natural resources.

Personal Statement (Oxford)

Personal Statement Every year, thousands of people all over the world apply the best of themselves to Oxford. Some believe in the distinguished faculties producing groundbreaking research that addresses critical issues facing our academia, while the others believe in the synergy between fundamental and applied research and the â€Å"The Lord is my light† approach, which foster intellectual partnerships between faculties and students. As an up-coming graduate in Economics, I yearned to further my postgraduate study for an Oxford master programme in the School of Geography and the Environment because of a passion running deep inside my thought.The passion is rooted from the place where I grew up, and sparked by a practice of enviromental change research I experienced recently. I grew up in Zhongwei, Ningxia, China — a small oasis located in the junction between the Yellow River and Tengri Desert in northwestern China. My feeling on this land has been a complex mixture of love and sigh, as folks are nurtured by this land, but also tortured by frequent sand storms and very dry weather. During my college life in Jiangsu University, I, as a volunteer, participated in a research project to study the environmental changes and the corresponding socio-economic effects around Shapotou.I was impressed by the fresh scene of Shapotou, the place where once engulfed by desert has been covered mostly by vegetation. Because of the success in desert-control, Shapotou is known as a â€Å"Miracle in the history of the world’s desertification control†. I was honored to be invited to participate in the field investigation led by Professor A from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Through participating in the research project, I obtained the knowledge on the history of the desert movement and principles governing the desertification control.I have also learned that the achievement of Shapotou desertification control project has attracted the attention of expe rts and scholars from many parts of the world, including the Dean of St Cross College of Oxford University, Professor who visited Tengri Desert with Professor Huang in 2007. Deeply impressed with the success of desertification control at Shapotou, I have been very interested in topics related to geography and environmental conservation since then. For this, I have done some studies on climate change, ecological protection, energy conservation and environmental economics. I have also been keeping in a close contact with Prof.A for consulting and discussing issues on geographical and environmental aspects. Through my contacts with Professor A, who used to be a research fellow at Oxford University, and many other sources including the information shown on the website of Oxford University, I understand well that Oxford University is one of the leading universities in geography in the world. Following my passion and maturing self-conscious, I started to draw my own blueprint catiously â €“ I would make all my effort to earn an offer from Oxford University for studying in the programme of Nature, Society and Environmental Policy.Armed by the knowledge and skills I gained from my college study, I will dedicate myself on environmental protection in my hometown. I am truly convinced that choosing to become an Oxford’s â€Å"dark blue† is the best choice to fullfill my life’s pursuit. I sincerely hope that I can be admitted as a postgraduate student of Oxford University, and I am very confident of my capability for completing my studies at Oxford University.

Knowledge Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Knowledge Management Techniques - Essay Example Uriarte, 2008). The parking and preservation of corporate knowledge is relevant especially in today’s era, given that majority of work force oriented service is solely composed of knowledge workers. To successfully compete in the economy, companies have to treat the personnel providing the knowledge just as they would pay attention to any other strategic irreplaceable asset (Leistner, 2010). At high levels of the hierarchy of knowledge worker, certificates and university degrees from guilds or various organisations provide the self imposed labels that professionals and managers use in order to qualify for one of the positions in the organisation (Miltiadis et al, 2008). Knowledge workers have an overall picture of the business as oppose to the lower level front line workers, but there is the likeliness duplication of mistakes in the various departments since there is no strategy or media for information sharing example in an organisation professionals in various departments ma y be doing some experiments with out sourcing, independently each discovering that saving promised is far much less that suggested in the popular business press. Knowledge management is fundamentally about a systematic approach to other information and managing intellectual assets in a way that the company is provided with an edge to competitive advantage. Knowledge management is an optimisation strategy for business, and it is not limited to a particular source of information or technology (Uden and Eardley, 2010). A wide variety of IT (Information Technologies) plays a key role in knowledge management initiatives, simply because of the effort provided over manual operations and savings in time. Knowledge management is agnostic when it comes to source and type of information, ranging from a document describing the process a customer support representative uses to escalate

Professional Learning Communities Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Professional Learning Communities - Assignment Example he school all work towards ensuring their students gain the essential skills required in the utilisation of these resources and enhance the learning attribute. This remains closely related to the culture of the PLC in which collaboration remains a fundamental element in ensuring students learning becomes comprehensive. The school culture however does not fully align to the PLC tenet because of the imminent challenges faced in the implementation of the various aspects which define a PLC. The teachers are evaluated based on the capability for students to achieve definite targets but there is a limitation in the approach utilised by teachers in enhancing learning. Teachers can implement different approaches which they consider effective in achievement of impressive results. An authentic alignment of the processes to those of the PLC would be achieved through increased sharing between the teachers regarding the approaches which they utilise to enhance learning. This can result in the adoption of a single approach in seeking to implement a uniform approach for enhancing student learning capabilities. In achieving this authentic alignment, the school would face numerous challenges regarding the present organisational culture. Among the challenges which the organisation must overcome include the following The teachers within the school have fundamental beliefs in the students’ capabilities to learn, following the application of different teaching approaches. Many of the teachers commonly try to utilise different approaches in seeking to ensure that there is success in the teaching of the teaching elements. The aspect of trying out different approaches remains an indication of belief that the students are capable of learning. During the staff meetings, planned to undertake reviews of the teaching within the school, teachers commonly have different proposals aimed at ensuring the capability of students to learn. These proposals serve as fundamental aspects for

Blog Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Blog - Coursework Example The effect of this is that global polity and affairs were modified to integrate and accept all peoples through the acceptance of human rights. This has led to the creation of laws that protect the minorities and allows people of all backgrounds to operate within societies. This has led to the creation of multicultural and multiracial societies around the world Naturally, diverse societies mean diverse markets. And the implication is that a bank will be serving customers of diverse backgrounds. Thus, diverse teams used in the banking sector implies that consumers are not going to be of one single background. Typically, a bank in London will serve not only Anglo-Saxon customers including English, Irish, Scot and Welsh customers. In the 21st Century, there are customers with diverse origins including Indians, Arabs, Afro-Caribbean, Chinese, Africans and a wide diversity of people. There is therefore the chance and opportunity for a diverse team to produce better results through the operation of a service that considers and integrates all people and all communities. Thus, in terms of marketing and income generation, diverse teams have a much better chance of surviving and producing optimum results ahead of non-diverse teams. In the technical sense, diversity in teams involve the presentation of people from diverse occupation backgrounds. This involves people who have different expertise and different competencies. Due to this, a leader is likely to have a pool of different competencies and different thinkers. This allows the team to get a wide range of people who can add up to a rich and a diverse group of conversations to deal with matters in a positive sense and manner. A common problem in the banking sector is what the experts term groupthink. Groupthink is defined by Johnson and Scholes (2012) as a situation whereby all group members tilt towards a given solution and members fail to think and analyse things critically before giving a decision. As

1995 Oklahoma City Bombing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

1995 Oklahoma City Bombing - Case Study Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that investigations into the attack led to the apprehension of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as those responsible for the bombing. Initial suspicion wrongfully inclined to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. However, it did not take long before the investigations narrowed down to McVeigh, who had been arrested soon after the detonation for violating traffic regulations, and his compatriot Nichols. Both of them once served in U.S. Army and were linked to radical militant Patriot movement. Before his release for the traffic violation, McVeigh was named and charged as a suspect. Nichols surrendered himself to the authorities shortly afterward. McVeigh was found guilty on 11 counts of murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction. He was executed in 2001 becoming the first person since 1963 to be executed for a federal crime in the U.S. Nichols, on the other hand, avoided the death penalty and was convicted for unintentional m anslaughter and conspiracy. So what is the reason that inspired McVeigh to plant the bomb? This was a retribution attack that was a retaliation to Waco tragedy. On April 19, 1993, the confrontation between the FBI and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas ended in tragedy when fire engulfed the entire Davidian compound following FBI’s decision to gas the complex. 75 lives of the cult followers, including many young children, lost their lives in the unintentional tragedy. The death toll was staggering and many people laid their blame on the U.S. government.

Mentoring students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mentoring students - Essay Example In 4 years, 43% of majority students earned bachelor degrees, and 47.3% of them earned bachelor degrees in 9 years (Grayson, 2004;). This national data provide ample evidence of limited gains and significant losses in the enrollment figures of African-American students in institutions of higher learning. These trends, evident over at least the last 15 years, plague institutions and persist despite recruitment and retention initiatives, as well as government-supported programs and legislative actions. This trend .is a clear imperative to colleges and universities to prioritize a commitment to diversity and to reexamine existing retention practices and programs. Tinto (2000) conceptualized retention as an interactional process between student and institution characteristics. When student and institution characteristics do not mesh, students experience isolation, have difficulty identifying and feeling part of the institution, and are more likely to withdraw. Academically successful students, who persist through graduation, have been found to successfully integrate into the academic and social culture of the institution they attend (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2001, 2002). This integration process increases student satisfaction with the institution, creates a sense of belonging at the institution, and creates a stronger commitment to the institution's educational goals and standards, leading to an increased involvement with learning (Levin & Levin, 2000). This integration process is difficult for African-American students, especially at predominately White institutions (Grayson, 2004; Mayo, Murguia, & Padilla, 2001; Sedlacek, 2002). Oftentimes, African-American students at predominately White institutions feel they are in a foreign land and experience predominately White institutions as foreign colleges with alien cultures and communities (Tinto, 2000). Over the past 40 years, students' characteristics have changed from White upper-or middle-class, academically skilled backgrounds to a complicated mix of socioeconomic, cultural, and academic-preparation backgrounds. Predominately White institutions often are unaware of the social, academic, and cultural needs of African-American students and of the barriers these students face in completing their 4-year degree. All too often, these institutions continue business as usual without addressing these needs and barriers (Phillip, 2000). It is not uncommon for African-American students in these environments to feel isolated, to question their academic ability, to experience inferiority feelings, and to question their self-worth. They also often experience disrespect, lower expectations, and pressure from peers not to perform well academically. Because of these experiences, African-American students often have difficulty communicating with the majority students, faculty, and staff at predom inately White institutions and experience the negative effects of racism and other forms of discrimination (Belluck, 1999; Morgan, 2000, 2003; Phillip, 2000; Sedlacek, 2002; Walters, 2003). They become separated from the mainstream social and academic cultures on White campuses and become isolated and alienated from the institution (Phillip, 2000; Suen, 2000). Without what has been described as a "critical mass" (a large number of African-American students to create supportive minority subcultures on campus) or a strong

Macroeconomics for business and government Essay

Macroeconomics for business and government - Essay Example This assignment is designed to test your knowledge about the basic terminology used in macroeconomics and your understanding of key macroeconomic concepts. It will also reinforce what is studied in modules 1, 2 and part of module 3. The assignment is made up two parts: part A and part B. The questions in Part A will be marked out of a maximum of 20 marks, and the questions in Part B will be marked out of a maximum of 30 marks in total. Part A This part comprises ten multiple choice questions each worth 2 marks. These questions are designed to test your knowledge of the course content. The questions in this section are typical of the kind of question that will be in part A of the examination paper. Q. 1 Policy makers can become concerned if the unemployment rate is too low because: Answer : B A. stock prices will fall. B. inflation might increase.- C. output will decrease. D. an exchange rate crisis might occur.. Q. 2 If nominal GDP rises from $10 trillion to $12 trillion, while the G DP deflator rises from 2.0 to 2.2, the percentage change in real GDP is: Answer: B A. -10% B. 10% C. 1.1% D. 9.1% E. 20% Q. 3 Which of the following events would cause a reduction in the size of the multiplier? Answer: D A. an increase in the marginal propensity to consume B. an increase in the marginal propensity to save C. a reduction in taxes D. a reduction in government spending E. none of the above Q. 4 Suppose the supply of money equals the demand for money. Given this information, we know that: Answer D A. the price of bonds will tend increase. B. the price of bonds will tend to fall. C. production equals demand. D. the goods market is also in equilibrium. - E. the supply of bonds also equals the demand for bonds. Q. 5 Suppose there is a simultaneous tax cut and open market sale of bonds. Which of the following must occur as a result of this? Answer : D A. Output increases. B. Output decreases. C. The interest rate increases. D. The interest rate decreases. E. Both output and the interest rate increase. Q. 6 The reservation wage is: Answer: C A. the wage that an employer must pay workers to reduce turnover to a reasonable level. B. the wage that ensures a laid-off individual will wait for re-hire, rather than find another job. C. the wage that would make an individual indifferent between working or not working.- D. the wage offer that will end a labour-strike. E. the bribe that must be paid to a maitre d' when you want a table but did not call in advance. Q. 7 Which of the following describe the rising distortionary effects of taxes in the economy: Answer : D A. the price-setting curve shifts downwards. B. the wage-setting curve shifts rightwards. C. an increase in the proportional tax wedge. D. an increase in the natural rate of unemployment. E. all of the above Q. 8 The aggregate demand curve will shift to the right when which of the following occurs? Answer : D A. a decrease in the money supply B. a reduction in consumer confidence C. a rise in the p rice level D. a decrease in taxes E. a decrease in the price level Q. 9 Which of the following represents the medium-run effect of an increase in the price target? Answer : D A. a decline in output B. an increase in the interest rate C. a decrease in the price level D. all of the above E. none of the above Q. 10 - When inflation has not been very persistent, we can expect that: Answer D A. expected price level for a given year will equal the previous year's actual price level. B. the current inflation rate will not depend heavily on past inflation. C. lower unemployment rates will be associated with higher inflation rates. D. all of the above - E. none of the above Part B Please answer each of the following questions using your own words. Use diagrams, tables or equations in your answer where appropriate. As a guide, you should be able to answer questions 11, 12 and 13 within 150 words (each question), and questions 14 and 15 within 250 words (each question), plus diagrams if approp riate (except where a question requires only a list or calculation). Note:

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

Romanticism - Essay Example Romanticism influenced music and literature, as well as visual art (Tekiner 60). For instance, the Sturm und Drang movement of Germany that exited from the late 1760s to the early 1780s was mainly minor-key musical and revenge-influenced literary, which caused a handful of image artists painting horrifying scenes (Tekiner 60). For a proper case, there is the Nightmare by Henry Fuseli that was painted in 1781. Some artists were into these movements until their relevant ends, whereas others maintained elements of Romanticism as they shifted to new directions (Tekiner 60). The main themes in romanticism included democracy, revolution and republicanism, transcendence and the sublime, the influence of imagination, the source of inspiration and genius, extreme mental states and proto-psychology and finally the natural and nature (Tekiner 79). Radical Romantic-age politics were overly optimistic concerning human nature, always reasoning that human beings are vitally good and their vices are raised through poor education. Republican and democratic movements always advocated for mass education and equal wages as a way of freeing the human heart, as well as the mind from ignorance and poverty —and the ills and vices, which materialize from these evils (Tekiner

Modular Approach to Building your ISE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Modular Approach to Building your ISE - Essay Example A piping designer is capable of using ShipConstructor on top of an instance of AutoCAD P&ID and hence both toolsets are available in the ShipConstructor environment. Similarly, the AutoCAD software is also beneficial for a structural designer as he can take advantages of AutoCAD Mechanical while working with ShipConstructor. In other words, the ShipConstructor software bears the benefits of the AutoCAD system as it is installed on top of the AutoCAD software. This modular approach to building an Integrated Shipbuilding Environment (ISE) would bear notable benefits as modern shipyards widely practice this technique. Since the ShipConstructor software uses a specific geometry model, it is easy to integrate different concepts. Accuracy is another potential benefit of using the ShipConstructor software. By using this system, designer can shape a shipyard to a given scale in accordance with specific requirements. The most fascinating feature of this system is that it is cost effective as the newly designed products can be easily integrated into the existing design of the shipyard.

The City of London Essay Example for Free

The City of London Essay London is the capital city of United kingdom and it is considered as the chief city of British Commonwealth. It is considered one of the greatest and oldest centers of finance, industry and culture in the world. The city is also one of the largest in the world (How stuff works, par 1). It is preparing to host 2016 World Cup and for that matter, it is crucial to know what is behind the magnificent city of London. This essay seeks to explore on aspects that characterize the city right from its geography, history, culture and political jurisdiction. London is located at latitude 51.30’ north and longitude 0. 70 west. It is situated in Lambeth; south East of England in United Kingdom (Maplandia, par 1). The city is 2. 6 square kilometers (Easy expert, par 2). It also lies on the Thames river about 40 miles from the North Sea (How stuff works, par 2). Roughly, the river divides the city into two equal parts and it is on two hills on the bank north of Thames (How stuff works, par 2-3) . The river’s embankments are in central London. Along the great bend of the river, is the Victoria embankment. Other embankments include the Albert and Chelsea which are further upstream. This river is characterized by great bridges for example, Tower, London, Westminster and waterloo bridges (How stuff works 1, par 7). Geographical Features London has so many natural areas throughout the city. For example Meadows such as Kellaly; forests such as Meadow lily woods and Medway valley heritage forest; Wetlands like Westminster ponds among others. Moreover, it also harbors 22 kilometers paved paths for bikes along the Thames River (Tourism London All, par 1). Political jurisdiction The corporation of London is the one that administers the city headed by the Lord Mayor. The Greater London has 33 boroughs with the inner one having 14 and the outer London having 19 boroughs. The greater London has an elected mayor with an assembly and it is also the administrative entity in England (Britannica Encyclopedia, par 2). The city is governed following feudal system of government. The body that is involved with decision making is the court of common council which has 100 members who are elected directly from 25 wards in the city. This council meets every four weeks but committees meet more regularly. They have committees concerned with finance, education, policy and resources, planning and transportation. Some committees have members who have no voting rights in the corporation and are members because of their specialist expertise. The overall leader is the historic Lord mayor but the policy and resources committee’s chairman represents the body to the media (Stevens, par 6-7). The representatives of the boroughs form the assembly of the great London which boasts of its own constitution (Easy expert, par. 2). For one to be eligible for elections, he or she must be a free man in the city. Elections are not based on political parties. There is also the court of Aldermen where each ward elects one Alderman adding up to 25 Aldermen. The office of the Aldermen has diminished significance and today, they just discharge judicial function as magistrates and are also allowed to sit in the court of common council’s committees with no allowances (Stevens, par 10). Origins of This Great City The origin of London can be dated back to 43 AD. Before Romans invaded the land, no permanent settlement existed but only River Thames flowing surrounded by small islands of gravel and sand. When comparing the population of mosquitoes and people, the former were many (Britain express, par 1). London has been inhabited for more than 5000 years but it was only characterized by marshes and forests instead of a city. The city itself was started by Romans about 2000 yeas ago but originally, they called it Londinium. During the invasion, they landed in Kent and passed through River Thames sailing upwards. They knew the strategic importance of the river in controlling the crossing point at the river. So, they built on the north bank, a settlement. They carefully chose two spots in two hills, which were small and where the river was narrowing, and built a bridge. This is the London Bridge that is known today. They brought up buildings, a port and streets and they named the settlement Londinium which became the capital city of the Roman Britain (Barrow, par 2-3). The original London could only last for several years, little more than 10, and the ships could reach there making the city to become a trading center (museum of London, par 4-5). The bridge was very significant as it was the center for the road networks that sprung up from the crossing place, and thus it allowed the movement of the troops to be fast (Britain Express, par 4). The city later grew into a great trading center and by the second century AD, in the middle, the city had the largest town hall, a temple, and a governor’s palace among others. The Romans built a wall around 200 AD, surrounding the city and this defined the shape and size of London over a millennium. The area which was surrounded by the wall, is the one that is called ‘The city† (Britain Express, par 7-9). Urban And Street Patterns Prior to World War 2, London was characterized by very few buildings which were more that 6 stories high but today, the buildings with 20 stories and above can be found, for example, the towers of Barbican are 40 stories and above. The tower of Canary Wharf rising 80 stories and an office building, east of central London in the dockyards is the longest structure in Britain rising 800 feet high. The square of Trafalgar is in the west of the city, near the Thames River. Two large fountains can be found in the square and Admiral Lord Nelson’s statue; this square has been used mostly for celebrations in the city (How stuff works 1, par 7-9). The London streets follow bends and twists of the river and the Roman walls which have long disappeared. The current through ways came originally from the village lanes that existed there before. Strangers get confused most of the time because, these streets may have their names put in different places. One name may be found on one side of a street inter-section or a square and the other one will be found on other side. Contrary to streets in America, London roads have no numbering system which is logical and this makes it difficult to navigate through the streets. To learn the routes will take sometime (Geographers A-Z Map Company, par 1). When it comes to transportation system, it mainly consists of bus lines, surface and underground railways. The main railway stations include: Charing Cross, Waterloo, Paddington and Victoria lines. Two fifths of the city’s railway system covering 250 miles, is made up of London subways. The underground system is made of brick tunnels below the surface. The First line was made in the year 1863 but later, so many of them developed, built in deep tunnels lined with metals which are often called tubes. London boasts of three international airports and these include: Heathrow and Gatwick which is adjacent to the main railway line from London to Brighton. The third one is Stansted which is in the north east of the city (How stuff works, par 1-3). The London’s tower is a complex of buildings sitting on an 18-acre land. The walls and the grounds are on the Thames River, east side of the city. Mostly, the crown jewels are usually on display here. Yeomen warders in uniforms dating back to 16th century are usually used to guide visitors around the complex. Next to it is the mansion house which has been in existence since the 16th century and this is the place where the Lord Mayor of the city resides. North of this house stands Guildhall which was put up in the 15th century (How stuff works 5). South west London, rises a cathedral called St. Paul’s which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. This church is among the largest in the world. The duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson are buried there. On the west side of the cathedral, there is a street called Fleet Street which was once, the center of newspaper publishing in Britain (How stuff works 4, par 2-5). Just next to it is the knights’ templar medieval headquarters which also harbors the courts’ inns, law schools and legal associations. The Fleet Street merges forming a strand which leads to the west and Westminster. Buckingham palace is situated in this place and it hosts the London sovereigns. Westminster Abbey is also found there and this is where the monarchs are crowned. 8 acres of land around this place is covered with the parliament building and one thing that distinguishes it from other buildings it is its famous clock tower, the clock having a bell called â€Å"the Big Ben†. The Lambeth place is just across Thames from the parliament and this is where the Arch bishop of Canterbury resides (How stuff works 4, par 2-5). White Wall is found between the parliament and the square of Trafalgar . White Wall is a street which is bordered by government buildings. Another one is called Number 10 Downing Street found in the west of the White Wall and it is the prime minister’s home. The district of West end theatre is also found there between Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar square and it is London’s world renowned theatre district which harbors more than a 100 theatres. Soho is also found in the North and it is known for its famous foreign restaurants and entertainment sites. Mayfair is found in the west characterized by residential areas, hotels, department stores and embassies, which include the US embassy that is found on the Grosvenor square (How stuff works, 5). West end hosts London largest parks. Regents Park can be sighted there and it is on 472 acres of land. It has a lake, open air theatre, a rose garden and the London zoo. Another park, Hyde Park is also found there. It sits on a piece of land of 360 acres which includes a lake called Serpentine. Marble Arch and bridle path which is called Rotten Row . The speakers’ corner is also found there. Kensington gardens with 275 acres of land adjoin Hyde Park on the west and this is where Kensington palace can be sighted which also hosts the Albert memorial and Peter pan’s statue. Short distance towards west of central London, botanic gardens of the royalty can also be found especially in Kew (How stuff works 5). Major Buildings And Landmarks In London The first major building in city is the tower of London, a prominent building for over 900 years and attracting tourists from all over the globe. The tower serves the royalties as a palace and a fortress. Ironically, it is also a place where executions take place and jailing of law defaulters. Royal mint, arsenal, menagerie and jewel house are also found here (Barrow, par 1). One of the oldest buildings and the most important centers for religion is the Westminster Abbey. This palace has been used to burry so many queens and kings and there commemoration ceremonies are usually done there. It was founded by Edward the confessor who was later made a saint. Parliament houses are also found in the palace of Westminster. Buckingham palace has 600 rooms and it is surrounded by a 40-acre garden with 40,000 tulips (Barrow, par 6-10). The Canary Wharf is the tallest building and it is part of the dock lands in London. The Canary is estimated to be 244 meters high and stainless steel has been used o cover it. Another major building is St Paul Cathedral which was built 604 AD but it was later re-built twice after being burnt down twice. The current one was built in 1675 and 1711 . The other monument is the O2 millennium dome which is the largest one in the world covering 180 acres with 320m diameter and the height of 50 m. It also has support towers of about 100 m high. It was built to commemorate the new millennium and it sits on the Greenwich meridian, longitude 0 degrees. Another one is the London eye. It is one of the London’s modern landmarks, made up of the biggest ferries wheel in the world and it can carry passengers of about 800 in number at a time. Its highest point is about 450 feet and it provides a view that goes covers 25 miles (Barrow, par 10-18). In addition, 30 St Mary Axe was opened in 2004 and it was known as Gherkin because of its oval shape. It is very visible especially when traveling from different places into London. The outside of the building is made of 24,000 m square glass whish has been arranged in panes that are diamond shaped. Other monuments include the monument of Trafalgar square which was put up in commemoration of the great fire of London which happened in 1666; the tower is 62 meters high. It is just next to Pudding lane where the fire began in the bakers shop. It is also characterized by 311 stairs to the top and one can use it to view London (Barrow, par 18-24). Other buildings include: One Canada square, Tower 42, Millban tower, St. Paul’s cathedral, Tate modern, St. Pancras chambers, Royal courts of justice, St. Brides church, BT tower, Wembley stadium, Centre point, the Lloyd’s building, Westminster cathedral, the Ark and Christ Church Spitalfields (Emporis Corporation, par 1). London Industries London’s industries form the crucial part of the economy. The industries come in form of manufacturing, aircraft, ship building, and food processing including the chemical industries, offering employment to so many people. These industries comprise of both small and large scale industries and mostly, different business communities are involved in boosting the growth of these industries though the manufacturing one is the largest sector of London’s economy (Maps of world, par. 1-2). Of all the laborers in London, 16% are found in the manufacturing industry. The leading industries in London include: chemical, electronics, cable manufacture, food processing, vehicle manufacture, and ship and aircraft building. The names associated with aircraft industry include Sopwith Aviation Company, Fairey aviation, Handley Page, Green Engine Co. and Lucas Rotax among others (Maps of World, par 3-4). Vehicle industry is one of the most recognized industries in London and it is associated with companies such as Ford of Britain, Dagenham, Park ward, Power Drives among others. Those companies that deal with cable manufacturing include: British Insulated Callender’s cables, Siemens, North and Woolwich among others. Food processing is associated with companies such as Pura Foods, Park Royal, The Smith’s Snack Food company and the list is endless (Maps of World, par. 4-7). When it comes to ship building, the companies include; Woolwich Dock Yard, Samuda Brothers, Scott Russell and so on. Companies associated with chemical manufacturing are; Hackney Wick, Liford photo, Sir William Henry Parking etc. Lastly, is the electronics industry which is associated with companies such as Ferguson Electronics Racal, Plessey, Bush Radio and so on (Maps of World, par. 7-10). These companies vary in the number of the workers employed by each. This is given below in percentages: Manufacturing 16. 2%, trade 14. 7%, educational services 9. 7%, health care and social assistance 13. 5%. Accommodation and food services 5. 8%, finance and insurance, real estate and leasing 7. 3%, agriculture 1. 8%, transport and ware housing 3. 8%. Public administration 3. 0%, construction 4. 7%, business building 4. 8%, information, culture and recreation 4. 2 % and lastly, professional, scientific and technical services 5. 7%. Other industries which are not included amount to 4. 0%. All these companies are under the administration of London chamber of commerce and industries (Maps of World, par. 12). Tourism sector The Londoners benefit mostly from tourism especially in regards to economy and social aspects. It boosts employment rates generating huge income. The businesses have also benefited so much. 10% gross value in London is from the sector and it also employs 13 % of all the workers in London. The city has a record of getting tourists from other parts of the world more than New York, Las Vegas and Sydney. It also attracts these tourists more than any European state (Government Office for London, par 3, 4). Tourism sector generates 2 billion pounds yearly in West London; 14. 7 million tourists who make daily trips to the same region and 5. 4 million tourists visit attraction sites in East London yearly (London’s Councils, par 1). Cultural geographical aspects of London London is a diverse cultural centre and an international one for that matter. It harbors so many museums, theatres and art galleries, cinemas which offer entertainment of first class level to 300 nationalities and above. The architecture of this city offers the diversity and the historical buildings. Six of London cultural landmarks include: the tower of London, St . Margaret church, Palace of Westminster and the Westminster Abbey and last but not list, the Maritime Greenwich (Europe Cities, par 1-2). When it comes to language, London is considered a multi lingual city. It has 300 different languages within its boundaries which are often spoken. The city has proven that, compared to Europe and New York, it is the most cosmopolitan city with its internationalism (Buncombe and Mac Arthur, par 2). The most common languages spoken are:English,Bengali,Panjabi,Gujerati,Hindu,Turkish,Arabic,Yorubu,Somali,Cantonese,Greek,Portuguese, French, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese and the list is endless (Woodlands Junior Academy, par 1). London is characterized by so many events and celebrations each year. Carnaval del pueblo is a Latin American festival which is usually the largest in UK. It is usually held in August. The other one is City of London festival usually held in June and July and it involves celebration of Music, film, architecture and art. Another one is the London Art fair which is usually held every year in the month of January (First for London, par. 1-3). London boat show is also a major event every January. Others include London Marathon, parade, Lords mayor’s show ,Notting hill Carnival , Rise festival, South West Fest, Spitafields Festival, St. Patrick’s Day, Streatham festival, The Great River Race, and the Mayor’s Thames festival (First for London, par. 4-16). In London, the largest religious group is Christianity according to the census that took place in the year 2001. This group consists of 58. 2% of all the religions in London. The city is characterized by three Anglican churches which are: St. Paul’s and Southward cathedrals and also Westminster Abbey which usually hosts the crowning of the king and queen of England (Barrow, par 1). The population of the Jews is concentrated in the city of about 56 % of all the Jews in Great Britain. 52% of all Hindus in Great Britain are found in London and they have built magnificent places of worship which include temples. 38% of all Great Britain’s Muslims also live in London from Bangladesh and Pakistan. 31 % of Sikhs and 36 % Buddhists that are found in country reside in London (Barrow, par 4-7). In conclusion, the factor that makes the city unique is its marvelous architecture which has a historical background. Not so many cites in the world are rich in history and culture as compared to London. Almost all the monuments and buildings have some history behind them and this makes them to be world treasures. More to that, these landmarks have a quality touch on them in that, they are unique in their own way. Right from the foundation of the city to its current state, the history is actually represented in the design and pattern of the city. Work Cited Amazon. Com . A-Z London, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. amazon. com/Z-London-Londons-Selling-Street/dp/0850397529. Barrow, Mandy. Buildings and Landmarks in London. Woodlands, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/london/buildings. htm. Barrow, Mandy. The History of London. Woodlands, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/london/history. htm. Barrow, Mandy. Religious Groups in London. Woodlands, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/london/religion. htm. Britain express. Roman London. Britain Express. Web. May 16, 2010, http://www. britainexpress. com/London/roman-london. htm. Britannica Encyclopedia. Learn More about London. 2010. Web. May 16, 2010, http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/346821/London. Buncombe, A. and MacArthur, Tessa. London: Multilingual Capital of the World. 29 March, 1999. Web. 16 May, 2010. http://www. phon. ucl. ac. uk/home/estuary/multiling. htm. Easy expert. Geography. Easy Expert, 10 April, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. easyexpat. com/en/london/overview/geography. htm. Emporis Corporation. Famous Buildings of London. 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. emporis. com/en/wm/ci/bu/mf/? id=100637. Europe Cities. Culture of London, 2009. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. europe-cities. com/en/600/uk_england/london/culture/. First 4 London. Events. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. first4london. com/directory/Events/. Government Office for London. Tourism. UK Government, 2009. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. gos. gov. uk/gol/Culture_leisure/Tourism/ tourism. How stuff works. General Plan and Description, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london1. htm. How Stuff Works. Geography of London: Education and culture, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london5. htm. How stuff Works. Introduction to Geography, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london. htm. How stuff works. Landmarks and Place of Interest, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london4. htm. How stuff works. Transportation, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010,

Skodas Marketing Turn Around

Skodas Marketing Turn Around How did Skoda manage this major turnaround in the public perception of the company? Analyse the changes that have taken place [55 marks]. In your analysis, you should use knowledge of management strategies and approaches that you have gained from the module or further study [40 marks]. Please make sure that you give clear and complete references to the sources of any of the concepts or information on the company that you include. In the early 1990s Skoda was a struggling company, faced with a shortage of skilled labour, low productivity, high debts and low sales (North, 2009). Skoda was producing out-dated and unreliable cars, causing its brand to be synonymous with unreliability. VW turned around its fortunes with changes in technology, management practice and marketing. Key to its product offering was the utilisation of VWs common platform approach, another cornerstone was the recognition that the brand required a complete overhaul. Skoda is now a successful part of the VW Company and for the large part has seen strong sales and profit. More recently, tough market conditions have made business difficult with most competitors suffering. Skoda however, has found itself in a stronger position than many; an astonishing achievement considering its poor market position only 20 years ago. Skodas roots are based in early 19th Century Czechoslovakia when Và ¡clav Laurin  and Và ¡clav Klement began to produce their own bicycles. This progressed quickly to motorcycles and eventually automobiles in 1905. It was not until the 1920s when Laurin and Klement became partners with Skoda Works, the conglomerate arms manufacturer and the origin of the enduring name. After the global depression in the early 1930s, Skoda successfully exported models such as the Popular until the break out of World War 2 and the German occupation. During this time the Nazi occupation directed industry efforts towards arms and munitions and hence production in this period sharply fell. Post World War 2, Czechoslovakia fell behind the iron curtain and became part of the centrally planned communist soviet government. Designs were overhauled and updated models were still being developed through until the 1960s. However, at this point western technological advancements overtook that of Skoda and the i nherent inefficiency within the centrally planned economy began to take an effect. Towards the end of the communist regime Skoda were still producing models based on those from the 60s and subsequently became the basis of ridicule for poor reliability and quality (North, 2009). This is essentially the basis of the tarnished brand that had to be rebuilt in order to achieve its current position in the market. Skoda was producing cars that were poor compared to its competition and using technology that was hopelessly out of date (Edmondson, 2007). Ailing Skoda was bought by VW and began to turn Skoda around, largely by integrating it into its own highly successful business model the part and eventual complete sale by the Czechoslovakian government to VW represented an innovation in government foreign business policy (Lengyel Cadil, 2009). In order to compete in western markets in which capacity for cars exceeded demand resulting in a buyers market. In order to survive from competition, it needed to assess its product offering and brand image in the pursuit of market perceived value. In order to address Skodas issues VW re-aligned Company objectives to produce a quality value car and a strong brand image. In order to increase the efficiency and quality of the Skoda production, VW began to train employees in its management methods. Management across different businesses require consideration for organisational culture especially when working within an international setting (Naylor, 2004 pg120-121). The VW management had to deal with differences in business culture. Initially VW training did not improve the productivity of the Czech production plants, as the Czech engineers had adopted a very flexible improvisatory way of working. VW employed strict control on methods and made use lean production methods such as the just in time (JIT) management. Although it is generally more efficient and cost effective (Naylor, 2004, pg 510-511), JIT can involve short delays or pauses whilst waiting for the correct parts to arrive to maintain quality. This contrasted with the Skoda improvisatory style of working. VW took on more of a Human relations approach to its management, and by understanding and respecting Skodas business culture it was able to break down inflexible aspects of the old Skoda culture whilst working with other parts such as their vast and varied experience in order to bring about successful change. The management adapted their management style from a very directive role to include aspects of behaviour in order to deal with the cultural differences and more effectively manage the new workforce (Naylor, 2004 pg 10-11). The management also introduced novel methods to achieve Total Quality Management (TQM), this reduces the number of errors on the production by making everyone responsible for quality control as opposed to only checking for faults at the final stage of the production line and therefore increasing productivity (Naylor, 2004 pg 510-511). To achieve this VW introduced the Red Button which halted the production line when a fault was spotted by a member of staff. This introduction encouraged personal responsibility for fault checking. The knowledge that anyone could halt the assembly line and highlight individual errors combined with the fact that more errors were spotted and corrected before reaching the end of the assembly line resulted in less errors reducing the number of defects. After making changes to the management and workforce to deal with VWs culture, VW began to work with Skoda on its new vehicles, based on the VW common platform approach. The common platform approach allowed many cars to share the structure. This allowed Skoda to immediately take advantage of the latest advancements of VW technology, massively reducing the cost required to produce a new model. The common platform approach allows for innovation at the visible customer-facing parts of the vehicle. Creating a flexible management and employing VWs methodology worked well for Skoda. The result was the creation of cars which were as if not more reliable than VW badged counterparts. The Octavia beat its VW counterpart the Golf in endurance tests (North, 2009). The result of combining VW management and technology with Skoda know-how had resulted in cars that were more reliable than VW was producing on its own. Skoda now produces quality vehicles winning awards across Europe and the world (appendix 2.) including Car of the Year in India 2009 (Skoda, 2009). This high quality production also resulted in high customer satisfaction scoring Skoda highly in independent customer satisfaction surveys. In the 2007 European consumer satisfaction and quality studies, it ranked top ten in France and Germany and in Britain ranked 2nd (Edmondson, 2007). From internal customer research Skoda discovered that 98% of its customers would recommend Skoda to a friend (The Times Online). From the outset and throughout the introduction of the new VW based Skoda models, the branding of Skoda was overhauled. From the outset It was clear initially that Skodas brand was poor in most of Europe, Skoda was associated with cheap poor quality and unreliability and VW spend a large amount of money to Decontaminate the brand image adverts admitted flaws of the past 548 changes and Its a Skoda honest (North, 2009). In 2006 Skoda reviewed its market position and conducted a SWOT analysis. It was clear that the brand was still within a Niche Market an assessment of its brand suggested that although Skoda had been successful at disassociating itself with low-budget and low quality it still had a weak and neutral image compared with its competitors. (The Times Online) It was also clear that Skoda owners were happy about owning a Skoda and. Skoda decided once again to reposition its brand to gain market share in the mainstream car market. Skoda responded with a new marketing strategy, again leaving behind its successful brand defensive tactics. Its new market strategy was based around the happiness of its owners as shown in satisfaction surveys with the confident slogan the manufacturer of happy drivers. Promotion centred on this emotional draw with adverts such as the Cake during the advert the actual car is not shown at any point (The Times Online) This flexible management, commitment to quality and brand recognition gave Skoda the over-haul it needed. Since VWs take 20 years ago, Skoda sales have quadrupled to 650,000 cars and are responsible for 25% of VWs profits. Skoda product positioning was competing with other upmarket brands such as VW and Audi not only on price but also on quality (North, 2009). Skodas success followed the introduction of the Octavia and the Fabia, these were based on VW platforms this allowed the underlying chassis to be based on underlying modern, tried and tested technology. The Octavia beat its upmarket rival the Golf in endurance tests proving that management organisational and cultural changes at Skoda had allowed for the culmination of VW management and Skoda experience had produced a product even better than VW alone. In 2005 Skoda moved to diversify its brand by expanding its range into new and growth markets segments such as MPVs and SUVs allowing it to diversify and increase the size of its target market these also sold well. Similarities with Skoda can be found in Rover. Rover founded in 1877was nationalised in 1970 caused by labour strikes and financial difficulties. It was then privatised and passed around to various parent companies. Its issues with an out-dated and un-reliable product, with poor brand image and financial instabilities were never resolved and resulted in MG Rover declaring bankruptcy in 2004. Skoda was a struggling company, turned around by VW. Key to its success were VWs management strategies combining directive and organisation approach to management VW was able to aid Skoda in producing a competitive product and a strong brand image. Skoda is poised for future growth within both western and emerging markets (Edmondson, 2007). Bibliography (n.d.). Retrieved 03 1, 2011, from The Times Online: http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/downloads/skoda/skoda_13_full.pdf Edmondson, G. (2007). Skoda: Volkswagens Hot Growth Engine. Bloombery Businessweek, sep 14 2007. Lengyel, B., Cadil, V. (2009). Innovation Policy Challenges in Transition Countries: Foreign Business RD in the Czech Republic and Hungary. HUMAN CAPITAL, INNOVATION, KNOWLEDGE, Volume 16, Number 1, 174-188. Naylor, J. (2004). Management Second Edition. Prentice Hall. North, P. (2009). The Rise of Skoda . Engineering Automotive, pg 25-26. Skoda. (2009). Skoda Annual Report . Appendix 1. Laurin Klement is the original brand name used by the founders of the bicylcle company they started in 1895 which became Skoda, named after the company founders Và ¡clav Laurin and Và ¡clav Klement. As at the end of 2009, Ã…Â  koda Auto Groups worldwide workforce comprised 26,153 employees including 1,986 temporary employees and 1,336 people employed by subsidiaries of Skoda Auto Group. In 2009 Skoda Auto Groups injury rate was 1.6 injuries per one million hours worked. In 2008 Skoda Auto Group achieved 200,182 million CZK from sales and 10,818 million CZK in profit after tax. In 2009 Skoda Auto Group achieved 187,858 million CZK from sales and 3,462 million CZK in profit after tax Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Skoda, Seat and Scania are all part of the Volkswagen group. Source: Skoda Annual Report, 2009

The relationship between self-esteem, depression and anger

The relationship between self-esteem, depression and anger Many researchers like Kaplan, (1982); Rosenberg et al., (1989); Ross Broh, (2000) cited that, the level of self-esteem is widely recognized as a central aspect of psychological functioning and well-being and is strongly related to many other variables. White (2002) stated that If a problem is not biological in origin, then it will almost always be traceable to poor self-esteem. In fact, many psychotherapists have noted a direct relationship between self-esteem and mental health (Rogers, 1961; Coopersmith, 1967). Research has also shown that low self-esteem is associated with various psychological and behavioral problems. For e.g. Leary, (1999) suggests that, low self-esteem is related to a variety of psychological difficulties and personal problems, such as substance abuse, loneliness, academic failure, teenage pregnancy, and criminal behavior. People with low self-esteem tend to attribute any successes they have to luck rather than to their own abilities. Those with high self-esteem will tend to attribute their successes to qualities within themselves (Covey, 1989). Baumeister his colleagues (e.g., Baumeister, 1993; Baumeister, Smart, Boden, 1996) found that behaviors and outcomes are often more variable for people high in self-esteem than for people low in self-esteem. Previous literature suggests that low self-esteem is associated with possible risk factor like depression, low self-esteem, anger, and anxiety. Self- esteem is a complex, multi-dimensional construct with multiple sources, and has other facets as potential risk factors for depression (Kwan et al., 2009). Researchers such as, Carlson, Uppal, Prosser (2000) reported that low self-esteem, in general, is of concern because of its association with depression, suicide, delinquency, substance use, and lower academic achievement. Carpenito-Moyet (2008) suggests that low self-esteem may be an indicator of susceptibility to depression, which is an important predictor of suicidal tendencies. Harter Marold, (1994) suggests that low self-esteem has been associated with depression and suicidal ideas. Roberts Monroe (1994) proposed a general theoretical account of the role of self-esteem in depression. They acknowledged that low self-esteem has often been proposed as a risk factor that creates a vulnerability to depression, but concluded that in research, level of self-esteem has failed to emerge as a robust predictor of the onset of depression. They proposed that vulnerability to depression accompanies unstable self-esteem (i.e., self-esteem that is prone to fluctuate across time), as well as self-esteem based on relatively few and unreliable sources. It is well-established that high self-esteem is related to positive adjustment, general well-being and mental health in adolescence and also to fewer internalizing and externalizing problems (e.g. Ouvinen- Birgerstam, 1999; Steinhausen and Winkler Metzke, 2001; Ybrandt, 2008). Further literature suggests that, mental health problems of adolescents may be caused by a negative psychological trait, such as low self-esteem (Hurrelmann Losel, 1990). A Correlational data implicate low self-esteem in a host of social and academic problems, including poor school achievement, aggression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and teenage pregnancy (Dawes, 1994; Mecca, Smelser, Vasconcellos, 1989; Scheff, Retzinger, Ryan, 1989). Rosenberg (1985) pointed out that there is a relationship between self-esteem and depression. Adolescents with low self-esteem report more depression than those with a higher self-esteem. The evidence of the relationship between low self-esteem and a higher rate of depression in adolescents was further supported in subsequent studies (Byrne, 2000; Kim, 2003). Self-esteem is related to numerous emotional states. It has been linked to anxiety and depression in the clinical literature (Mineka,Watson, Clark, 1998), to pride and shame in the developmental literature (Tangney Fischer, 1995), to happiness and contentment in personality psychology (Diener Diener, 1995), and to anger and hostility in social psychology (Bushman Baumeister, 1998; Kernis, Grannemann, Barclay, 1989). Self-esteem provides a fundamental role in the behavior and mental health of adolescents. There is some evidence that the mental health problems of adolescents may be caused by a negative psychological trait, such as low self-esteem (Hurrelmann Losel, 1990). According to Bandura (1986) social adjustment, activity engagement, goal direction and self-confidence, and the presence of anxiety are all elements in a childs development and functioning that are influenced by his/her self-esteem. Many other researchers like Bolognini, et al., (1996); Harter (1999); Hoffmann, Baldwin, Cerbone, (2003); Kaplan, (1996); Stacy, et al., (1992) also emphasized self-esteem is an important indicator of general well-being and adolescents with lower levels of self-esteem often experience negative outcomes, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and dissatisfaction with life. According to Piko Fitzpatrick (2003) consistent with a resilience framework, scholars suggest that self-esteem serves as a protective factor by insulating youth from stress that stems from negative life events, and specifically, protecting against depression. Melnyk et al. (2006) found that adolescents with high self-esteem have a strong belief in their ability to engage in a healthy lifestyle. People with high but unstable self-esteem score higher on measures of hostility than do people with low self-esteem (whether stable or unstable), whereas people with high but stable self- esteem are the least hosti le (Kernis, Grannemann, Barclay, 1989). It may be important to emphasize that apart from General Well-Being, personality constructs, like high self-esteem have been shown to act as protective factors against psychopathology in adolescents (McDonald OHara, 2003). Dew Huebner (1994) found that well-being forms significant positive associations with self-esteem measures. In Pakistan, Riaz, Bilal Rizwan, (2007) found that self-esteem is significant predictor of aggression and specifically physical aggression and anger were significantly predicted by low self-esteem. With respect to emotional and social consequences, anger has been associated with increased anxiety, reduced self-esteem, damage to social relationships (Deffenbacher et al. 1996), and depression (Picardi et al., 2004). Many researchers have explored ways that socially structured inequality shapes an array of emotional/mental health outcomes, usually depression or anxiety (McLeod and Nonnemaker 1999; Turner et al. 1995) and, more recently, anger (Ross and Van Willigen 1997; Schieman 1999). One of the major reasons of psychological problems like low self-esteem, depression, and anger among adolescents of minority status is due to prejudice and discrimination of the society. Sociologists who study emotions have sought to document and describe the emotional correlates and consequences of social stratification (Smith-Lovin 1995). Adolescents of minority status are subjected to an array of derogatory and unpleasant experiences. All these experiences result in negative self-evaluation. According to Jacques Chason, (1977) minority or low status groups judge themselves as a group less positively than the member of the majority or high status group. All the researches cited in the literature review of the study, however, indicate that a Western evaluation of adolescents self-esteem, depression, and anger is hard to replicate for the indigenous adolescents minority population of Pakistan. Research on minority adolescents in Pakistan is negligible and hardly provides any basis for valid assertion about the state of affairs and the remedies, if ever adapted by authority figures, to improve the mental well-being of the target population. This study will highlight issues related to minority adolescents self-esteem, depression, anger, and will shed light on the ways mental well-being of the target group can be improved.

self :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Self-esteem, according to Introduction to Psychology by Dennis Coon, is defined as regarding oneself as a worthwhile person or a positive evaluation of oneself1. This study focuses on the examination of African American adolescent self-esteem based on the independent variables of parental marital status, income, and family structure. Is it possible that these variables could affect a confidence that is supposed to come from oneself? According to Mandara and Murray, these variables greatly affect the self-esteem in African American boys and girls in different but significant ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was important for me to choose an article that I could relate with and also that interested me. I found this article to have both these qualities and also be the most accurate with several tables and outside references to make it as comprehensive as it could be. I found the material easy to read and understand as well. It also stood out because it was narrowly focused on a specific topic with specific factors. I found other articles that were so broad, I could hardly imagine them having accurate results. Once I chose this topic, the articles available to me were few and far between, which I feel is too bad because it is an important topic and before we can begin helping those adolescents who are lacking self-esteem, we must first find out where the problem originates. Having grown up in a single parent, middle class income family and being the oldest of two children, I feel that I can now understand why I sometimes felt inadequate with myself. The unspoken pressure to make my mom proud and be a â€Å"good† big sister created this inadequacy. This study definitely helped me understand this pressure and proved that unlike my thought at the time, I was not the only teenager going through this enormous drop in self-esteem. Mandura and Murray predicted four outcomes based on the three perspectives formed by Amato & Keith (1991) and Heiss (1996) 2; the family structure, the family income and the family functioning perspectives. First, that the self-esteem of boys not girls would be affected by their parents’ marital status. Second, that both genders would have higher quality of family functioning than single parent households. The third prediction concluded that the effects of marital status on self-esteem would be less if family income was statistically matched with other families. The last hypothesis predicted that family functioning had a greater effect on self-esteem than family structure.

Being An International Student in a Post 9/11 World :: Terrorism Terrorists Essays

Being An International Student in a Post 9/11 World "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free," just not your students. "I knew what was going to happen after 9/11. It was understood," said Tariq Halela, a 21-year-old student at Boston University. What he understood was simple: for an international student, living in the United States would never be the same. Halela, an Indian born Kuwaiti native, has been studying stateside for over two years. He is an accounting major and speaks four languages -- English, Arabic, Hindi and Gujarati -- fluently. "I love it here in the states," he said. "That is why I was so worried when I got a call from the ISO [international student's office] saying I could be deported." Confusion over the new immigration rules and regulations is what gave Halela his first deportation scare. With stricter visas guidelines, the culmination of new policies the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have undertaken is the Student Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. Now, new international students can choose to study at any one of the over 7,000 SEVIS-certified universities in America. The schools, in turn, provide a plethora of information on the students ranging from the mundane - name, enrollment verification, date of birth - to the normally considered private information such as grades and field of study. Essentially, the SEVIS is a program designed to keep tabs on all the approximately one million international students studying here in the U.S. The SEVIS keeps a database housing all of a student's information to determine whether he or she can stay in the U.S. or can be allowed to come here in the first place. Although the program seems like a reaction to the 9/11 attacks, the birth of SEVIS dates back to the early '90s. One of the men convicted of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Eyad Ismoil, had gained access to the U.S. through a student visa. In an attempt to help regulate the student visas system, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which commissioned the government to create a system that manages information on all international students but Congress never pressed to make that system operational. When it was learned that two of the 9/11 highjackers, Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehi, also came tot he U.S. through student visas, Congress changed their tune.

The Importance of Leadership Essay -- student leadership program

When I first found out about the school's leadership program, I thought it was something I wanted to do. However, I almost did not apply for it. I filled out the application on the last day it was due and waited in anticipation for an answer. The leadership program has been a positive experience in my life. It has helped me to experience new things and change my way of thinking; it has helped me to become more direct, open and sincere; and it has introduced me to new, interesting, and wonderful people. Â   Through The leadership program, I have experienced many different things and have been introduced to new and different ways of thinking. The new and different experiences I had include working on a community service project with 25 of my peers (with help from our instructors and mentors) and working on an individual leadership project. The numerous and diverse speakers that taught the class each week brought with them unique perspectives. The speaker that I found most enlightening was Lance Brunner because his presentation awakened new emotions in me. Lance Brunner's session was about Mindfulness. The way he taught was attention grabbing. It focused the whole class's attention on what he was talking about. I especially like the point he made about thoughts being impermanent and how we should not let them control what we do. Lance taught me that a thought is as permanent or impermanent as everything else... ... leadership project and the group project helped me very much in my evolution as an Emerging Leader (Individual). I have become fond of all these people, and will know and work with a lot of these individuals throughout my college career, and maybe life. Â   Through the experiences I have had in the leadership program, such as the weekly sessions that featured speakers on diversity and individual ethics, and working on individual and group leadership and community service projects, I have learned to look at things from different perspectives and experienced new and different things that I will carry with me and use the rest of my life. I am glad I filled out that the leadership program application.

Airbus V Boeing

Airbus v. Boeing Unit 8 Case Study MT330-01 International Marketing Kaplan University Christina Olson November 14, 2011 Airline manufacturers must compete with one another to be successful, and have the most birds in the sky. Boeing and Airbus are the two largest manufacturers for commercial aircraft, especially those used for long flights. Iberia Airlines wanted to purchase up to 12 brand new jumbo jets from one of these manufacturers. Enrique Dupuy, Iberia’s CFO, set a price that he wanted the company to pay for the aircraft and then started a bidding war between the two super jumbo jet manufacturers. Negotiation between two major companies like Airbus and Boeing can make a marketing strategy very strong or the complete opposite, it can cause a strategy to crumble to pieces in an instant. Airbus and Boeing both have dedicated sales representatives, Bight of Boeing and Leahy to their jobs very serious and developed a marketing plan like none other. These two gentlemen understood one important thing when it comes to marketing, plans must be able to adapt to change at any given moment. Prior to the beginning of the negotiation Airbus had an advantage of Boeing. Iberia Airline were currently using the manufacturers largest plane (Michaels, 2003). Airbus had already established a solid reputation with the airline company. Dupuy was familiar with Airbus’s resale guarantee, which was hard to beat by any other company (Michaels, 2003). Although Airbus had previous history with the airline company, Dupuy wanted to look at other manufacturers to get the best competitive price. Bright was personally contacted by Iberia Airlines to begin a negotiation process in hopes that he would be able to meet the predetermined price set by Dupuy (Michaels, 2003). Bright’s marketing strategy was geared to the fact that these planes could save more money in the long run while earning more revenue. He not only explained to Dupuy Boeing 777 could hold 24 more seats than Airbus which generated more revenue per flight (Michael, 2003). These aircrafts also used less fuel, allowing for expense to be dispersed to areas other than fuel (Michaels, 2003). Leahy did not let the extra seats and lower fuel usage discourage him during negotiations. During the meeting with Dupuy, Leahy reminded Dupuy that Airbus guarantees resale value of all aircraft plus the lower initial cost of purchasing the aircraft (Michaels, 2003). He provided numbers of how much the company would save by keeping Airbus, the price of extra parts and pilot training (Michaels, 2003). All of these costs were expense that would save the airline company millions of dollars upfront. Despite the good marketing and negotiation strategies by both manufacturing companies, Dupuy was not happy. Dupuy set a price that he wanted the two corporations to meet, or he would look into purchasing used aircraft (Michaels, 2003). This made both men return to their home company and refigure the marketing strategies. Each company offered perks such as financing, maintenance discounts, and sufficient amount of parts. Negotiation between the aircraft manufacturer and the airline company was not an easy task. Each time Bright or Dupuy offered a new contract; Dupuy rejected it asking for more discounts in price. He would also contact the other manufacturer, causing uproar to try to beat the prior suggested contract. The negotiation between Iberia Airlines and the manufacturing companies went on for over a year. Bright and Leahy were constantly adjusting their marketing strategy to fit the need of the airline company. These two men had to not only negotiate with the airline company but with the finance company and the company that makes the parts and engines (Michaels, 2003). It was a never ending task until Dupuy finally decided on which company enter into contract with. During the end of the negotiations, Dupuy stood firm in his set price; he refused to settle. Boeing and Airbus had very strong marketing strategies that had to change constantly in order to not only meet the expectations of the buyer but to overcome the bid of the competitor. Even though Boeing had strong factors, such as the decreased fuel expense and increased income from more passengers, Airbus won the negotiation. Leahy was able to meet all of the expectations set by Dupuy, better financing, decreased price but most of all the guarantee return on sale of the aircraft for 20 years (Michaels, 2003). During the negotiation process both aircraft manufacturers were focused mainly on numbers. Another aspect of a marketing strategy should have been safety and consumer choice. Airbus was noted to have a system that not all pilots trust â€Å"Fly-by-the-wire,† causing planes to malfunction and plunge 100s of feet in seconds (Bland, 2009). Both of these factors can play a major role in how many passengers choose to fly with one airline company over another because of the aircraft used. Had either of the manufacturers used these two simple areas in their marketing strategy the negotiation outcome could have been different. Reference Bland, A. (July 1, 2009). The Big Question: Why was another Airbus crashed, and is flying Becoming more risky?. The Independent, Retrieved from http://www. independent. co. uk/news/world/africa/ the-big-question-why-has-another -airbus-crashed-and-is-flying-becoming-more-risky-1726056. html Michaels, D. (March 10, 2003). Boeing and Airbus in the Dogfight to Meet Stringent Terms of Iberia’s Executives. The Wall Street Journal Europe, Dow Jones & Co. –

Does the Brutal Truth in Sonnet 130 Essay

Does the brutal truth in Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 130’ and Swift’s ‘A beautiful Young Nymph going to bed’, take away from the beauty of the two poems. Beauty and aesthetics can be defined as â€Å"Nothing more nor less, than sensitivity to the sublime and the beautiful and an aversion to the ordinary and ugly†, this means that beauty can be absolutely anything which is beautiful as long as it is not ugly or ordinary, this may seem harsh, much like the poems by William Shakespeare and Jonathan Swift. In both poems; ‘Sonnet 130’ by William Shakespeare and ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ by Jonathan Swift, aesthetic beauty is explored in a brutal and honest light. Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 130’ tells the story of a man describing his mistress intimately, yet distastefully; â€Å"†¦ why then her breasts are dun. † Whereas in ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’, Swift tells the story of a low class prostitute in London in the 18th century â€Å"Pride of Drury Lane†, and her undressing â€Å"Takes off her artificial hair†. When considering beauty and aesthetics within the poems; â€Å"Sonnet 130† and ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’, it may seem impossible to think of the poems as beautiful when they include such vulgarity and distaste towards the women within them; Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’ and Swift’s work of fiction ‘Corinna’. However, the poems are written and presented beautifully, and may be considered well deserved of their place within the canon of English Literature. The worth and value of texts within the canon of English literature â€Å"†¦ are generally characterised by complexity of plot, structure, language and ideas. † Despite the ugliness in the poems, the way the poems are written and the complexity of them, still leave the poems as classic texts to be enjoyed and appreciated. The use of metaphors, similes and the complexity of the story within both makes them eligible for the canon of English literature, showing that a poem can still be considered beautiful for the way it is written despite the contents. Sonnet 130’ may initially seem harsh; however it was not intended to disparage Shakespeare’s mistress’s looks as so many commentators have understood, what is meant is that she and her looks together do not require ridiculous comparisons to angels which are clearly unrealistic as her personality and the way she is, is attractive in itself. The term â€Å"†¦mistress†¦Ã¢â‚¬  has an ambiguous mea ning, it could refer to a husband’s wife, or as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary; â€Å"†¦ a woman loved and courted by a man; a female sweetheart† or â€Å"a woman other than his wife with whom a man has a long-lasting sexual relationship†. The poem suggests the latter meaning, supposing it to be, Shakespeare’s so-called Dark Lady. Shakespeare wrote about ‘the Dark Lady’ in many of his sonnets. Sonnets 127-152 were allegedly based on ‘the Dark Lady’ so called because the poems make it clear that she has black hair and dusky skin, â€Å"†¦breasts are dun. † Each of the poems deal with a highly personal theme, for example, in ‘Sonnet 130’ a relationship between a man and his mistress experiencing love and lust is discussed. The sonnets have an autobiographical feel, posing the question; who was Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’? Shakespeare scholar, Dr Duncan Salkeld from the University of Chichester found evidence suggesting that she was a madam called â€Å"Lucy Negro† or â€Å"Black Luce†, who ran a notorious brothel in Clerkenwell. He believes that she is â€Å"the foremost candidate for the dubious role of the â€Å"Dark Lady†. Wilson Knight said when considering the relationship between Shakespeare and the ‘Dark Lady’; that â€Å"†¦it appears to have been finer than lust and cruder than love†, here he demonstrates his doubts about them being in love. He admits that they may have had strong feelings for each other but questions whether they were in love, he does; however agree that their relationship went further than lust and the sexual side of the relationship. The fact that Shakespeare kept her identity hidden, does pose the question, did he really love her and in turn support Wilson’s quote about not being in love. It may seem romantic of Shakespeare to have kept his lover a secret, but we must remain aware that he did have a wife at home in Stratford upon Avon. The possible occupation of Shakespeare’s ‘Dark Lady’ gives a contextual link to Swift’s poem; ‘A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed’, as the role of prostitution is explored in this poem and there are suggestions that this was the role of the Dark Lady. The purpose of satire is to show what is bad or weak about something or someone through humour and exaggeration. Jonathan Swift is known as ‘The Godfather of Satire’, Swift himself defined satire as; â€Å"satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s faces but their own’. Here, Swift explains how everyone who reads his satire will see how he is mocking everyone else, apart from themselves. The use of satire gives ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ complexity when looking at the meaning, similarly to Sonnet 130, making it eligible for the canon of English Literature, as one of the requirements to be eligible is that the work has â€Å"†¦complexity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Swift published ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ in 1734, the poem is satirical, and it satirise women’s artificiality; â€Å"Takes off her artificial hair† and their use of the male gaze. He wrote the poem in the 18th century, when around 63,000 prostitutes were working in London, a terrible time, as prostitutes became more popular and more common, sexually transmitted diseases spread rapidly. Although in his poem, he looks down upon Corinna and effectively the women who were also in her position, he also intends to satirize the wealthy men who use prostitutes and in turn cause this problem. The male voice of narration in this poem is judgemental and snobbish. This voice effectively mocks the upper classes who most likely use prostitution as they could afford it. The voice insults those upper classes who use and abuse Corinna, demonstrating the gap between the classes in society at the time. Much like Swift, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 has a separate motive, other than writing a love poem to his â€Å"†¦mistress†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . On another level, the poem might suggest that the metaphors and language that sonneteers traditionally use are often hyperbolic beyond reality. ‘Sonnet 130’ mocks the fanciful conventions of romantic poetry by subverting the conventions of Petrarchan sonnets, which wrote about idealised beauty. This poem is about Shakespeare’s relationship with the ‘dark lady’ and he speaks of her realistically but harshly posing the question; is it better to be attractive with no personality or plain with a good personality? Here Shakespeare chooses the latter and is brutally honest, rather than being complimentary. The vocabulary he uses is harsh and cold; â€Å"†¦reeks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here Shakespeare comments on his mistress’s breath, he seems rude and offensive. The implication here is that when he goes to kiss her, he is not thinking of her, but of her bad breath and this is unkind. However, this may be merely a reflection of Elizabethan dental hygiene. Shakespeare writes that â€Å"Coral is far more red†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , which is a clever simile, comparing her lips to coral is slightly over the top, as for lips to be that bright, they would have had to have been painted on and this is the type of fakery that Shakespeare is mocking. Shakespeare focuses on all of the things that would make you look at a woman sensually, her eyes, lips, breasts, skin and hair. However, in this poem these features are not appealing which is different to a conventional sonnet. A sonnet would traditionally have 14 lines, 3 quatrains and a final rhyming couplet; â€Å"†¦love as rare† and â€Å"†¦false compare†, which follows an abab rhyme scheme, ‘Sonnet 130’ follows these conventions but, a sonnet is also conventionally romantic and flattering, and this sonnet does not follow this convention at all. Undeniably, the form of a sonnet is presented charmingly and despite the harsh content, still leaves the poem to be enjoyed. He comments that he thinks his â€Å"†¦love as rare†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , however, the fact that he kept this dark lady’s identity secret shows a lack of respect and a hint of embarrassment as he did not reveal the truth. This lack of respect correlates with Swift’s ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ as he is rude, sarcastic and brutal about the fictional Corinna; â€Å"Pride of Drury Lane†. Swift tells the reader that Corinna is unpopular, â€Å"Never did Covent Garden boast† and that no one is interested in her as she returns home at â€Å"†¦ the Midnight Hour. † At the time Covent Garden and Drury Lane would both have been heavily populated by prostitutes. Swift is disgusted by women like Corinna and is not shy about showing it in this poem. He describes Corinna as offensively and nastily as he can, telling the reader about her â€Å"†¦flabby dugs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Swift links lines inside the poems to further insult Corinna; â€Å"†¦slips the Bolsters†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"Ruins†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . â€Å"Must ev’ry morn her limbs unite† she has to rebuild herself and reconstruct her beauty every morning. Ruins are what is left of an ancient building when the structure is lost, Corinna is compared to a building when Swift says â€Å"†¦and off she slips the Bolsters that supply her hips. implying that, like a building she has a structure and without it, she becomes the â€Å"Ruins of the Night†. Swift criticises artificial beauty and fakery, which has links to famous fairy tales, such as; Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. In these stories the women are beautiful for being natural; â€Å"†¦skin as white as snow†¦Ã¢â‚¬ unlike Corinna. This suggests that pale and natural skin is attr active, which links to the women of the 18th century, when the paler you were, the more beautiful you were. Corinna objectifies the opposite of 18th century beauty The brutal truth within ‘Sonnet 130’ does not take away the beauty from the poem. The beauty of Sonnet 130 is continued by the composite way it has been written and the ambiguous meanings and reasons for being written; these are what make the poem seem complex as it is filled with different ideas. The poem could be a confession of love as believed, a slightly sarcastic joke about his mistress or a complex exploration of the conventions of sonnets. The brutal truth within the poem hides Shakespeare’s true feelings for ‘the Dark Lady’. In Jonathan Swift’s ‘A beautiful young nymph going to bed’ the appeal of the poem is continued, despite the brutal truth of the contents, by the strong concept of satire within the poem. Swift has very cleverly turned what appears to be a misogynistic attack on women to become an attack on the people who have caused this for her. The brutal truth about Corinna hides the underlying meaning and it is this complexity within the meaning and plot, which keeps the reader interested and allows Swift to broadcast his message subtly but with clarity.

Balancing On-line College Studies, Work, and Personal Relationships

Balancing On-line College Studies, Work, and Personal Relationships On-line college studies bring forth various challenges for a student as the concept of time may easily be disregarded or forgotten along with problems regarding distractions and the sense of presence (â€Å"Online Study Techniques†). In this sense, if a student also takes into consideration pressing issues such as those that stem from work, family, and friends, then the difficulty of successfully completing on-line college studies become even worse.However, the presence of such problems, difficulties, and challenges does not mean that every student going through on-line college studies has a myriad of excuses so as not to excel in their educational pursuit. In fact, given the right mind set and the right approach in decision making, it is most likely that a student will be able to optimally accomplish each task in his or her on-line studies while still being able to perform at work and maintain relations with family and friends.Personally, I incorporate concepts of time management and effective prioritization in order to attain efficient decision making. As mentioned, in decision making, I utilize effective prioritization in order to come up with the best possible options for a given situation. In this sense, I build up a hierarchy of considerations and events which may come up and how I should perceive each and every situation given if such situations overlap. In addition, I also develop a sense of hierarchy in relation to studies, work, friends, and family.Although it may seem that such an approach seems to be quite effective and one may bring up questions as to why even though people tend to have a similar approach but fail at decision making. The answer is quite simple, the reason for the inability to utilize prioritization as a tool for guiding decision making is not strictly followed and such individuals opt to choose the easier or more pleasurable choices instead of selecting the more important tasks.In my case though, I prioritize and decide according to which choice would bring the most positive effects. To expound upon the potential use of effective prioritization in terms of decision making, it is only proper to discuss through the use of specific examples. In this sense, a good example comes in the form of accomplishing additional tasks at work which basically translates into a bigger payout while also considering the progress through on-line studies and coursework.Considering that I already have a stable amount of funds and have a good amount of saving, then working for additional hours even though additional pay is given would not have been an efficient choice since technically my funds are already in excess. On the other hand, in relation to the on-line studies that have progressed slowly, allocating ample amounts of time and effort for such will definitely be not an excess and if I really want to attain my specialized associates' degree through dist ant learning, then I should spend more time to work on my studies.Hence, I chose to accomplish the latter option. However, sometimes one cannot simply choose an option over another especially if one or more of the possible choices are with added urgency. Since it is quite often that I am placed in a situation wherein I have to decide between different possible tasks in which time is of the essence, I have developed a way to incorporate efficient time management aside from effective prioritization into my decision making skills.To expound, efficient time management in my own perspective pertains to how the hours of the day or the days of the week are scheduled effectively in order to progress in my work and studies while still being a significant presence to my family and friends. Also, time management pertains to the reality that some decisions made or tasks accepted may be done on another day while some events cannot simply be accomplished if missed the first time around. In relati on to prioritization though, not every opportunity or task that may not reoccur on a definite time is not always the best option so time management in relation to decision making.A good example for the use of efficient time management in relation to decision making is in terms of choosing between the options of attending the birthday of my beloved niece and continuing my on-line studies. In the situation, it is quite expected that the birthday party, along with the opportunity to greet her and give her a gift in person, would only occur at a specific time and date. Considering that I am lagging behind in terms of my on-line studies, I also thought about using my free time to catch up with the remaining coursework.Of course, thinking that my studies are more important in the long run, and my niece would probably not hate me that much if I miss her birthday, my initial reaction was to just stay at home and continue my studies. Later on, I realized that if I missed the birthday then it might create an unavoidable stress between us. Taking into consideration that on-line studies are characteristically flexible in nature and progress may be made at one's own pace, then I simply went to the birthday, stayed for a while, and later on went back home to finally continue the coursework that should be completed.Hence, both tasks were accomplished. The important aspect of the decision making process in this sense, is the capability to postpone something to be done at a later time but still making sure that the postponed task is accomplished. In addition, it is also important to know which tasks should be conducted first and at the same time realize which tasks can really be set aside initially.In this sense, what works for me personally as discussed, is to utilize both time management and prioritization in deciding which tasks or events should be considered to be done first. Of course, such a method has some negative points as well. In most cases though, from a personal s tandpoint, it is definitely useful to use efficient time management and effective prioritization in relation to decision making as reflected through the stability of my personal relationships with family and friends, as well as good productivity at work and on my studies.

Islamic Business Ethics

Ethics has always been a part of business. The article of Islamic Business Ethics & Finance: An Exploratory Study of Islamic Banks in Malaysia written by Muhammad Adli Musa studied about how Islamic finance which claims to offer global financial stability and high ethical standards should reflect Islamic values in all facets of behaviour to bring about collective morality and spirituality, which when integrated with the production of goods and services advance the Islamic way of life.This paper also attempts to investigate the consistencies or, if any, inconsistencies and explore the relationship between the Islamic business ethical norms and the practices of Islamic banks in Malaysia. In doing so it tries to address the current imbalance of emphasis and the lack of a comprehensive discussion on business ethics from a wider cultural and religious perspective with reference to Islam, particularly focussing on selected Islamic banks in Malaysia. The main research question of this study is how do the current practices in Malaysian IFIs mirror the Islamic ethical norms in business?The findings in this paper would potentially assist in the improvement of practices among IFIs to conform to the ethical norms established by Islam, which are in fact the core of their existence. For Muslims, Islam is considered as a way of life and not merely a religion. Hence, business ethics cannot be separated from ethics in other aspects of a Muslim’s daily life. It is claimed that in the climate of Islamic philosophy, it is ethics that dominate economics and not vice versa, and that Islamic economics is characterized as being ethical besides being Godly, humane and balanced.The concept of Taw? id has been identified as the core of Islamic ethics, along with trusteeship or stewardship, justice or equilibrium, free will or freedom, responsibility and generosity. On a more practical level, the manner for proper Islamic ethical conduct in business is based on leniency, which enco mpasses good manners, forgiveness, removal of hardship and compensation; service motive, where businesses provide needed services to the community; and consciousness of Allah, which requires Muslim businessmen to be mindful of Allah in their conduct of business.In the financial services sector, ethics has become increasingly important on the basis that the purpose of business activities in general and financial services in particular is the creation of value for the consumer. The financial services environment should not be an environment where there is a dichotomy between the personal ethical attitudes and the attitudes governing one’s business life. Moreover, it is suggested that an ethical environment will coincidentally pave the way to improved performance as in the case of the British Cooperative Bank’s ethical policy, and provides essential support for maximizing long-term owner value.The recent global financial crisis might have been averted if ethics played a l arger role in the financial services sector. Islamic finance has been recognized as a rapidly increasing integrated compartment of global finance with assets worldwide estimated to be worth $700 billion as a result of growth at a rate of more than 10% annually during the past decade. With respect to ethics, IFIs are considered to be ethical since the foundation of their business philosophy is grounded in the shariah, often referred to as ethics in action, which is concerned with promoting justice and welfare n society and seeking God’s blessing.The difference between Islamic and conventional financial systems is that the former has to preserve certain social objectives and is based on equity rather than debt. Malaysia’s Financial Sector Master-Plan explicitly mentions that it would like to symbolize Malaysia as a regional Islamic financial centre. A distinguishing feature of the Malaysian economy is that Islamic finance has been fully integrated into its existing finan cial system, which demonstrates the sector’s inventiveness and capacity for innovation.It is also worth highlighting that the Malaysian Islamic finance market is considered to be well developed with a huge future potential. The first IFI established in Malaysia was the Malayan Muslims Pilgrims Savings Corporation which began operations in 1963. Twenty years later in 1983, the first Islamic bank, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, started operations after continuous pressure on the Malaysian government to assist in establishing an Islamic bank.The seriousness of the Malaysian government in furthering the cause of Islamic finance can be seen in the Financial Sector Master-Plan’s vision to see Islamic banking evolve in parallel with conventional banking to achieve 20% of the banking market share, represented by a number of strong and highly capitalized Islamic banking institutions, offering financial products and services which are underpinned by a comprehensive and conducive sh ariah and regulatory framework.To sum up, from the study presented, it can be fairly assumed that the practices of the Islamic banks in Malaysia under study do conform to the Islamic ethical norm in business based on the perception of executives working in the banks concerned. Individual positive and negative statements are areas where the Islamic banks concerned must strive to improve. Particularly, the perception of the management among employees of the banks must improve as it is the management who determines the issue of business conduct and principles in a business organisation.Issues surrounding the treatment of employees such as equality and fair wages must also be addressed in line with business ethical norms established by Islam. A preliminary look into the qualitative data of the Ph. D. research of the author, which is not presented in this paper, suggests that the senior management, Shariah heads and Shariah Supervisory Board members of the Islamic banks under study are a ware of the importance of incorporating Islamic ethics in the operations of their respective banks.However, the climate in which the banks operate does not necessarily support such notions. Furthermore, Islamic banks might not feel compelled to abide by Islamic ethical norms in business if the consumers of their products and services do not strongly demand so. The emphasis on shariah compliancy of products and services has arguably resulted in the ethical dimension of Islamic finance to be somehow sidelined.Shariah compliancy is indeed the essence of Islamic finance but beyond that, Islamic banks should be at the forefront of ethical banking, whereby they take into consideration the impact of their activities on the society at large. Islamic banks must also strive to adopt the recommendations by the IFSB and AAOIFI in their published Guiding Principles and Conduct of Business for Institutions offering Islamic Financial Services and the Code of Ethics for the Employees of IFIs respec tively as best practices in the industry.Research needs to be conducted using various techniques to answer the research question at hand. Realising that, the author in his Ph. D. study has interviewed the senior management, Shariah heads and Shariah Supervisory Board members of the banks concerned to obtain their views on Islamic business ethics in relation to Islamic banking practices in Malaysia. The author also included in his Ph. D. research the ethical identities of the banks concerned based on their annual reports and other materials accessible to the public such as the banks’ websites and other publications.